"It will be wild," warned ERC leader Gabriel Rufián a few days ago about the speech by Vox that he expected to hear in the debate on the motion of censure. Savage or not, first Garriga and then Abascal, have made a profoundly anti-European speech, attacking China and defending Trump, in a line of argument that punctuated every one of the Republican president's obsessions.

More than three hours between the two speeches that leave room for analysis: Did Abascal get it right? Political analysts assure that they didn't. "It has a very limited route," says Pablo Simon about the speech intoned this Wednesday by the leader of Vox. Nacho Corredor, political consultant, shares the opinion: "These are elements of Trump's speech that are not understood in Spain". Political communication professor Pedro Marfil goes further and explains Abascal's strategy of seeking a reference in Trump is just an attempt "to legitimize himself".

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Indeed, the Vox leader's speech has reminded everyone of Donald Trump and perhaps a little of Marine Le Pen from her harsher times. "It has been a speech more similar to what Donald Trump can do in the United States than to what a party can do in Spain," says Nacho Corredor, who believes that "it is part of a strategy to Americanize public debate" which he predicts will be little successful. "The average voter doesn't understand what they are referring to because these are elements of other countries' debates. The approach that he (Abascal) has taken has been very hyperbolic," the political consultant explained to this outlet.

There is nothing that sounds more strange in Spain than talking about China, Soros or Eurosceptics

Political scientist Pablo Simón, who also believes Vox's strategy has been wrong, points out in the same vein: "There is nothing that sounds stranger in Spain than talking about China, Soros or Eurosceptics". Simón assures that this type of message does not reach the electorate beyond "some small groups" towards which Santiago Abascal seemed to be addressing today. The anti-Europeist and anti-globalization message deployed by Vox this Wednesday "has little traction," according to the political scientist. "It would be very rare" for it to reach the voters.

Trump and Le Pen

To Pedro Marfil, more than Trump, Abascal has reminded him of the French extreme right of Marine Le Pen. "It has been a very Le Penist speech that reminds us of a phenomenon in political communication: the dogwhistle," the communications expert explained to LPO. It is about sending messages that for the majority go unnoticed but that are striking for a part of the electorate. We would be talking, for example, about "the conspiracy theories about the coronavirus" to which he has referred during his speech to Congress.

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Marfil adds, however, that he has also sought an "adaptation" of the speech of Donald Trump or Bolsonaro, changing, for example, the wall of Mexico for its references to the 'menas': "Since European culture is so different from American culture, the adaptation of the messages goes through that reactionary nationalism. It is a more than conservative point; they are not trying to preserve but rather to return to something that is no longer even there". Pedro Marfil also explains why Santiago Abascal would have come to the defense of the U.S. president from the podium: "The references to that speech by Trump are an attempt to legitimize himself. It's not that he says it, it's that the president of the United States says it".

Since European culture is so different from American culture, the adaptation of the messages goes through that reactionary nationalism. It is a more than conservative point; they do not seek to preserve but to return to something that no longer exists

For Corredor, Vox is also wrong to invoke anti-Europeanism just when the European Union is going to inject funds into Spain to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis. "They have been so much like Trump that they have criticized the EU as if they were Trump, forgetting that the EU is going to have a very important role," says the political consultant. "If the European Union had reacted differently to the crisis of Covid-19 it might have been a good idea, but if the EU has anything, it is a fundamental role at this time".

Simón, Marfil and Corredor agree: it will be difficult for Vox's message to win more votes from the electorate. As Sánchez has reproached him, he has used the Congress "as a television set". But he will not get the expected results. "The agenda is now occupied by the PP and PSOE with the conflict in Madrid. This motion was an opportunity to broaden the spectrum, the number of voters, but they no longer have as much room".