Vox accuses the PP of copying its proposal to ban the burka: "We don't compete."

PalmA new clash has erupted between the People's Party (PP) and Vox over who will co-opt the anti-immigration discourse. Vox spokesperson Manuela Cañadas accused the PP on Monday of "copying" their non-binding resolution calling for a ban on the burka and niqab in public spaces. The PP rejected a similar proposal from the far-right party a few weeks ago, which urged a ban on the use of any Islamic veil. Shortly afterward, however, the PP presented its own version, which focuses on the two types of full-face veils that cover the wearer's face partially or completely. "We don't compete," asserted Cañadas, who lamented that the PP rejected their initiative only to then "present a similar or alternative text." PP spokesperson Sebastià Sagreras rejected these criticisms, insisting that the far-right party did not accept amendments to their text and that their proposal is more "sensible." "Vox has realized that its proposal was misguided," he considered. In this regard, he recalled that there are court rulings that guarantee Muslim women the right to wear certain types of veils. "Forcing women to cover their faces is an attack on their equality and dignity," he argued. "It has no place in an advanced society, and we will ask the Spanish government to take a step forward [in this respect]." In any case, the initiative, which will be debated this Tuesday in the Catalan Parliament, has the support of Vox. "We will vote in favor; we are not in an election campaign," Cañadas said.

"An absurd race between the PP and Vox"

For his part, Lluís Apesteguia, spokesperson for MÉS per Mallorca, criticized the planned parliamentary debate, saying it would focus on "debating whether the PP or Vox is more 'fascist'." He said the PP's initiative "doesn't stem from their concern for women's rights," but rather is presented as "an absurd race between the PP and Vox to see who is more 'fascist' and Islamophobic." Although his party considers the use of the burka and niqab a heteropatriarchal practice, he added, the debate on the possibility of limiting it must be conducted in a "serious" manner.