Davos, Switzerland, Jan 17 (EFE).- Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday warned against allowing far-right parties into governing institutions.
Handout video provided by the WEF
Sánchez’s remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos came amid an unfolding controversy back in Spain, after the right-wing coalition government of the Castile and Leon region, led by the far-right Vox in coalition with the conservative People’s Party, announced new measures to prevent women from getting an abortion.
Sánchez’s left-wing coalition government has condemned the policy, saying it violates Spain’s law allowing voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Sánchez said far-right parties were “a very real” threat that could destroy the EU from inside
The Spanish prime minister said extremist parties were a “very real” threat to democracy that could destroy “the European Union from the inside.”
While he stopped short of calling out Vox, Sánchez did make a reference to the party by warning that the threat was particularly dangerous for “those countries where these far-right forces have the support of mainstream conservative parties which are opening the doors of government.”
Although much of his speech focused on economic issues, Sánchez also underscored the need to stand up for multilateralism, particularly given the threat posed by Vladimir Putin and what the Russian president represents.
In that regard, he urged the international community to fight against the “rotten seeds that Putin has planted in our own countries”.
“The Russian autocrat is not alone in his reactionary aspiration of fracturing the world and turning back the clock,” Sánchez warned, adding that Putin “has some allies in Europe” who “just some years ago were visiting him and praising his ways.”
Sánchez then called on world leaders to fight them with the same determination with which the Ukrainians are fighting invading Russian forces, albeit using peaceful means – namely “democracy, transparency and effective policies.” EFE
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