The Ciudadanos-backed candidate for the Barcelona mayoralty, Manuel Valls, says he has been moved to declare his "great concern" at the announcement that Cs and the extreme-right Vox have begun negotiating a pact to governing the autonomous community of Madrid. In a tweet, the former French prime minister asks whether this process "normalizes" the far right.
"Pacts announced between the PP and Vox in many cities, meetings of leaders of constitutionalist parties with Vox... Is this democratic normality? ...or... is it normalizing an extreme right party? It's not the same and once again I can't hide my great concern," he wrote.
Pactos anunciados entre el PP y Vox en muchas ciudades...reuniones de líderes de partidos constitucionalistas con Vox ...¿normalidad democrática ?..o..¿normalización de un partido de extrema derecha ? ...no es lo mismo.. y no puedo esconder otra vez mi gran preocupación. https://t.co/TX8p2SKg61
— Manuel Valls (@manuelvalls) 9 de juny de 2019
Although his own words didn't mention the Ciudadanos party by name, the TVE news story he included in his message focused on the "first meeting between Ciudadanos and Vox in Madrid." The right-wing Ciudadanos today lifted the veto they have maintained with respect to the far-right Vox in Madrid after two weeks without any contact. The leaders of the two groups, Rocío Monasterio (Vox) and Ignacio Aguado (Cs), met to negotiate possible agreements to ensure that the presidency of the Madrid region does not fall into Socialist hands.
Manuel Valls has announced he will back a rival far removed from him on the political spectrum, Ada Colau's left-wing Barcelona en Comú party, in its quest to return to the Barcelona mayoralty. His motive is to prevent the council being led by Ernest Maragall, whose centre-left pro-independence ERC candidacy finished first in the May 26th election.