Vincent Hervouët 11:40 a.m., February 18, 2022

In Spain, the war is open on the right, between the leadership and the rising star of the party, the president of the Madrid region.

And it comes at the worst time: the People's Party must choose whether or not to ally with the populist right to govern the largest region of the kingdom.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso is a fearless and maskless star, in every sense of the word.

Because she fought to keep the terraces, restaurants and shows in the capital open despite the Covid-19.

And because she loves to unmask the adversary, to denounce the ideology at work among feminists, the neo-Marxism of her opponents on the left, the arrogance among the socialists in power.

Yesterday morning, she discovered in a newspaper that the leadership of the People's Party had recruited a detective to investigate a deal made by the region she leads to (precisely!) buy the masks.

The contract would have benefited his brother.

In a past life, President Diaz served as a communications officer, in charge of dogs and pets.

She kept the bite.

She jumped at the throat of Pablo Casado, the party leader accused of maneuvering to destroy her and behaving like the worst of politicians.

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It was Pablo Casado who discovered and pushed Isabel Diaz into the spotlight.

Obviously, the electoral triumphs of the quadra overshadowed him.

His response was immediate: he drags the insolent before a disciplinary committee.

She's going to be fired.

But behind the quarrel of people, there is above all a political issue.

Indeed, this fight breaks out as a moment of truth strikes for the Spanish right.

An emerging populist force

For forty years, the People's Party was the great government party within which several tendencies coexisted.

It has become so refocused that it seems interchangeable with its counterpart on the left, the PSOE.

Both equally subjected to the blackmail of the Catalan, Basque, etc. parties.

Four years ago, a populist force emerged as in the rest of Europe.

Vox is an identity party, which flies the flag, which denounces complacency with the separatists, the sacrifice of the popular classes, rejects the laws on gender-based violence and feminist ideology.

It is Vox, like vox populi, the voice of the people.

He immediately became the third force in the Congress of Deputies.

The left cries fascism, but its leader Santiago Abascal is a former member of the Popular Party.

He helped dislodge the Socialists from their strongholds in Seville in Andalusia, and in Madrid where he supports Isabel Diaz.

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Until last Sunday, it was support without participation.

Last Sunday, everything changed.

The People's Party won the regional election in Castile and Leon, the largest region of the kingdom, but did not win a majority.

In all, 31% of the votes for the PP.

And almost 18% for Vox, which is willing to provide support but claims its place at the table, in the regional government.

"The voters have spoken, we demand what is ours, no more, no less," said Santiago Abascal.

An absolute majority in the next legislative elections

In short, the popular party is faced with a difficult choice.

Make room for his right-wing rival, at the risk of strengthening him.

And the polls announce to them both an absolute majority in the next legislative elections.

Or, listen to the left which denounces the return of Francoism.

The Socialists even propose to abstain in order to let a minority right rule in Castile.

For the moment, instead of deciding on the quick, the popular party has found a way out, cutting the neck of the beautiful Isabelle.