Vox Internal Conflict: Ortega Smith Challenges Dismissal in Madrid City Council
Madrid, February 21, 2026 – A significant internal conflict within Vox has erupted in the Madrid City Council, as Javier Ortega Smith, the current municipal group spokesperson, refuses to accept his dismissal by the party’s National Executive Committee (CEN). This power struggle has placed the Popular Party (PP) in an unexpected position of influence over the future leadership of Vox in the capital’s municipal government.
Ortega Smith’s Dismissal and Internal Resistance
The CEN of Vox decided on February 12 to remove Ortega Smith from his position. However, this decision has faced two major obstacles: Ortega Smith’s outright refusal to comply and, more significantly, the strong support he enjoys within his own municipal group. The decision to appoint a spokesperson rests with the municipal group itself, which comprises five councilors in Madrid. So far, only two councilors, Arantxa Cabello – designated to replace Ortega Smith – and Fernando Martínez Vidal, have supported the CEN’s directive. This lack of majority support means the party cannot force Ortega Smith’s replacement through an internal vote.
Vox has warned that councilors who side with Ortega Smith and defy the party leadership will face disciplinary action and provisional suspension as members. This warning has been explicitly extended to Carla Toscano, the deputy spokesperson for the municipal group. However, a similar warning has not been issued to Ignacio Ansaldo, another councilor supporting Ortega Smith. Ansaldo’s historical role as the first president of Vox, even before Santiago Abascal’s formal affiliation with the party, makes his removal a more complex and sensitive issue.
The Mayor’s Stance and the PP’s Role
In light of the internal stalemate, the Secretary General of Vox, Ignacio Garriga, formally requested the Madrid City Council to acknowledge Ortega Smith’s dismissal and the appointment of Arantxa Cabello as his replacement. This move effectively shifted the final decision on Vox’s leadership to Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
On Friday, Mayor Martínez-Almeida expressed surprise at Garriga’s apparent unawareness that changing the spokesperson is a prerogative of the municipal group, not the party’s national leadership. He emphasized that the City Council should not be tasked with deciding who leads Vox’s municipal group. Almeida noted that Ortega Smith participated in Thursday’s Board of Spokespersons without any indication from other Vox councilors that he should not be the spokesperson, implying that Ortega Smith remains in his role. The mayor concluded that Vox has a
