Far-right Vox says Boris Johnson ‘would do a good job’ as British prime minister

Spanish far-right party Vox has shown its support for Boris Johnson in the contest to be Britain’s next prime minister.

Ignacio Garriga, the party’s official spokesperson, told Catalan News that the former Mayor of London “would do a good job” if he beats Jeremy Hunt, his successor as foreign minister, to the Conservative leadership.

“It will be very good for the British people if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister,” said Garriga, Vox’s most senior Catalan representative, who was elected to Spain’s Congress as one of its 25 MPs in April.

Good news for Spain

Garriga claimed that a Johnson premiership would also be good news for Spain, despite the economic risk of Britain potentially leaving the EU without a deal in October and his own party preferring to remain.

“I very much agree with many of his ideas and I expect they will be influential. He would do a good job,” he added.

Seal of approval

Vox’s seal of approval may not be a welcome one for the Johnson camp, who insist their candidate intends to “govern from the center right” because “the center is where you win.”

The populist party has called for an Inquisition-style expulsion of thousands of Muslims, the repeal of a law protecting victims of gender-based violence, and for Gay Pride celebrations to be barred from city centers.

Its agenda has led to widespread condemnation of Vox as ultranationalist, anti-Islam, antifeminist, and LGBTphobic.

The favorite to succeed Theresa May has previously compared Muslim women to “letterboxes”, bikini-clad women to “wet otters”, and gay marriage to bestiality, although he has apologized for the effect of the remarks.

Political correctness

Like Vox, Johnson is against the partial ban on bullfighting in Spain, including by the Catalan parliament in 2010, which he reportedly denounced as “political correctness gone mad.”

However, Johnson is thought likely to oppose many of the policies advocated by Vox, not least its desire for Spain to stay in the EU and claim full sovereignty over the rock of Gibraltar.