Will Vox strike a deal with feminists? Feijóo's remark reignites the debate

The question of a deal between Vox and feminists finds no answer in Feijóo's remark: he is talking about his own biography, not about agreements. The statement, however, places the term feminism on the PP's turf.

The remark was made by **Alberto Núñez Feijóo** and reported by **Cadena SER**: "How could I not be a feminist if I grew up with far more women than men?" It is a biographical definition, not a programmatic one. It announces no measures, takes no position on any law and makes no mention of **Vox**. Anyone looking there for a deal between Vox and feminists will not find one.

## A definition by biography, not by program

Feijóo answers the question of whether he is a feminist with an argument from personal experience: the number of women he grew up with. It is a familiar device in Spanish politics, where declaring oneself a feminist has become almost mandatory and, at the same time, a matter of dispute. The remark does not clarify what he understands feminism to be.

That is why the statement serves little purpose beyond placing him on the side of the term. It does not say whether he shares the label as the left uses it, nor which concrete policies he associates with the word.

## Feminism as a contested label

In Spanish public debate, "feminism" means different things depending on who uses it. Some limit it to formal equality before the law, while others tie it to specific policies on gender violence or quotas. Feijóo's remark does not enter that discussion.

Nor does it settle it. A statement of personal identity obliges nothing and commits the party to nothing. In practice, it is a friendly answer to an awkward question.

## Why the label matters and not the deal

The underlying question, whether Vox would strike a deal with feminists, mixes two levels: a leader's self-definition and parliamentary agreements. The first is rhetoric; the second, arithmetic. Feijóo's remark belongs to the first level.

A **PP** leader calling himself a feminist has electoral mileage, because it lets him contest a term usually associated with the left. Whether that translates into deals or laws is another matter, and the quote does not say.