The doctor Steegmann resigns from the direction of Vox and will not collect the minutes of Congress either

His firm defense of vaccination against Covid-19 garnered him numerous criticisms from supporters and followers of Vox

MADRID, 10 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The doctor Juan Luis Steegmann has resigned from his positions in the national directorate of Vox and has also announced that he will not collect the act of deputy that corresponded to him after the departure of the former Vox spokesman in Congress, Iván Espinosa de los Monteros.

Vox obtained five seats for the Madrid constituency in the general elections on July 23, so Steegmann, number six on that list, was called to fill the gap left by Espinosa de los Monteros with his resignation. However, this Thursday he has announced that he will not collect the minutes either and makes way for the next on the list, the also deputy in the previous legislature Carla Toscano.

In a statement to which Europa Press has had access, Steegmann assures that having been a member of Congress has been an "immeasurable" honor in his career, but he will not repeat it in the next legislature. "On July 24, the door to continue being a deputy closed, and it was the reason for me to present my resignation in the national executive committee of Vox. Now the door of Congress opens again, but I am not going to enter through it " , reveals.

With this, he also resigns from his position as a member of the Vox National Executive Committee, thanking Santiago Abascal for the opportunity he was given. According to him, he assures, he tried to do it "with loyalty, sincerity and affection" and "trying to ensure that the dignity of the position translates into the best service to the health of the Spaniards, to Spain, and to Vox".

"Thanking you with all my heart, here is my encouragement and my arm for whatever you need and Vox requires," ends his letter addressed to the party leader.

A doctor by profession, Steegmann was the voice of Vox during the Covid-19 pandemic and one of the biggest detractors of the then Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, whom he repeatedly asked to resign and renamed "coronavirus minister" or "Minister of Euthanasia".

But in addition, Steegmann rose as a staunch defender of vaccines against Covid-19, which cost him numerous criticisms from Vox voters and supporters. The official position of the party was to give "freedom" to citizens and that they could choose whether or not to get vaccinated without any type of interference or consequence for not doing so.

However, the 'Vox doctor', as Steegmann was known, publicly defended his position in favor of vaccines, including the third dose, and even urged the Government to speed up the vaccination process in Spain, citing other European countries as an example. .

Some of the leaders of the party at the time, such as Iván Espinosa de los Monteros or Macarena Olona, ​​did publicly say they had been vaccinated against Covid-19. However, its leader, Santiago Abascal, avoided revealing if he did. "I am not going to answer that question," he said when asked about the issue in an interview on EsRadio.

Abascal asked "since when do you have to declare" in public about health matters and recalled Vox's defense that all Spaniards who wished to be vaccinated had access to it and, those who did not want to, also had the freedom not to do so.