Pro-Israel Advocate Tapped as Feijóo's Second-in-Command for Spanish Elections

With Spain's general elections just one month away, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has appointed Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo as the second candidate on his party's list for Madrid. Feijóo, the leader of the People's Party (PP) and a contender for the premiership, announced on Thursday, October 22, that Álvarez de Toledo would hold the second spot on the electoral list in Madrid for the November 29 general elections. Borja Sémper, the party's national spokesperson, will be third.

Álvarez de Toledo is a prominent figure known for her strong pro-Israel stance and opposition to the policies of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, particularly concerning Israel and the Gaza war. As deputy spokesperson for the PP parliamentary group, she has consistently defended Israel and criticized the Spanish government's actions, including its recognition of a Palestinian state in May 2024 and its adoption of restrictive measures against Israel.

In a fiery speech on October 7, 2025, the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks, Álvarez de Toledo criticized the government's decision to present a bill for an arms embargo on Israel on such a symbolic date. She accused the government of downplaying Hamas's responsibility for initiating the Gaza war and contested the use of the term "genocide" to describe Israeli military operations. While acknowledging Palestinian civilian suffering, she stated that Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu should be held accountable.

She drew a historical parallel to the Warsaw Ghetto to illustrate her point, asking colleagues to imagine Adolf Hitler considering the liberation of Jews from the ghetto and entrusting them with the city's administration. Álvarez de Toledo also accused the Sánchez government of exploiting the Palestinian cause for electoral gain and diverting attention from corruption allegations surrounding its political allies.