Born in Bilbao in 1976, Santiago Abascal completed his university studies at the University of Deusto, where he graduated as a sociologist in 2003. An influential social media figure with more than 240,000 followers on Instagram, he is married to Lidia Bedman and has four children.

His political career and his ability to mobilise conservative sectors have significantly transformed the Spanish political landscape in the last decade. Abascal has also left his mark in the intellectual sphere through the Foundation for the Defence of the Spanish Nation (Denaes), which he founded in 2006, and the Disenso Foundation, where he serves as president.

Political career: increasingly right-wing

Abascal’s political career began in 1994 in the conservative Partido Popular (PP), where he held various positions of responsibility, including on the Álava provincial committee and the presidency of the party’s youth wing.

However, his disagreements over policy with former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, especially on issues related to ETA and Catalan independence, led him to leave the PP in 2013.

The turning point in Abascal’s career came with the founding of Vox, the far-right party he chairs, which has transformed the Spanish political scene. Under his leadership, Vox achieved a historic milestone in 2018 gaining parliamentary representation in Andalusia, becoming the first nationalist party to win regional seats since 1975.

Abascal’s influence in Spanish politics is reflected in his ability to mobilise his followers and generate public debate.** While experts point out that his support base is relatively limited compared to the overall population, his impact on national political discourse is significant.

His leadership of Vox, renewed until 2028, has been instrumental in establishing the party as a relevant actor in Spanish politics, although analysts consider that the PP remains the dominant force in the centre-right spectrum.

The party he leads has managed to position itself as the third political force in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, obtaining 33 seats in the 2023 elections. In addition, Vox has managed to form part of regional governments in coalition with the PP in regions such as the Valencian Community, Extremadura and the Balearic Islands.

Political vision and international projection

Abascal has built a network of international alliances with prominent conservative leaders, including links with Donald Trump, Meloni, Javier Milei and Viktor Orbán. His political vision focuses mainly on:

• Defending national unity
• Migration control
• Reform of European institutions

Last summer the party organised a Vox VIVA24 rally in which other significant right-wing world figures such as Milei, already president of Argentina, and Viktor Orbán, among others, were present.

The Philippines evacuated tens of thousands of people from their homes and canceled dozens of flights on Saturday as a super typhoon threatened to unleash heavy rains and powerful winds that could trigger floods and storm surges.

During excavations amid the early stages of expanding low carbon heating to thousands of homes along Old Kent Road in London, archaeologists found physical evidence of an ancient Roman road. 

Wating Street was built closely following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43, according to a Wednesday press release from the London Borough of Southwark. 

Prior to this discovery, there was very little evidence to support the exact route of the ancient Roman road.

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With the shared characteristic of Roman roads traditionally being straight, archaeologists believed they knew where the ancient road would be. 

Sections of the 2,000-year-old route were uncovered by a team of archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), working on behalf of Veolia and archaeological consultants RPS, A Tetra Tech Company, beneath modern day Old Kent Road, according to the press release.

“The discovery of an intact section of Roman Wating Street directly under the current Old Kent Road has redrawn the Roman road map for Southwark and informs on Roman construction techniques generally. It is a key finding for archaeological research for London,” said Gillian King, director of archaeology at RPS, per the release. 

The ancient road was originally built shortly after Rome’s invasion of Britain in AD 43.  (© MOLA 2024)

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The section of the ancient Roman road was well-preserved, with distinct layers observable, helping experts to better understand its construction. 

The road measured 5.8 meters (about 19 feet) wide and 1.4 meters (about 5 feet) high. 

Its construction was completed using a solid foundation of gravel sealed by two layers of chalk, and another layer of compacted sand and gravel on top, according to the press release. 

The ancient road discovered dates back nearly 2,000 years, according to experts.  (© MOLA 2024)

“It’s amazing this section of road has survived for almost 2,000 years. There has been so much activity here over the past few hundred years, from sewers to power cables, tramlines and of course the building of the modern road, so we’re really excited to find such a substantial chunk of Roman material remaining,” Dave Taylor, MOLA project manager said, according to the press release. 

The discovery will be signified with a sign close to Old Kent Road Bridge.