In the regional parliament of Castilla y León has the Voxgroup spokesperson David Hierro called Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a “psychopath” during a plenary debate on 7 October 2026. The socialist group (PSOE) then requested that the remark be removed from the official record of the sitting, the Diario de Sesiones. Hierro refused to withdraw the remark.
The incident took place during debate on a joint non-legislative motion by Partido Popular and Vox to expand digital infrastructure in Castilla y León. The motion calls for nationwide coverage of at least 100 megabits per second and the completion of fibre-optic deployment to enable comprehensive 5G coverage. In his speech, Hierro accused the central government of failing to invest in the region and made a personal attack on Sánchez. In their response, PSOE representatives referred to parliamentary conventions and the possibility of removing offensive wording from the record, and asked the presidium to take appropriate action.
Whether the disputed wording is removed from the Diario de Sesiones is a matter for the presidium of the Cortes de Castilla y León. In Spanish parliaments, objections to personal insults have repeatedly been the subject of formal disputes; decisions on removing remarks are guided by the rules of procedure and, where applicable, legal requirements. By the end of the sitting, it remained unclear whether the record would be amended or the passage would remain. It was also unclear whether the PSOE was considering further legal action.
The substance of the debate – the call for faster network expansion – was overshadowed by the exchange. The PP and Vox are pressing for faster broadband coverage in sparsely populated areas of Castilla y León to reduce the economic disadvantages faced by rural communities. In similar debates, the central government regularly points to ongoing programmes to support fibre-optic and 5G connections, but figures on their implementation in the autonomous community were disputed in the plenary session.
Hierro’s choice of words marks a further escalation in the tone between Vox and the PSOE. Vox frames the attacks as political criticism, while the opposition views the remark as a personal smear against the head of government. How the Cortes de Castilla y León handles this specific case could set a precedent for future responses to breaches of decorum in the chamber.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).