Far-right Spanish party Vox is on track to get a global soapbox as it takes part in the much-hyped trial of Catalan pro-independence leaders as a “popular prosecutor” — a Spain-specific legal mechanism that has left Madrid embarrassed. Vox burst on to the political scene by winning 12 seats in southern Andalusia’s regional parliament in December. Its involvement in the upcoming trial of Catalan separatist leaders will be as so-called “popular prosecution”, a set-up which allows any citizen or organisation to be an accuser in court alongside public prosecutors.
