Pedro Sánchez makes no secret of his satisfaction after last Sunday's Catalan elections. The success of the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC), winner in votes and seats, has arrived at one of the most critical moments of the five years of the President's mandate from the government and after a period of reflection during which he said that he had seriously considered resigning. Now, three weeks after throwing his people into utter confusion with that announcement, Sánchez has received an electoral balm and assured that he is no longer thinking only about reviving the legislature, but also about a new term. He believes that the results of the Catalan elections mean support for his policies – including pardons, amnesty law (still in the parliamentary process) and suppression of the crime of sedition – and he assumes that Salvador Illa will be the new are. president of the Generalitat.
This Friday, in an interview given to the program red hot of the Sixth, The head of the government has ruled out that the PSC will step aside to allow a government of Carles Puigdemont, Junts candidate, who also wants to try the inauguration. Puigdemont, the PSOE leader, has said: “must accept reality.” And “the reality is the reality: they don't give you the numbers.” In doing so, he denies the scenario that the PP has been warning about for days: that Sánchez sacrifice Illa's presidency in Catalonia in exchange for maintaining the Junts' support for the government in the Congress of Deputies.
Sánchez has been declared dead processes independence, unlike Alberto Núñez Feijóo, chairman of the PP, and has mocked what he sees as the popular party's internal contradictions in this area. “In Catalonia they say he is dead, and in Madrid that is not the case. During the campaign they did not talk about pardons or amnesty,” he noted. And he has given some clues as to where the PSOE election campaign messages will go ahead of the European elections, which start next Friday: “[Los populares] They join the xenophobic discourse of the extreme right. “It is a very serious setback.”
The president assures that a new era has begun in Catalonia which – as long as the socialist Illa reigns – will be focused on the 'management' of public services. “We have to tackle the problems head-on. [El independentismo] has focused the debate on Catalan politics over the past decade. This [el resultado del 12-M] “It is a solution to a serious crisis,” he said. The president is convinced that this new situation in Catalonia can be part of his legacy, despite the “legitimate” doubts he had about the pardons and the amnesty law (who flatly denied that he would grant it, until a few days before he would grant it). “Let's claim that political line. Those of us who said we had to confront these problems were right. Today, Spain is growing faster and creating more jobs than six years ago. Spain is more united than in 2017. This is the result of political bets, of forgiveness, of rebirth,” he emphasized.
In any case, the socialist Illa needs ERC's yes to carry out his investiture. Sánchez has claimed that no messages have been exchanged with the Republicans or the Junts in recent hours. “Political parties have their internal processes. Democracy also has its moments. The new board must be formed on June 10 [del Parlament]. I think what Catalan society would not accept would be repeated elections. It is imperative to bet on a new government, and the one who has the numbers is Salvador Illa,” he stressed.
The five days of reflection
What has the most influence is what happens closest to you. So you don't miss anything, subscribe.
When asked if he would do again what he did when he took five days of “reflection” to decide whether or not to resign, the president replied that this is not something that is planned, but that “these things happen” , and he has returned. to ensure that he did not consult anyone, not even his wife, before writing his 'letter to the citizens'. “I have been suffering for ten years, [yo], my partner and my family. It's intimidation. “I know they don't do it because my name is Pedro Sánchez, they do it because I represent the PSOE, which takes Spain to a positive level,” he continued.
Regarding the days – between Wednesday, April 24 and Monday, April 29 – when he plunged the PSOE into total uncertainty, the President has reported that the decision to continue was taken early on Saturday morning, when he went out for a walk with his wife on Sunday through the countryside and that afternoon he was preparing the speech for the next day, when he announced during an appearance from La Moncloa that he would remain head of the government. AND that his wife, Begoña Gómeztold him, when he heard about the letter afterwards, that he should not resign.
Begoña Gómez has also been at the center of the political debate for weeks. The PP accuses the couple of being guilty of conflict of interest and influence peddling as a result of the government support granted by the executive branch to three companies that have had some connection with the study centers where Sánchez's wife worked. The president insists there is no irregularity. This is how he defended it today:
–He believes that Begoña Gómez has done everything right?
-Naturally. There is no case. There is mud.
“We are talking about a huge hoax,” Sánchez added, recalling that after the European elections – without further details – he will take measures to combat hoaxes and disinformation. “Here we have Trojan horses that undermine the democratic quality of this country. This happens in all democracies: in Brazil, in Argentina, in Europe. Europe became aware in 2020 and presented an action plan, and from that framework come initiatives that need to be extrapolated to governments,” he said. The president is visibly upset and has assumed that his wife will be called to testify for the PP in the Senate committee of inquiry on the issue Koldo case. “They're not going to break me,” Sánchez noted.
Regarding the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary – blocked since 2018 – the head of government has announced that measures will be introduced in the coming months, but without giving more details, and has reiterated that it is not his intention is to make changes to the legal conditions for the election of members (since Sumar asks to be able to renew the body without having to count on the PP).
The investigation by the Public Prosecution Service
Sánchez also expressed his opinion on the opening of preliminary proceedings decided by a judge following the complaint filed against the Public Prosecutor's Office. Alberto González Amadorfriend of the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso (PP). The businessman, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud and falsification of documents, accuses the prosecutor's office of an alleged crime of revealing secrets for publishing a press release in which he denied the distorted information previously released by the president's team Madrid was scattered The proceedings. “The Public Prosecution Service is independent. The prosecutor has the full confidence of the government,” Sánchez said.
-Do you think there is a judicial and political operation to put an end to the prosecutor?
– Politics, without a doubt.
-And judicial?
“I will not get involved in that because I am the president of the Spanish government.
The president will appear in Congress on May 22, where he plans to announce the date he will recognize Palestine as a state in a statement jointly with other countries. This recognition will not take place on May 21, a date that has been considered, but will take place in the 'following days'.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_