Pedro Sánchez has once again cooled the expectations of being re-elected president of the Government. At least in the short term. Whether due to tactics in the negotiations or any other issue, the fact is that this Saturday at a PSOE event held in Mérida he recognized “the complexity of the negotiations we have in progress”, although despite everything – he warned – “I I guarantee that I trust that there will be a progressive government” for the next four years. For this reason, he asked “the right and the extreme right to be calm, sensible and respect” because, he confirmed, “we are going to work so that there is a government that makes progressive policies, that is committed to coexistence always within the framework of the Constitution.” And, from his personal point of view, he repeated it on two occasions: “I have more desire, more strength and more enthusiasm than the first day I had the honor of being elected President of the Government.”
The day after being photographed with Bildu, Pedro Sánchez appeared on the scene again. To do this, he chose a safe place, Extremadura, where despite having lost the regional government, the acting president of the Government feels safe, especially due to the support of Guillermo Fernández Vara, one of the barons who has remained loyal. I squire him at all times during the last legislature… and of course in this one that he is now in office, now from Madrid as second vice president of the Senate.
Furthermore, the chosen territory was ideal to attack “the time tunnel”, according to Sánchez, who represents the PP and Vox governments, and what better scenario for this than to use Extremadura as an example, a scenario that served as a scarecrow in the last general elections, that of PP – much to the spite of María Guardiola – in coalition with Vox.
So there were no surprises in the interventions at an event that at all times seemed precisely like an electoral rally. Not a word for the photo of shame with EH Bildu, but to attack Alberto Núñez Feijóo and his agreements with Santiago Abascal’s party because both “always question the great social consensus” reached in history by the socialists, according to Sánchez , who wore a rose on his jacket lapel during the event.
At all times, Sánchez claimed for the “social achievements” that he has achieved during these five years that he has been in Moncloa achieved, as he argued, from “the social peace that others now threaten to break.” With this social dialogue, to which he attributed 16 major agreements during his mandate, the revaluation of pensions, the increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage, labor reform and equal progress between men and women were attributed.
“In the face of insults and disqualifications,” Sánchez censured, “and despite the fact that they have made two statements to me in the first week since I have been a candidate,” Sánchez was “proud of what we have done” and showed his chest about what he considers a brilliant performance of the Spanish economy, despite the circumstances of these years, such as the pandemic and the two wars.
In any case, the president of the acting government considered that on July 23 the Spaniards, in his opinion, took into account two “fundamental” issues so that today there can be a “progressive” government. Thus, “the Spaniards with their vote said two things, the first is that in Spain only a party that understands and recognizes political plurality can govern, and in the Chamber it is evident that there is political plurality” and, secondly, “that assume territorial diversity as an asset, and not as a demerit”. For this reason, he assumed that “the one who recognizes today in the Spanish political system both political pluralism and territorial diversity is the PSOE.”
In parallel, Sánchez stressed that “until the elections return, which I hope will be in four years, the PP will have to be in the opposition and will have to resolve its ‘elephant in the room’, which is called extreme right and which is called Vox and it is dangerous because there is a regression in the political debate, both in form and in substance because basic consensuses such as Equality, Gender Violence or Social Dialogue and the participation of unions or the employers in social dialogue”. For the general secretary of the socialists, “Vox has parasitized the Spanish right”, which has made it possible for the PP to “either govern with Vox or govern as Vox”, a phenomenon that in his opinion is not only occurring in Spain but that “it is not something foreign to the world” in the face of “the confusion of the right and the appearance of extremism and reactionary movements.” For Sánchez, the PP “is lost because they do not accept the electoral results” and that is why “they demonstrate in the street, but what really happens – he warned – is not that Spain is broken, what is happening is that the right has broken in two”.
Looking to the future, and if he is re-elected president, he promised to revalue the increase in the SMI every year, inject 5,000 million euros into the pension fund, approve a new Parity Law so that “50% of the political power and economic for women” and approve a new Housing law to “turn it into a great national cause” and in this way young people can emancipate themselves “at an earlier age.”
During a moment in his speech, Pedro Sánchez addressed the war between Israel and Hamas which, in his opinion, involves also recognizing Palestine as a State “so that they can coexist in peace and security.” In his opinion, the conflict “will only be resolved when, as the United Nations and also the Cortes General say, the two States, Israel and Palestine, are recognized so that they can coexist in peace and security.” “The conflict will only be resolved when the two States, Israel and Palestine, are recognized,” he assured.
Sánchez had previously expressed that Israel has the “right” to “defend itself” against the Hamas attack, although he has specified that it has to be “within International Humanitarian Law”, which “does not support” the ultimatum to evacuate the civil society to the Gaza Strip given by the Israeli authorities.
Thus, and although he has condemned “strongly and without any hesitation” the “terrorist attack” by Hamas, and has demanded the “urgent” release of the “Israeli hostages and captives” held by the Islamist movement, he has indicated that Spain is a “peace-loving” country.
