The Government is going through its most serious crisis as a result of the reform of the only yes is yes law, with a tense clash between the PSOE and Podemos regarding the increase in sentences, decided by La Moncloa, forced by the cascade of reductions in sentences to sexual offenders. A frozen conflict in which Pedro Sánchez made the determination to resolve the issue, convey the message that the Executive was acting, after two months of failed negotiations between Justice and Equality. The President of the Government makes ugly the pressures and the attitude of his partner because, he argues, the only known proposal that is on the table is that of the PSOE. He considers that it would be interesting if all the proposals were made public.
Sánchez, who is starring this week in a mini-European tour of Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, as the first stone to build the Spanish presidency of the EU from June, is convinced that the reform to increase the penalties in the law of only yes is yes will go ahead, without closing doors to the support of the PP. In an informal conversation with the journalists who are accompanying him on this trip, the Chief Executive has claimed that “the important thing” is to resolve this issue. For Sánchez that is the priority, to carry out a “technical” reform, as he describes it, “surgical”, because, he understands, it is not a political question, but a “technical and legal” question.
This approach clashes with what has been expressed in recent days by the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, who has repeatedly stated that we are not facing a “technical discrepancy”, but rather a “deep political discrepancy” because, from her Ministry and From Podemos, the PSOE’s approach is to “return to the code of La Manada'” and ally with the claims of the PP.
These criticisms from his partner bother both the PSOE and La Moncloa. They believe in the presidential complex that the key to their decision is not to forget the victims, who are the ones who are “suffering.” For this reason, they do not like attitudes such as that their partner has leaked his proposal to lower the price of the shopping basket, but no document has been publicly known about his proposals to reform the only yes is yes. Sánchez frames the Podemos strategy in the fact that they are already immersed in a pre-electoral period and that now the parties are looking for “visibility”. There is anger that Podemos wants to take advantage of this crisis to question the feminist DNA of the socialists.
It is evident that, if as Equality moves, they have made and sent up to six proposals to the PSOE, they know and handle the documents. But it is a step further, the challenge for La Moncloa is for Podemos or Igualdad to make public those reforms that they propose, in the certainty that it will be verified that the Justice proposal is the one that must be undertaken.
In the course of the conversation with the journalists, Sánchez reiterated that there is only one known proposal on the table that, he insists, does not affect the essence of the norm, consent and that, to this day, they do not anticipate that there will be an extraordinary plenary session to approve the reform. He is not bothered that the vote could take place in the run-up to 8-M, because he considers that time must be allowed for the parliamentary process. He does not rule out that there is an agreement, but the way would be for Podemos to assume the socialist proposal because, he defends, the PSOE has already established its position.
This clash over the law of only yes is yes has led the two parties that support the Government to start a struggle to monopolize parliamentary support with the purpose of isolating and seeking the solitude of the other. In this sense, Sánchez diagnoses that not all the partners are with the position of Equality, which is about ERC and Bildu, because other formations such as the PNV and PDeCAT have anticipated their predisposition to support the reform.
On the possibility that the reform of the law of only if it is yes came out thanks to the support of the PP, the President of the Government maintains the discourse of the Socialists that the important thing is that the initiative goes ahead and is approved. That is to say, it does not close that door, a thesis in which the Socialists have been influencing days.
The challenge launched by Sánchez has been taken up by the Minister of Equality herself, Irene Montero who, after the approval of the trans law in Congress, has kept her back held high: “The proposal that I want to make public is the proposal of agreement, the proposed agreement of the Government and the feminist majority in Congress wants us to reach an agreement and do so before the socialist proposal is debated in plenary session, which unfortunately reverts to the previous criminal scheme. setback of women’s rights by the hand of the PP and Vox”.
Another of the issues that Sánchez has pending is tackling a government crisis, forced by the departure of the ministers Carolina Darias and Reyes Maroto as candidates for the mayoralty of Las Palmas and Madrid, respectively.
This forced remodeling has unleashed nerves within the Executive, since it is the sole prerogative of the president to undertake the changes and decide their depth. It is true that the coalition government pact made it clear that the PSOE decided in its ministries and Unidas Podemos in theirs, so if Sánchez did not hit the table, any crisis would be limited to his sector.
The head of the Executive has decided, as he has transferred to journalists, to undertake the remodeling in March, despite the buzz in recent days that it could be brought forward to February. He justifies it in that, for example, Maroto still has pending projects to carry out such as the national industry pact or related to European funds. It is also intended that these measures serve as an endorsement for the minister.
Sánchez explains that he has not decided on the names, but he has worked on the profiles and that he will focus on the ministries of Health and Industry. That the scope of the government crisis will be “specific.” Therefore, as of today, there will be no major restructuring nor has La Moncloa contemplated a rupture of the coalition.
As this newspaper has been reporting, in the PSOE it was already contemplated that Sánchez would carry out a surgical government crisis in the coming weeks and that after the municipal and regional elections in May, depending on their results and how the relationship with Podemos, carry out a deeper remodeling to try to gain political momentum and transfer an image to the interior and exterior on the occasion of the Spanish presidency of the EU.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
