“I decided to continue, with even greater strength, if possible.” This is what Pedro Sanchez announced this Monday during a simple statement on the steps of the presidential palace. He remains in power After threatening to resign under pressure from the constant harassment suffered by his family.
“We are going to show the world how democracy is defended. Let’s put an end to this mud in the only way possible, with collective and serene rejection beyond political colors,” launched the Spanish Prime Minister, without announcing concrete measures for this “democratic regeneration”.
These declarations took place at the end of five days of suspense, when the socialist leader said he needed to take a step back and open a period of reflection to know “if it (was) worth continuing”.
Since last Wednesday, he had withdrawn to the apartments of the official residence of the Palacio de la Moncloa to reflect with his wife Begoña Gomez, and had maintained only minimal contact with his close team, without reporting his reflections .
Tactical maneuver
“Pedro Sanchez reminds us that politics is a noble public service activity which has its limits,” commented Catalan socialist Salvador Illa, who showed his relief. Some allies of the Prime Minister criticize him for “the melodrama” and the “frivolity” of an “unusual movement which was not necessary”. His detractors criticize “one more tactic to stay in power”.
No stranger to political effects, Pedro Sanchez has once again taken Spain by surprise. The country, stunned by this threat of unexpected resignation, had been waiting for the decision for five days. Socialist activists, parliamentary allies, unions and the world of culture took turns all weekend to demonstrate their support and concern, between cries of “No pasaran”, in reference to the republican defense of Madrid besieged by the Francoist armies, during the civil war (1936-1939). With the idea of defending democracy and preventing a succession of disinformation campaigns from being able to bring down a government.
“Peronist drift”
These deployments have sparked skepticism and irony from right-wing leaders. They denounce the emotional blackmail of Pedro Sanchez to remobilize his electorate, and warn of a “Peronist drift”.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, representative of the left wing of the executive, refutes this idea: “The majority of government is not built on support for a person, but around a program of progress and social measures that we want to develop,” he insists.
It is made of stainless steel.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Ex-Socialist Prime Minister
For the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the socialist leader “sought polarization and victimization”. He accuses him of “immature narcissism”. “Sanchez’s show is not worthy of a European leader,” he says, denouncing “the authoritarian tics of the government.”
Poorly crafted complaint
This threat of resignation from Pedro Sanchez took place in the wake of the announcement, last Wednesday morning, of a complaint filed by a far-right association Manos Limpias, accusing Pedro Sanchez’s wife of influence peddling in within the framework of his professional activities.
This poorly constructed complaint, based on simple titles of website publications, seemed a priori innocuous. It comes from a small, obscure group which presents itself as a “syndicate” accustomed to launching all-out procedures which have rarely been successful, and which has also been prosecuted for extortion, even though it allegedly demanded money from people in exchange. withdrawal of his complaints.
For Pedro Sanchez, it was the straw too many which endangered his relationship, after months of personal attacks. “We often forget that behind politicians there are people. And I, I am not ashamed to say it, I am a man deeply in love with my wife, who suffers (this) mud poured on her,” he explained in his open letter.
“He is made of stainless steel,” said former socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who himself had suffered intense slander campaigns during the negotiations of the process of ending ETA.
Internal putsch
After surviving an internal PSOE putsch in 2016 and resisting pressure from Felipe Gonzalez, he was able to both regain control of the party in 2017 thanks to activists and regain control of the left in the face of the rise of Podemos.
In 2018, he came to power by surprise winning a motion of censure against a Popular Party discredited by a series of corruption scandals. Since then he had managed to maintain his majority thanks to perilous alliances with small nationalist and independence parties of all stripes. Willing to do anything to stay in power, but not necessarily to make those around him suffer.
