As he “thought,” leaving the country in suspense, thousands took to the streets to show their support. He finally announced his decision after a meeting full of omens with the King of Spain, Felipe VI.
The climax was ultimately disappointing: he said he would stay.
In a national speech, the 52-year-old, a member of the center-left Socialist Party, took the opportunity to reflect on a political reality that is now the norm far beyond Spain. Americans in particular can relate to it: the bitter polarization between right and left that has led to a total breakdown of civility; the decadence of the discourse to the point that it has become what he calls a “perversion of democracy”. He asked: “Is this what we want for Spain?
“My wife and I know this won’t stop,” he said, adding that they were grateful for the support in recent days that he said helped him make a decision. “I decided to stay, to continue with greater strength even at the head of the Spanish government.”
Sánchez called for collective reflection: “We must decide what type of society we want to be. » He added: “I call on Spanish society to become an example, a source of inspiration for a convulsed and wounded world, because the evil we face is far from being exclusive to Spain. It is part of a global reactionary movement that aims to impose its regressive agenda through lies and defamation, hatred and fear. »
Sánchez is known for his risky political maneuvers. But recent days have reflected what analysts see as a new high in Spain’s political theater, even for him. It may have been a tactic to bring his disparate alliance of disparate parties into line in Parliament at a time when his increasingly weak government is unable to muster the votes needed to pass a budget. This alliance, which includes unruly Catalan separatists, is largely based on a common goal: the desire to prevent the rise of a conservative government that could also contain the far-right Vox party, a political force that is anathema for everyone.
Sánchez may have sent the smaller parties he currently relies on to govern a reminder that he is the only person standing between them and such a government. But in doing so, he may also have undermined his own credibility with the nation.
“He has created serious uncertainty in the country without leading to a significant change, either in his political principles or in his parliamentary support,” said Pablo Simón, a political scientist and professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid. “It’s very counterproductive and quite irresponsible of him.”
The drama that led to the announcement was sparked on Wednesday after it was announced that a Madrid investigating judge had opened a trial against Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, for alleged corruption and influence peddling. . The investigation was triggered by Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), an organization linked to the far right which filed a complaint based on information published largely in the conservative press.
These reports claimed that Gómez took advantage of her position as the prime minister’s wife to secure a bailout from Spanish airline Air Europa. However, business rescue plans during the pandemic have been comparable to those in Spain. Spanish media reported that neither Gómez nor the public prosecutor’s office had been informed of the investigation and that only the media’s editors-in-chief had been called to testify.
Later that day, in an unprecedented move, Sánchez published “a letter to citizens” on social media, calling the matter a “harassment” operation “to try to bring me down both politically and personally, by attacking my wife.” Sánchez accused the leaders of the two opposition parties, the center-right Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox, of being involved.
“We often forget that behind policies, there are people,” he writes. “I am not ashamed to say it, I am a man deeply in love with my wife who feels helpless in the face of the dirt thrown at her, day after day.”
In addition to the charges against his wife, Sánchez’s government also faces an investigation into an alleged scheme by an aide to the former transport minister to collect illegal commissions on medical contracts during the pandemic.
In an interview following Sánchez’s letter, center-right opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo accused the prime minister of a level of “narcissism” and “infantilism” unthinkable “for a mature person.” He accused him of being unfit for government. Later in the week, the general secretary of the PP, whose party came first in last year’s controversial elections but failed to secure a governing majority, suggested the right was ready and willing to govern .
Sánchez, an economist by training, has led the Socialist Party since 2014 and was the first Spanish politician to expel a sitting prime minister through a vote of no confidence in 2018. He has become one of the continent’s leading liberals. His threat to leave comes at a time when Europe’s left has suffered defeats in Portugal and the Netherlands and the far right and center-right are poised for major victories in June’s European parliamentary elections. .
During his two terms, he focused on gender equality, raising the minimum wage through law, strengthening workers’ rights, and protecting LGBTQ and women’s rights. Some of these efforts – particularly a transgender law that allows people as young as 16 to legally change the sex on their national ID card without medical supervision – have sparked a backlash, including within its own party.
Sanchez is known for his risk-taking, including his decision to call early elections last year, in which his Socialists came in second but nonetheless managed to form a weak government with tactical support from smaller parties. To govern, he backed a law that would grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan separatists and politicians for alleged crimes largely linked to illegal voting and Catalonia’s declaration of independence in 2017, triggering violent protests from Spanish nationalists.
washingtonpost
