The horrific video that Pedro Sánchez was invited to see in Jerusalem where serious atrocities by Hamas militiamen were seen did not change at all the speech that the Spanish president had prepared to censure Beniamin Netanyahu for the “unbearable” number of Palestinian deaths. It was a rough meeting without diplomatic flourishes. The next day, the confirmation that Spain defends the creation of a Palestinian State and that it was not going to wait for a shared decision with the European partners motivated the response of the Government of Israel and the diplomatic crisis between the two countries that has ended with the call for consultations of the two respective ambassadors.
The episode is a good reflection of the Spanish position, which does not want to use subterfuge at a crucial moment due to the next European elections to be held in May and June. The recent results obtained in Holland with the triumph of the extreme right confirm that this movement is on the rise and that it can contribute to a victory for the conservatives in Brussels. We are not facing a passing fad, as confirmed by the analyzes of our correspondents in Europe who dissect the possibilities of the extreme right in the International section.
In this context, Sánchez sees the time to appear as the containment dam for the ultras in Europe. He is going to argue that the PSOE has stopped the extreme right in Spain, since the PP had no other alternative than to govern with Vox, as it is doing in different communities. What it is about now is offering a clearly left-wing speech and, for that, there is nothing better than stopping the Government of Israel and, after denouncing Hamas terrorism, leading the European position in favor of the creation of the two state.
Sánchez chose to go to Israel as his first visit after his election as president, something unprecedented in Spanish diplomatic history. But he accompanied that gesture with the firmness of a harsh reprimand to Netanyahu that, according to foreign sources, was not consulted with Washington. When the Spanish opposition is still digesting his inauguration, Sánchez already has his head in Europe, to try to avoid the triumph of the right again.
