I would like to explain why I decided to get deeply involved in the 23-J elections, when the polls that appeared in the press were not favorable to the socialists and the right made statements in which it was clearly perceived that they already saw themselves occupying power. I would almost say that they were enjoying it at the wrong time. Pedro Sánchez refers to this involvement of mine in his book Tierra Firma, when he thanks me for going down to the mine, and explains how we coordinated for the campaign. My reflection begins after the electoral results of the municipal and regional elections, which did not go well for us, and with the debate that had occurred around EH Bildu, ETA and the reference to “sanchismo”. The right tried to create a story that was an absolute injustice for the Socialist Party and for Spanish democracy, especially with the reference to ETA. One day I heard Feijóo question Sánchez in the Senate saying: “You treat the executioners better than the victims of terrorism.” For me, that evoked Rajoy’s phrase in which he proclaimed from the tribune of Parliament, addressing me: “You have betrayed the dead of terrorism.” I think it is the worst phrase that has ever been said to me in my entire political career. When I heard Feijóo’s words, I jumped like a spring. I had spent the entire previous campaign holding back, while the PP continued to crush ETA, twelve years after the end of the armed struggle. I only then made a statement from Valencia that Ferraz asked me for, responding to Aznar.
I remember I was at home when I saw Feijóo. He had spent the entire municipal and regional campaign uncomfortable. He did not think that the PP’s story was going to have the effect it had. So the same day that Sánchez announced the dissolution of the Cortes, I called my secretary Gertrudis and told her: “Clear your agenda, I’m going to dedicate myself to the campaign.” I spoke with Santos Cerdán, the organization secretary, and expressed my willingness to actively participate. I also let the president know. It was my return to the trench.
The interview I did at COPE with Carlos Herrera was the starting signal. I thought very carefully about what he was going to say, what ideas he was going to launch and what message I wanted from my words. The PSOE was affected by the PP’s speech, which Vox emphasized with a bang. The right in this country has a very great capacity to convey criticism, to intimidate. The speech against Bildu had destabilized many militants. So at COPE I clearly stated that “under my Government ETA ended, it surrendered and surrendered.” And I stressed that it was going to be recorded like this in history. It had not happened with Aznar’s government, although he tried, but with ours.
Later, a COPE director told me that never before had so many media outlets asked them for interviews to make their cuts in order to broadcast them on radio and television. The next day, there was a flurry of views on YouTube. And interviews are like rallies: you don’t need to wait long to know if the message has reached the people or not. You are aware of whether it has gone well, but in half an hour you have the right measure of its impact. When I left COPE, I looked at my phone in the car and it was full of messages, all very favorable. President Sánchez himself sent me a WhatsApp congratulating me. Then he would send me a couple more: one after the interview with : It had three million impacts on Twitter and more than one million on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Another message came to me after my intervention in Al Rojo Vivo, with Antonio García Ferreras, with whom I have a very good relationship, but which was very tense because he showed me a video by Feijóo about the insinuations about manipulations in voting by mail, where He asked the postmen to ignore their bosses and distribute the votes on time. But it was not the original video, but a later rectification that Ferreras went through, so I insisted that we see the first one, which caused discomfort. Upon my reiteration, the editorial team looked for it and finally aired it on the air.
As the campaign progressed, I realized that, together, we were turning the situation around. The truth is that we lived a unique experience. Pedro Sánchez had surprised us all when he announced that he was dissolving Parliament to call elections. Pepe Blanco called me at eight in the morning to tell me. And I responded: “I think it is a great success, it is a decision that demonstrates great political intelligence.” I said it like that because all political decisions that are daring, risky, have great value. They turn out to be something intangible: audacity, if it is well formulated, if it is not a thoughtless impulse, is perceived positively by citizens. Surely, it is the best strictly political decision that Sánchez has made.
The president has shown that he knows how to play his cards better than Feijóo. And he is clear that after overcoming ETA’s violence, the State has unfinished business in Catalonia. It seems to me that he has done the right thing in addressing this issue. I am one of those who is convinced that risk in politics, for things that are worthwhile, usually has a reward. The courage shown by Sánchez in proposing the amnesty and recognizing the different aspects of Catalan identity will have it. I can’t help but think that this happened with our efforts to put an end to ETA’s terrorist activity, in which we persevered, taking political risks, despite the difficulties and setbacks we encountered along the way. In politics, important decisions must be made with courage. In my opinion, citizens elect you so that you do what is not within their power, so that you take the risk in the face of big problems.
Social democracy is not going through its best moment. Therefore, the fact that a European social democratic leader, at the head of a large country, has been able to remain in power is of great importance. The PSOE has proven to be a rocky party. And Sánchez is a rocky politician, who I have never seen become distressed by criticism. This is a very important quality in a leader. I thought I owned her, but he is even more resistant. I have never met a politician with his determination: when he has decided something, he goes to the end without his pulse shaking. But he can also be sensitive and grateful. He called me the day after the elections, Monday morning, and he asked me: “Come to Moncloa, around four-thirty, and we’ll talk while we have coffee.” He welcomed me with a big hug, telling me: “Hey, I can never thank you enough for what you have done. Thank you”.
