Pedro Sánchez’s announcement, in which he left the continuity in office up in the air, caused yesterday an avalanche of shows of support for the president of the Spanish Government, and not only from his party. Sánchez also received messages of understanding from leaders of ERC and Podem, and right after the reaction of Ione Belarra’s formation came that of the second vice-president and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. On the other hand, the PP and Vox dedicated new accusations of victimhood and electoralism to the president.
From the PP, Senator Javier Maroto advanced after a few minutes of Sánchez’s announcement the impression of his party, and defined the decision as “Sánchez’s umpteenth pirouette” in the pre-campaign and accused him of “victimizing “. An opinion that was later insisted on by the general secretary of the party, Cuca Gamarra, and the president of the PP himself, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
In a video broadcast by the PP, Gamarra accused Sánchez of betting “for victimization and pity” instead of giving explanations. “Instead of disappearing for five days”, he should “appear urgently to give a reasoned explanation of the scandals surrounding his party, his Government and his partner”, pointed out the popular leader, something in which he deepened an interview with Onda Cero. The leader of the PP accused Sánchez of trying to shift responsibility to the parties, “saying it’s a political problem, when it’s a judicial one”, and of “muddling” and “polarizing political life even more” for electoral interests. And he emphasized: “My wife would not do it. I would not contract with the public administration. I wouldn’t allow it. Many presidents’ wives have stopped working to avoid having any doubts about the matter”. Vox used similar terms. The ultra party reduced the president’s letter to “a new victimization and interpretation”, and accused him of committing “the greatest political corruption: buying his investiture by amnestying criminals”. The ultra-right consider that Sánchez “is trying to victimize himself to cover up the mud of corruption that floods his mandate, from Delcy’s suitcases to Mrs. Gómez’s mediations”, so they insist on linking his wife with a alleged case of corruption.
The leader of the Executive also received the understanding and empathy of other parties, such as ERC and Podemos. The general secretary of the republican party, Marta Rovira, assured on social networks that she “empathizes with the pain”, then recalled that the situation the president is experiencing is the one that the pro-independence parties have suffered due to the process. “There is only one way to fight against the extreme right: stand up and don’t stop”, concluded the leader. The ERC spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, extended Rovira’s comparison to cases such as the harassment suffered by ex-minister Irene Montero and former vice-president of the Valencian Government Mónica Oltra, but Rufián encouraged the president: ” Today you just have to stand by and hold on. Broken rather than bent”.
From Podemos, the general secretary, Ione Belarra, and other members of the party, such as Irene Montero, conveyed solidarity and empathy to the president for the lawfare affecting his wife, which they compare to what members of their ranks suffered.
Sánchez received an avalanche of signs of support for socialism with a common message: “Not everything is worth it”. From the central government, he was supported by the third vice-president, Teresa Ribera; the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, and the Minister of Science, Diana Morant. The president of Congress, Francina Armengol, also expressed her solidarity with the president.
Leaders of the PSOE expressed themselves in the same terms, such as the secretary of organization, Santos Cerdán; the spokesperson in Congress, Patxi López, and the president of the party, Cristina Narbona. But the show of support from the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, who said he empathized with Sánchez’s “sentiments” and warned that “not everything is worth it” in politics, was particularly significant.
Also significant was the show of support from the leader of the PSdeG, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, who was removed from politics for seven years due to accusations of corruption that ultimately came to nothing. “I know perfectly well what you are going through,” he lamented in a video.
From the PSC, they expressed encouragement and respect for Sánchez’s decision, although it represents an upheaval for the campaign plans of Salvador Illa’s candidacy, which had five visits from the president in the two weeks of the campaign. In any case, the PSC clarified yesterday that it maintains all campaign events.
“All the socialists are on your side”, Illa pointed out, and the mayor of Barcelona, ??Jaume Collboni, regretted that “intolerable red lines” had been crossed with an “exceptional president” and his family.
The president’s letter also provoked the last-minute reaction of Junts’ candidate, Carles Puigdemont, who expressed confidence in the decision and encouraged him to “present a matter of confidence” that would clarify all doubts. “Whoever wants to turn the Catalan elections into a float for the PSOE is very mistaken,” he warned.
