There was no K.O., but the first round of the ideological combat that Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo waged in the Senate ring, on September 6, resulted in an “incontestable” victory on points for the President of the Government against the candidate for the title, according to the Moncloa boxing analysis. A triumph that they assure that the demographic studies registered immediately. “The more people know about Feijóo, the more intention to vote he loses”, they celebrate.
Given the results, which appear favorable for his interests, Sánchez summoned Feijóo again this afternoon to the ring of the Upper House to play a second round. And as the head of the Executive can turn his words into deeds, through the BOE, Sánchez will jump to the canvas after the Council of Ministers approves a new package of social protection measures in the morning, worth 3,000 million euros and that will benefit, according to their data, 40% of households. The Senate regulations also allow him to intervene without a time limit, while Feijóo and the representatives of the rest of the parliamentary groups will have to stick to the clock.
In Moncloa two main objectives are set. In the first place, “we once again address the country as a whole to explain what is happening and our plan to protect the middle and working classes while this situation lasts.” Secondly, “contrast the Government’s measures with the absence of a PP project.” All this, within the framework of the progressive and social democratic recipes that Sánchez defends to protect a social majority, against the “neoliberalism” that he attributes to Feijóo and that would translate into cuts to the welfare state.
“The President of the Government shows his face in moments of uncertainty to convey security”, they highlight in Moncloa. And they highlight that Sánchez appears today in the Senate, at his own request, just five days after he did so in Congress, to explain the situation and use his measures to alleviate the energy and inflation crisis. “The government has a plan against inflation and it is working. The same government that had a plan against the pandemic and it also worked”, they warn.
Today’s debate will pivot on fiscal policy, with a Sánchez who defends that those who have the most “put their shoulders to the wheel”, before a Feijóo who sees the interests of the economic powers and a minority with more resources as bending. “We are delighted to debate, compare and contrast”, they challenge in Moncloa.
The only issue that is expected to be left out of the dispute is the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, while the Executive and the PP negotiate its unblocking under the radar.
The PP spokesman in the Senate, Javier Maroto, wondered yesterday instead what proposal Sánchez will “copy” Feijóo in his new face-to-face, “beyond whether he will insult a lot or a little.” In his last clash, the President of the Government accused the head of the opposition of “insolvency and bad faith.” The PP leader, on the other hand, will present himself as the only “alternative to a bad government”, while he trusts that a wave of political change will transport him to Moncloa.
