Sánchez must go beyond the "and you too"

BarcelonaThe Congress of Deputies once again experienced one of those disastrous days this Wednesday that cause citizens to distance themselves from politics. The exchange of recriminations between the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has brought no new developments and has only served to further tarnish the political climate, something that, as some spokespersons have rightly warned, primarily benefits the far-right. In a normal democracy, a verdict like the one in the Ábalos case, in a judicial process that has been suspiciously swift and with sentences that some jurists deem disproportionate, would be enough to bring down a government. But it is true that Spain has peculiarities that explain both Pedro Sánchez's resistance to throwing in the towel and why no partner is currently considering supporting a motion of no confidence alongside the PP and Vox.

The first is that neither the PP nor Vox can present themselves to the public as champions of the fight against corruption; quite the opposite. Let's remember that these days the Kitchen case is being tried, concerning the use of the so-called patriotic police to destroy evidence in the Bárcenas case. A structure that, incidentally, was also used to persecute political adversaries. There are ongoing investigations affecting the partner of the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, for tax fraud and the collection of illegal commissions, and former minister Cristóbal Montoro, who allegedly set up a consultancy to offer tailor-made legal changes. And Vox has expelled several leaders who precisely denounced corrupt practices within the party.

The second is that at least some of the judicial cases that target the PSOE have a certain whiff of lawfare, such as the one affecting the president's wife or his brother. Not to mention the conviction of the State Attorney General. Let's recall that the legislature began with an unprecedented image: judges demonstrating in their robes against the amnesty law, in a clear violation of the separation of powers.

And thirdly because the alternative to the Sánchez government in all cases involves the participation of the far-right Vox party, as Núñez Feijóo himself has already admitted and as we see in different regional governments. Therefore, it is logical that there is concern among democrats about a more than possible incorporation of people with this ideology into sensitive positions in the State government, especially when these sectors already have a strong presence in areas such as the judiciary, senior civil service, and security forces.

However, faced with this scenario, Sánchez cannot limit himself to just "whataboutism." If he wants to have any chance of keeping his position, he must promote fundamental reforms against corruption to be credible and to fulfill commitments with his partners, particularly the approval of the new regional financing and the transfer of immigration powers to Catalonia. Deploying an ambitious legislative agenda, which also includes a budget project, is the only way to prevent the end of the legislature from becoming a Calvary.