The PP photo with the mafia boss
BarcelonaThe PP will have a narrative problem next weekend. On Sunday, it will demonstrate in Madrid under the slogan "Mafia or democracy," but on Friday, its main leaders will meet in Barcelona with the hood of that supposed mafia, Pedro Sánchez. It is true that they have managed to impose their points on the agenda, but this was not the objective of the maneuver: what the men The Popular Party (PP) was an excuse to snub Sánchez and avoid having to take a photo with him. However, the snub also had a drawback: it also meant snubging the King of Spain.
This episode demonstrates the difficulty the PP has in combining its institutional side with its opposition style. If the PP really believed what it says (that the PSOE is a criminal mafia and Pedro Sánchez a dangerous autocrat), it should automatically break all relations with the Socialists, file the corresponding complaints, and present a motion of censure. The problem is that this cannot be done without seriously damaging the Spanish institutional framework, in which power is highly distributed.
In this context, Sánchez skillfully uses institutions to shield and protect himself. Because the reality is that while the PP vociferates every day against its executive, the ministries work closely with the regional governments and the Popular Party (PP) city councils. Every day there are meetings, calls, and exchanges of papers between the Spanish government and institutions governed by the People's Party (PP). Every day. Because it can't be any other way. But, therefore, what's happening every day is that the PP is collaborating with the mafia.
Vox, in fact, left the regional governments because it didn't have to pay that toll. And now it's in a position to denounce the PP's double talk: on the one hand, they're calling for demonstrations against the mafia, and on the other, they're meeting with the hoodThis purism and anti-institutionalism of Vox is what gives it a very clear competitive advantage over the PP when it comes to capturing the most visceral anti-Sanchista vote, which explains why it's growing in the polls.
Feijóo's difficult balance
On the contrary, the balance Feijóo seeks between portraying Sánchez as a monster while simultaneously maintaining institutional normality is very difficult and ends up exposing it. In fact, the balance he seeks also responds to the division that exists within the PP over how to approach the opposition's work. Isabel Díaz Ayuso will surely try to avoid any photographs with Pedro Sánchez on Friday and would gladly break off relations (if this were possible without harming the people of Madrid), but this would not be the case for others. men moderates like the Andalusian Juanma Moreno Bonilla (we remember his Doñana pact with Teresa Ribera) or the Galician Alfonso Rueda.
The conclusion is that Sánchez will have the snapshot of normality he would like on Friday and that the main beneficiary of all the comings and goings of the PP will be Vox, which will at least be able to boast that they would never meet with the mafia.
