The right hand of the right hand

Until recently, a certain Paco Salazar was considered one of Pedro Sánchez's right-hand men. José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán were also among the Prime Minister's closest advisors, so it's clear that Sánchez has a remarkably poor eye for choosing his right-hand men. Salazar shared with these other advisors the fact that he was a lecher. According to the complaints and witnesses against him, he was the typical trigger-happy type who took advantage of his position of power (he was a high-ranking official in data analysis and forecasting at La Moncloa, and one of Pedro Sánchez's main electoral advisors) to sexually harass the women who worked with him. Comments, behaviors, and situations that he—as is always the case—considered jokes, but which were degrading. The events came to light before the summer, and despite complaints from several female colleagues and party members (including former parliamentary spokesperson Adriana Lastra), the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) did nothing for the victims until recently, when a journalistic investigation by Eldiario.es brought the case back into the spotlight. This past weekend, Pedro Sánchez admitted the "mistakes" that have accumulated in this story, the main one being the neglect of the women who suffered Salazar's harassment.

Then another head rolled, Antonio Hernández'sUntil now, he was the director of the Political Coordination Department in the Spanish Prime Minister's office. A long title for a position that placed Hernández as Salazar's right-hand man. There was one right-hand man with a long reach and another who covered up what the first one was doing. All of this while occupying highly specialized positions, well-paid with public funds. They were, therefore, public servants, and it goes without saying that, until the scandal hit them, the public had no knowledge of their existence. Neither of the right-hand men Salazar and Hernández, nor of the positions they held. In addition to the main issue—sexual harassment and the silence and apathy with which the problem has been handled within the PSOE for six months—there is this other question: how many shameful and allegedly criminal right-hand men swarm within the diffuse maelstrom of party and public administration organizational charts, acting with impunity? Did they expect?

The scandals involving sexual harassment and sexist behavior in left-wing parties (not just the PSOE: there have also been cases in Podemos, Sumar, the CUP, and ERC) are far worse than mere contradictions. Just this Monday, a poll was published byThe Country Which, in a hypothetical general election, gives close to 50% in the right-wing and far-right bloc, and slightly more than 40% in the bloc supporting Sánchez's investiture. It seems that these meager prospects have nothing to do with the power wielded by the political elite.