Feijóo demands Sánchez's resignation over sentence against Ábalos: "It is a condemnation of the government"

Madrid"What else must happen for Pedro Sánchez to resign immediately?". This is what Alberto Núñez Feijóo asked at a press conference called to assess what he described as a "serious" Supreme Court ruling against José Luis Ábalos. The PP leader argued that the only way out is for the Spanish president to call an "immediate" election in the face of what the Popular Party considers "a condemnation of Sánchez's government" because the former Minister of Transport played a preponderant role both in the first executives of the socialist leader and in the PSOE as organization secretary and in Sánchez's rise. According to Feijóo, it is "indecent" that he "continues one more minute" in La Moncloa. However, Feijóo maintains his decision not to present a motion of no confidence because he assumes it would fail. A scenario that could strengthen Sánchez at his worst moment, and therefore the popular president believes it would be an "error" on his part to register it when no party in the plurinational majority is currently willing to vote in favor. At the same time, the leader of the opposition has increased pressure on the allies of the Spanish president's investiture to reconsider their position. "What else do they need to withdraw their support and force him to call an election?", he asked.

The diagnosis made by Génova is not shared by Vox, which maintains that the PP should indeed take the step. "The prerogative of the opposition is to present a motion of no confidence. What else must happen?", said the spokesperson for the far-right, José Antonio Fúster, at another press conference. However, Santiago Abascal's party has also focused its message on demanding Sánchez's resignation, rather than pressuring the Popular Party to act. Fúster has described the PSOE as a "cesspool of corruption" and the Spanish government as a "criminal mafia" and warned that "the worst is yet to come" because, he said, "Sánchez is willing to do anything to stay in power". "The closer Sánchez's end is, the more dangerous they become", he said. The PP also sees the Spanish president as willing to resist at all costs and recalls that Ábalos's is just one of dozens of judicial cases that are pursuing him. "What is he waiting for? For there to be three, five or ten sentences? For one to be dismissed so he can use it as an alibi?", insisted Feijóo, who, despite not having any movement with real effects in Congress planned, predicted that "less time is left" for change.

In Moncloa they maintain the same script followed until now, which is to distance themselves from what they circumscribe as individual and not systemic behavior. Government sources emphasize the commitment of Sánchez's executive to "transparency, merit, and integrity as guiding principles of public service" and condemn "unreservedly" that individuals linked to the Spanish government have "clearly attacked these principles." Regarding Sumar, it has demanded that Sánchez "clean up and put order" in the PSOE so that it "stops being a burden" for the progressive government. For now, the minority partner in the coalition maintains that the legislature must be exhausted. The socialists, in a statement, have not engaged in self-criticism but have defended that the party "acted from the first minute" and have accused Feijóo of "hypocrisy." The PSOE replies that the popular leader cannot give them "lessons" by citing the Kitchen or Gürtel cases, as well as the investigation into the partner of the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

None of the investiture allies have so far opened the door to letting Sánchez fall after the sentence, and positions remain unchanged despite the judicial shake-up, although the PSOE has received some warnings. In this regard, ERC spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, has reiterated on X that the PSOE must give substance to the remainder of the legislature. "Governing is legislating, not resisting," he has warned. For their part, at a press conference, the national spokesperson for the Republicans, Elisenda Alamany, has urged the socialists to "clear the air" and said that "this is not resolved by simply blaming the referee." In a message on X, Junts deputy in Congress Josep Maria Cruset has criticized the "irresponsibility" of the socialists, whom he has accused of being responsible for the rise of the far-right. The PSC has limited itself to expressing "respect" for the judicial decisions.