Sánchez confirms the distancing from the Supreme Court: "Time will put things in their place"

MadridLong gone are the days when Pedro Sánchez praised the "independent work of the Supreme Court" and proclaimed that in Spain "no one is judged for their ideas or their political project." This is what he defended in October 2019 in an institutional statement at the Moncloa Palace to assess the verdict in the Catalan independence trial that convicted the pro-independence leaders of sedition. Six years later, when it is the Attorney General appointed by the Socialist leader who has suffered a setback from a court with a very similar composition—four of the five judges who opted to disqualify Álvaro García Ortiz signed the October 1st ruling—the Spanish president's reaction has been quite different. Despite Sánchez's assertion, as he did previously, that he "respects" and "accepts" the Attorney General's conviction, this time the Socialist leader defended his right to disagree with the Supreme Court and predicted that "time will put things right," referring to the possibility of a reversal by the Constitutional Court or European justice. During Wednesday's question time, Sánchez, as he did on Sunday, defended García Ortiz's innocence despite the Supreme Court's ruling and cast suspicion on the high court's handling of the matter, given the revelation of the cone. "This government will always stand for the truth," Sánchez emphasized, contrasting it with the testimony of the journalists who exonerated García Ortiz in court with the "lies" he attributes to Isabel Díaz Ayuso's inner circle. This approach has provoked outrage from the PP and Vox. In the opinion of the PP president, Sánchez does not respect the judges and is issuing "an unprecedented challenge to the Supreme Court." "He is becoming increasingly dangerous for democracy," Alberto Núñez Feijóo emphasized, echoing the views of the Madrid president, who sees a dictatorial drift in the head of the Spanish government and called on Monday for more voices to dare to denounce him.

"I understand that they have to support Ms. Ayuso. Ultimately, the first point of the contract he signed with her is blind obedience," Sánchez retorted to the PP leader. The Spanish president contrasted this dependence on the Madrid president, which he attributes to the PP president, with his own situation. "The left doesn't ask for permission or forgiveness to govern," the PSOE leader emphasized, who shortly after his face-to-face meeting with Feijóo received approval for one of his latest executive decisions. This came the day after the Council of Ministers began the process of appointing Teresa Peramato as new attorney general, The judiciary has given its approval to the Spanish government's choice.

Peramato's suitability

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) unanimously endorsed the suitability of the candidate at its meeting this Wednesday. Sánchez praised her professionalism during his remarks in the question period. "A woman with a long, distinguished, rigorous, independent, and, incidentally, feminist career," he emphasized. Feijóo avoided criticizing her during the exchange with Sánchez, and the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, seized the opportunity to highlight this lack of criticism as proof of Peramato's "impeccable" and "irreproachable" track record. Sources within the People's Party (PP) have not questioned her qualifications and have no objection to the future Attorney General's "technical" qualifications. However, sources in the PP headquarters are focusing on her close relationship with García Ortiz and questioning what she will do if she receives orders from the Prime Minister's office. They argue that there is a risk that the influence of Sánchez could poison the work Peramato does in the future, even though they see nothing controversial in his previous career.

Ábalos's hearing at the Supreme Court

Also looming over Congress was Thursday's Supreme Court hearing to decide whether the court will imprison former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García in connection with the case concerning the purchase of masks during the pandemic.He is one step away from trial.. The Anti-corruption prosecutor's office requests 24 years in prison and a fine of almost 4 million euros for Ábalos and 19 and a half years in prison for Koldo, as well as another seven for the alleged mastermind of the scheme, businessman Víctor de Aldama. According to Feijóo, Sánchez was only physically present in the lower house on Wednesday because "his mind is on the Supreme Court to see what happens tomorrow." It will be a day that will highlight both the "judicial weakness" of the Spanish government and its "parliamentary precariousness" in the vote on the stability plan, the same Popular Party sources emphasize, anticipating two more setbacks for Sánchez.

Furthermore, Ábalos launched an attack against Sánchez on Wednesday. The alleged meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Arnaldo Otegi in 2018 to negotiate the motion of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy continues to generate controversy. Both the Spanish president and the Bildu leader have denied it, and the only person to confirm that it took place was Koldo García, who was also allegedly present, along with Santos Cerdán. Now, former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos maintains that "eyewitnesses" also told him that the interview "existed."