Óscar Puente (PSOE): "A government is being tried to be overthrown with methods that are not at all democratic"

MadridIn the Congress of Deputies, there is a background murmur that does not die down. It is made up of the voices of both the PP and the parliamentary allies of Pedro Sánchez, who are asking him to advance elections. However, for the moment, the socialists have decided to ignore this rumbling and are doubling down on their commitment to resist until the end of the legislature, directly pointing to the existence of a political operation against them – albeit without using the word lawfare–. This is the argument put forward in the corridors of the lower house by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, one of the PSOE leaders who usually raises his voice the most, especially on social media. In his opinion, it is "undeniable" that what is happening is part of an attempt to "overthrow a government by methods that are not democratic at all".

In this regard, Puente has insinuated that an attempt has been made to cover up the declaration in the National High Court of the main defendants in the Kitchen case, which affects the PP, with the start of the trial of Sánchez's brother in Badajoz. "It seems that the times of justice and politics are measured in a tremendously surprising way," he stated. Sources from the socialist leadership have been privately fueling the idea of a possible conspiracy by the political and judicial right against them for days and maintain that there is too much "synchronization" between the actions of the justice system and the PP's strategy. From the popular ranks, on the other hand, they deny having any privileged information or being pulling strings, and they see a desperate and agonizing PSOE.

: if the Spanish president knew anything, since according to the magistrate the plot was set up during Sánchez's five days of reflection in 2024.

The PNB raises its tone From the socialist leadership, the ground is already being prepared to create a firebreak, distancing Sánchez from any instruction that could be given within the hypothetical "criminal structure" to "obstruct" judicial proceedings to which the judge points. Although in Pedraz's ruling a question hovers: whether the Spanish president knew anything, since according to the magistrate the plot was set up during Sánchez's five days of reflection in 2024.

The PNB raises its tone

Although some parties in the plurinational majority also denounce that "there is media, judicial and police coup-mongering," in the words of Gabriel Rufián also this Thursday in Congress, they reject that the PSOE uses this as an excuse. "There is a lot of desire [to bring down the government], but if you make excuses, then what happens, happens. You have to keep your house clean," the ERC spokesperson reiterated in the lower house, demanding "detailed explanations" from the Spanish Prime Minister after yesterday the National High Court judge Santiago Pedraz pointed to the alleged existence of alleged PSOE sewer systems and charged Santos Cerdán, Sánchez's former right-hand man, in preventive detention for another case of alleged corruption.

One more day, the PNB has called on Sánchez not to exhaust an "absolutely blocked legislature." In a press conference, its president, Aitor Esteban, argued that "the general interest demands an electoral call this year," and contradicted Sánchez by accusing him of holding on until the end for "a particular partisan interest." "This leads nowhere," he reiterated, although he avoided considering the scenario of supporting a motion of no confidence from the PP and focused on an early election called by the head of the executive. The Basque nationalists, like PSOE critics such as the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, are not interested in next year's municipal elections coinciding with the general elections.

Meanwhile, the PP takes the opportunity to add pressure to the PSOE's investiture allies to agree to overthrow it if it continues to resist an "immediate electoral call." "The moment demands something more than abstaining from the problem. Sánchez's partners must decide," stated Alberto Núñez Feijóo at a PP event in Leganés. The popular leader criticized "the absurd attempt [by the Spanish government] to resist at all costs," as did the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who in her case called for either elections or a vote of confidence.