Sánchez gives "full support" to Zapatero while Feijóo demands he leave now

MadridThe imputation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero before the National Court is an earthquake of still incalculable scope for Spanish politics. News that has shaken the PSOE and given the PP a new reason to attack the Spanish government and ask the Socialists to leave Moncloa. That is why all eyes were on Congress at first, where the first reaction of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, to the issue was expected. And the script has not changed: "All my support for President Zapatero," he said. "If you want to look at corruption, look in the mirror," he even snapped at the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom he accused of having privileged information from the judiciary and using it politically. "Elections are won with votes, not shortcuts. There will be elections in 2027," Sánchez continued, who also defended Zapatero's legacy. "He did not put us in an illegal war, he advanced rights such as same-sex marriage and ended ETA," he summarized.

The Spanish president responded so forcefully to Feijóo, who had asked him what he was still doing sitting in the presidency of the government after the outbreak of a new alleged corruption case around him. The PP leader believes that the Socialists came to Moncloa to "plunder everything," has accused the PSOE of "stealing with both hands," and has reinterpreted José María Aznar's famous slogan: "Whoever can steal, let them steal – he said –. They have applied it so literally that, apparently, even those who were retired have stolen," he added. In his initial turn, Feijóo raised two questions about Zapatero's role, which the Spanish president avoided answering: "How did he exercise that influence in his government? Did he speak with you directly?"

For the PP, the imputation of the former Spanish president is a turning point in the legislature that should involve movements from the partners: Feijóo, already after the control session, at an event in Alcalá de Henares with the newspaper Expansión, has promised to do "everything possible" to unseat Sánchez from Moncloa, but has admitted that he needs the partners to make a move. If he had the votes, he would move forward with a motion of no confidence, but as it stands, he does not have it guaranteed. Therefore, to lose, Feijóo will not present it. Once the questions to the president within the hemicycle were over, Sánchez also continued with his official agenda at the closing of the Espacio 2026 congress.

But how does one breathe in private in the PSOE and in the Spanish government? Disappointment in the party is absolute, as they know that one of their most important assets has been touched, a "moral leader" for progressivism. "Tiredness," defines a deputy, because they consider that there is a campaign to unseat them from the executive, yes or yes. Even so, they maintain confidence in Zapatero and cling to the judge's interlocutory order despite it pointing to several criminal indications. For Moncloa sources, there is no "proof" that the former president did anything directly, and they interpret it as a "very different" case from that of Santos Cerdán, Sánchez's former right-hand man, in which there were indeed specific audios and messages in the police reports. Another argument put on the table by a PSOE deputy, having read the interlocutory order, is that there are no messages from the former president proving his intervention in the Plus Ultra rescue and that for there to be a crime of influence peddling, it must be specified to whom influence has been exerted in the public sector, something that does not exist for now.

In this regard, they also argue that lobbying is an activity regulated by the European Union and that one must wait for the explanations that Zapatero himself may give at the judge's summons on June 2nd. Precisely, Vox, which is a party to the case, has asked the National Court to withdraw the former president's passport due to the risk of flight and destruction of evidence. At the same time, the entity Iustitia Europa has announced a lawsuit against the entire council of ministers for the Plus Ultra rescue. Judicial pressure, as assumed from the socialist ranks, will increase.

Gabriel Rufián: "I have eyes in my face"

Not only the PP has referred to the case, but also parliamentary partners have alluded to it, who are moving between disbelief and suspicion. Unlike Moncloa –which clings to the fact that they are only indications–, for the left-wing groups, Judge Calama's ruling has fallen like a bucket of cold water. It was the leader of ERC, Gabriel Rufián, who interrogated Sánchez about this matter. "What is the plan?", he asked him. "I'm screwed", admitted Rufián, who stated that he has "enormous respect and affection" for the former president. He acknowledged that without him there would have been no pardons for the political prisoners and he balanced between the indications in the ruling and "lawfare": "Nine of ours are out in part because of him, but I have eyes in my face". He argued that the indictment "is much more deserved" by Felipe González, José María Aznar, and Mariano Rajoy, and opined that there is a "judicial hunt" against the Spanish government.

In his opinion, citizens, especially those on the left, need an answer about the 88 pages from Judge José Luis Calama, which point to indications of influence peddling, criminal organization, and money laundering. "The left is something else. [...] It must be clear where lobbying ends and influence peddling begins –he stated–. If this is true, it's shit, and if it's false, it's bigger shit, as we've seen too many times. But it deserves an answer". Sánchez limited himself to saying that his intention is to finish the legislature and try to maintain the government, and he urged him precisely to support the law that is being processed in Congress to regulate lobbyists.

In any case, from the parliamentary majority they have modulated the message after reading the ruling. Although yesterday they came out in droves to defend Zapatero, this Wednesday they were already doing so with a smaller voice after reading the ruling. Ione Belarra, from Podemos, in the corridors of Congress, has considered that "the case does not look good" and has recalled that the former president's future is linked to that of the Spanish government, since without the concurrence of the Council of Ministers there would have been no rescue for Plus Ultra. At the same time, from Sumar, they have also wanted to publicly tone down their statements: they are now talking about regulating the activities of former presidents and recall that charging for political dealings is a "crime," in the words of the spokesperson on the Justice commission, Enrique Santiago.

Junts, for their part, have maintained silence in relation to Zapatero, but the deputy Josep Pagès did ask in the plenary session, in line with previous ones, why he does not call elections now. The thesis of the Junts members is that the Spanish government is not capable of moving anything forward in Congress and that in Moncloa they should ask themselves why they hold power.