Sánchez maintains that "there is a legislature" even though the rapprochement with Junts has not yet borne fruit: "Patience"

MadridFour days after Pedro Sánchez proclaimed his willingness to reach out to Junts again, no contact has yet been made to "restart" the relationship. However, the Spanish Prime Minister remains hopeful and is adopting a "patience" approach. In an informal conversation with journalists after the Constitution Day ceremony at the Congress, Sánchez asserted that "there is a legislature" until 2027 and guaranteed that he will present a budget for next year. Amid a right-wing offensive against him, cornered by internal scandals—such as the sexual harassment case involving former PSOE leader Paco Salazar, which has haunted him throughout the day—and without a guaranteed parliamentary majority, the Socialist leader emphasized his resilience in what he described as a "complicated legislature." "We have won all the important battles," he concluded.

Even within the ranks of the People's Party, despite having pontificated during the commemoration about the decline of a Spanish government they consider finished, it is generally accepted that they have no chance of bringing down Sánchez imminently. Just a few meters from the Spanish president, in the same lower house chamber, Alberto Núñez Feijóo again ruled out a motion of no confidence, which for now would only make them "look ridiculous." The PP leader explained that his party also has no contact with Junts. Although the leader of the opposition believes that Sánchez is using Carles Puigdemont's party "as one Kleenex"And he's playing with everything, even the timing of the amnesty," he said, while also seeing a Spanish president willing to do anything to resist. "Spain is on sale," he lamented.

Thus, the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Constitution has been marked by polarization and political battles between the two main parties vying for the presidency. Sumar, which is trying to distance itself from the PSOE by raising its voice on issues like housing, also assumes it has at least another year until the next Spanish elections.

"Spain is experiencing one of its best moments in democratic history," Sánchez emphasized. The Socialist leader thus refuted the "litany of the prophets of doom," referring to previous statements by the PP. Just before Sánchez, the PP president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, presented the opposing narrative and accused him of leading the Spanish government that "has most degraded the Constitution."

The anniversary comes amid political polarization in the country, with no bridges between the two main parties, which, however, are still united by institutional events such as the one held this Saturday or those that took place a couple of weeks ago on the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the monarchy. Neither Vox nor the nationalist and separatist parties participated in that celebration either. This Saturday, however, ministers and members of parliament from Sumar are present. The main event, co-chaired by the Socialist Speaker of Congress, Francina Armengol, and the Popular Party Speaker of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, takes place against a backdrop of the PSOE's battle over the Salazar case and the PP's scandal at the Torrejón Hospital in Madrid.

The Spanish prime minister arrives at a delicate moment in the midst of the election campaign in ExtremaduraIn an election where a PP victory is predicted, with Vox on the rise and increasingly beset by internal and legal scandals, the day will be dominated by the widely acknowledged mishandling of sexual harassment allegations against former Socialist leader and former high-ranking official at Moncloa Palace, Paco Salazar. Sánchez has counterattacked with reports of malpractice at the publicly owned hospital in the Community of Madrid, managed by the private company Ribera Salud. The Socialist leader invoked Article 43 of the Constitution, which "enshrin the right to public health," and stressed that the Spanish government "will do everything in its power" to guarantee it. Ayuso responded in another statement to the media that Sánchez is exploiting and exaggerating this case to "cover up" his own scandals.

From Isla to Vox: a day of absences

Regarding the absences, the far-right spokesperson in Congress, Pepa Millán, made a statement this Saturday in the lower house to justify the absence of Santiago Abascal's party. "We cannot share space" with the Spanish government, she said, and rejected "pretending to be normal" alongside an executive branch "cornered by corruption." The day began with the raising of the flag and a brief military parade. Many of the presidents of the autonomous communities were also absent, including Salvador Illa. The Catalan president, who has just returned from Mexico amidst the swine fever crisis, nevertheless defended the Constitution from afar in a message to X.