Sánchez and the "Zelensky moment"
BarcelonaWhen he justified his about-face with the amnesty, Sánchez already made clear one of his mottos: "making a virtue out of necessity." And that's exactly what he did at the NATO summit. It's not, therefore, that he sought out the clash to use as a smokescreen for the corruption scandals affecting the PSOE, but rather that he found it and, once inside, decided to do what he always does: extract maximum political benefit.
Sánchez knows that on this issue he is supported by Spanish public opinion, where a strong anti-American current is brewing, which Zapatero already exploited in his day with his gesture of not rising to the occasion of the Star-Spangled Banner and withdrawing troops from Iraq, and especially a strong pacifist sentiment. These days, he is unable to take a position on how much money should be allocated to defense, because he knows that aligning himself with Trump is very unpopular (70% declare themselves against it, according to the CIS). If Sánchez wanted to play this card to the fullest, for example by calling a consultative referendum,
The PP feared that Sánchez would have his "Zelensky moment" at the summit, that is, a public humiliation that ends up internally strengthening the victim of the US president's invectives. The Moncloa Palace would have preferred not to be the target of Trump's attacks and in fact has avoided the meeting, but Sánchez is also doing well to be seen as the only European leader who stands up to him. His international profile has soared these days thanks to Trump, and in the absence of progressive leaders of global standing, with the exception perhaps of Lula, his star now shines brighter, which has placed him in the crosshairs of right-wing media around the world. The British conservative newspaper The Telegraph He has called him a Teflon president because he can withstand anything. And certainly, when things seem to be going at their worst, there's always something that helps him change the script and put himself in a position of advantage over the right.
