Sánchez goes on the offensive: distances himself from Ábalos and Cerdán, denounces persecution of his family and boasts about government action

MadridIt has been almost a year since Pedro Sánchez was forced to appear in Congress to explain the judicial investigations that are implicating the PSOE. This Wednesday he has done so again in the face of the unstoppable trickle of cases that are expanding the list of suspects connected to the Spanish Prime Minister and with a final ruling for corruption against the former Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos. Unlike the appearance on July 9 last year, in which the head of the executive presented a battery of anti-corruption measures to face these cases, on this occasion Sánchez has gone on the offensive without making any new proposals. In an initial half-hour speech, the socialist leader distanced himself from both Ábalos and Santos Cerdán, his two former organization secretaries, defended José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and denounced a "persecution" against his family. Furthermore, the head of the executive boasted about his government's actions. "There should be no shadow of a doubt about the executive's actions," he proclaimed, and also defended that there has been no illegal financing of the PSOE.

In line with the arguments that Moncloa has already deployed so far, Sánchez has made a distinction between what he considers individual behaviors of people who had been his closest confidants, and the action of his executive. "I never knew nor would I have tolerated any of these practices," the Spanish president has assured about the mask plot, against which there is already a conviction by the Supreme Court against Ábalos to 24 years in prison, and that of alleged irregular public works awards, still in the investigation phase and for which Cerdán is also being investigated. Sánchez has not discredited these investigations and has claimed that he already acted by expelling those investigated, renewing the socialist leadership, and promoting anti-corruption measures from the Spanish government – still pending full execution. The Spanish president has asked to separate these "flagrant and serious" cases from the rest.

Three categories of research

For Sánchez there are three categories of investigations around him that, in his opinion, are not comparable. The first, for which he already "apologized" a year ago, is the one that has to do with "the corruption of people who took advantage of their weight within the PSOE and the government to earn money", that is, Cerdán and Ábalos. In a second place, Sánchez has placed the investigation against former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero "on which no one can yet draw conclusions". "The presumption of innocence supports it", he reiterated.

In a third category, the head of the executive has placed the cases against his wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez, which he has described as "a series of coordinated actions that seek to weaken the executive's action through personal attacks". The Spanish president has predicted that in the coming months the trickle of information against his circle will continue, but he has denied that it is a symptom of "political degradation". "What we will witness in the coming months is the persecution and purge of the right", he reiterated.

Despite this, Sánchez has assured that he has no intention of throwing in the towel and maintains that he wants to continue governing no matter what. "We are very calm and sure of what we have done," he insisted. "How can we not continue?" Sánchez asked, arguing that the PP and Vox alternative will be even less effective in the fight against corruption.

PP and Vox are again calling for elections

Both the Popular Party and the far-right have questioned the Spanish president's version and have once again called for elections. "You are the corrupting political nexus," Alberto Núñez Feijóo reiterated. Sources from the PP leadership emphasize that Sánchez cannot disassociate himself from the judicial cases of his circle, as they all "stem from him," and state that he appeared "with the face of a guilty person." The popular leader reproached the Spanish president for intending to "stretch" the legislature under these conditions and warned him that he does not have the "slightest moral authority."

"Do we have to wait for a writ of summons to arrive?" he asked, referring to a possible indictment of Sánchez that could make him fall definitively, although from the PP they see him as capable of not resigning even in this scenario. "What is he still doing sitting here? Isn't he ashamed?" Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, asked him, warning Sánchez that, no matter how much he makes "resilience" his "flag," "cockroaches beat him." However, despite raising the tone against the Spanish president, both the PP and Vox have once again encountered the impotence of not having the numbers to win a motion of no confidence that would definitively bring down a Sánchez determined to resist.