Sánchez is considering sending troops to Ukraine, risking antagonizing his partners.

MadridPedro Sánchez begins 2026 by opening major debates. On the one hand, with the proposal for new regional financing, detailed at the end of the week, the Spanish government is tackling one of the most complicated issues facing the state, which has been stalled for more than ten years and, to be implemented, will have to culminate in a difficult vote in Congress. The other issue raised by Sánchez on Three Kings' Day, from Paris, where he participated in the summit of countries allied with Ukraine, will also have to be submitted to the lower house. The head of the government opened the door to sending Spanish troops on a peacekeeping mission if a ceasefire with Russia is achieved, but he also lacks a clear majority to approve it.

In the final stretch of the legislature, with parliamentary weakness exacerbated by the split with Junts, cornered by legal cases, and at the very start of an election cycle, Sánchez will begin a round of talks with parliamentary groups in Congress. Sánchez announced that these talks would begin this Monday, but Spanish government sources cited by EFE report that they will ultimately be delayed due to the difficulty of coordinating schedules with the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, with whom they will try to finalize a date in the coming days. According to La Moncloa, the meetings will proceed from the largest group to the smallest, and therefore the first party invited is the PP. However, given this context—the Socialists suffered a major defeat in Extremadura and elections are less than a month away in Aragon—the Popular Party lacks incentive to reach an agreement with the Spanish government. They already have their sights set on the next stage, which they almost take for granted will be Feijóo replacing Sánchez at La Moncloa.

However, on an issue like military support for Ukraine within the framework of a joint plan with the rest of the Western allies, the People's Party (PP) finds it more difficult to undermine Sánchez than it did with the financing issue. The day after the Spanish president announced the round of talks—from which Vox is excluded—the PP confirmed they would attend the meeting, although they avoided committing the support of the main parliamentary group in the Lower House. The PP leadership maintains that it will not comment until it knows the details of the operation, which, sources at Moncloa (the Prime Minister's residence) emphasize, Sánchez cannot provide at the moment because they are not yet defined. The objective of the round of talks, says Sánchez's team, is to "listen" to the proposals of the rest of the parliamentary spectrum, but not yet to "ask for support," because there is still no ceasefire nor a vote scheduled in Congress.

Division among the partners

The PP's role is especially relevant given the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine due to the reluctance or outright opposition of some of Sánchez's partners. The Popular Party, in fact, has tried to deflect attention by focusing it on Sánchez's parliamentary allies. "The PSOE's partner is not the PP," emphasizes the party's headquarters in Madrid, which uses the same argument in every vote where the Socialists lean to their right. The Moncloa Palace's stance on the war in Ukraine, the increase in military spending demanded by NATO, Gaza, and, more recently, the US attack on Venezuela, is generating tensions with the parties to its left. Podemos has already stated that it will vehemently oppose sending troops, even within a framework of peace. Ione Belarra's party refuses to act as a "security company" for the US in Ukraine, where, they warn, Donald Trump intends to take advantage of the end of the conflict to carry out a "neocolonial theft of" the country. rare earthsHe has also expressed his rejection of the BNG, while other pro-independence or nationalist groups such as ERC or PNV have left the door open to supporting it, as has Sumar, conditioning the shipment on it being under the mandate of the UN.

Sánchez is playing the international card, in which he feels comfortable deploying a narrative that positions him as a counterweight to Trump. Despite the lack of consensus, the Spanish president doubled down at the end of the week, proposing also deploy "peacekeeping" troops in PalestineOn the other hand, in this round of talks, the Moncloa Palace is not ruling out discussing the situation in Venezuela, which puts it at direct risk from the People's Party (PP). Next Thursday, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares will appear before Congress to address this issue, and the tension with the PP will likely be a key factor. Feijóo's party has demanded that Sánchez appear before the lower house to provide explanations, also regarding the alleged corruption cases surrounding him. Therefore, it seems impossible that these other debates will not intrude on this week's discussions about Ukraine.