Sánchez opts for "it's the economy, stupid"

MadridThe course of events during the last weeks reinforces the idea that we still have a long way to go in the current legislature. It has been some time since the media spotlight has no longer been on negative judicial decisions for the government each day. Furthermore, Sánchez continues to gain traction with his policy of direct criticism of the actions of the United States and Israel, which has led to the burning of the Middle East. The changes in the Council of Ministers have also once again provided the socialists with a respite, with attention focused on Carlos Cuerpo, the new first vice-president, who has become a symbol for his calm and dialoguing nature. It's like saying that another type of political practice, different from what we are used to, is possible.

The decree to address the consequences of the war in Iran has, in parallel, served to somewhat restore the pact between the main parties that allowed the legislature to begin, even though the PSOE was not the party with the most votes. The PP continues to struggle to find the key that could make the possibility of reaching Moncloa more credible based on the results of the next general elections. Their project is an alliance with Vox. But even if the numbers allowed it, such an agreement would be insufficient to guarantee a period of political stability. It is not easy to understand why the Popular Party makes no attempt to approach Junts, now that this party has stopped worrying about the possibility of being harmed by its parliamentary votes, which coincide with those of the Popular Party and the far-right.

In any case, the Junts members are demonstrating a practical sense that they have not always exhibited in recent years. This is shown by their support for the government in the vote on measures to alleviate the effects of the Iran war. Despite this, Sánchez does not have Junts' vote guaranteed on other issues. The socialists cannot be sure that Puigdemont's party will maintain an attitude of collaboration. And even less so considering that the full application of the amnesty law never seems to arrive. The PP would have a possible opportunity in this scenario to approach a party with which it will have to count in the future if Feijóo manages to pass the filter of an investiture debate. We already know that Vox's presence in a government will be a serious inconvenience for this type of agreement, but the Popular Party cannot afford the luxury of not having its own policy for Catalonia.

Vox plays with fire

Vox, for its part, is playing with fire. It is constantly in the news for internal struggles and fights. It is only logical that Abascal wants to get rid of Javier Ortega Smith, a politician who causes conflicts wherever he goes. But it is less understandable that he has not been able to get along with Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, a much more prepared and versatile figure. Vox members are not quite able to interpret the recent electoral results. Too much euphoria from the rise and too much time-wasting.

For now, it remains to be seen how they will manage the votes collected in Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León, whether there will really be a coalition, and how the coexistence will go this time. I have always found it difficult to believe that Spain can have an evolution similar to other countries in Europe and America – north and south – where the far-right has achieved power or is a determining factor in exercising it.

Feijóo's big challenge is still to get rid of Vox's influence. In Valencia, the PP has bought into their discourse, and the contradiction for the popular party continues to be that they need to make a pact with a formation they would like to see reduced to the bare minimum. The most flagrant case is that of the Extremaduran president, María Guardiola, who has experienced the first phase of a shared government with Abascal's troops more intensely than her counterpart in Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco.

The mine of the hemeroteca

The drama for Feijóo is that he obtains electoral benefits that he then cannot or does not know how to invest to obtain the corresponding profitability. The PP is once again convinced that the next opportunity will be the good one, the definitive one, as it was in 2023, and it was left at the foot of the stairs. But it is difficult to see a climate clearly in favor of an imminent change. Especially in the key moments of parliamentary debates. That Feijóo's “No to war” is a “No to war and to you”, the latter referring to Sánchez, is not a phrase of great effect. The Spanish head of government, on the other hand, has a goldmine at his disposal that draws on newspaper archives and graphic archives, with Aznar in the famous Texan residence of the North American president, George Bush, at the time of the invasion of Iraq.

Pedro Sánchez's best find at this stage is, in any case, Carlos Cuerpo, the man who has grown in stature partly thanks to the attacks he has received from the vice president and minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz. The day the Sumar leader told the new vice president of the government that one had to be a bad person not to accept the reduction of the working day, she did him a great favor. Especially because he knew how to react with a surprised face and a smile.

The new vice president

Cuerpo is politics with anesthesia, a man who remembers the famous Mr. Hulot, the cinematic character created by Jacques Tati, who stirred everything up and was not afraid of anything. But don't be fooled. This man knows very well where he is walking and where he is going. He is the collaborator that Sánchez needed now. His predecessor, Vice President María Jesús Montero, who has set off for the improbable conquest of Andalusia, has left him the issue of regional financing in a very raw state.

Cuerpo will oversee the task that the new head of the Treasury, Arcadi España, will carry out on this chapter. The challenge is to get the agreement out of the fridge. The proposal for singular financing for Catalonia rests in the freezer. All accompanied by economic measures to deal with the consequences of the war, trying to maintain the social democratic orientation as the government's philosophy. In short, once again the recourse to Bill Clinton's famous slogan to beat Bush: “It's the economy, stupid”. The pity is that according to the Bank of Spain, we could reach an inflation of 6% if the war drags on.