Sánchez denounces the "political causes" against his circle and maintains that he will exhaust the legislature

MadridPedro Sánchez made this Tuesday at noon the traditional review of the political year before the summer holidays, probably one of the most complicated for his government. The avalanche of judicial cases around the PSOE, but also affecting his staff – judge Juan Carlos Peinado has brought his wife Begoña Gómez to the brink of trial – have cast doubt on the executive's future in recent months and have exacerbated its instability in Congress, where the investiture bloc has not been functioning for some time. In any case, the Spanish president is not only determined to exhaust his term, as he stated during his appearance, but has also expressed confidence that the "judicial drift will end where it has to end." In this latter sense, Sánchez views some of the open fronts as "political causes." Particularly those affecting his family.

"Are popular accusations not driving a political cause? This is not an opinion, it is a fact. It is evident that there is an intention. Also on the part of some political parties, Vox, the PP, and that the only proposals they make is to increase prison sentences," denounced Sánchez about the case affecting his wife. The socialist leader appeared from Moncloa starting at 12 noon after the last council of ministers meeting before the summer break. The Spanish government has approved measures such as the declaration of areas severely affected by the fires that have burned in the State in recent days, which will activate state aid for those affected. Also extended protection for workers who cannot go to work due to the fires.

The fires, and the context of climate emergency, are serving Sánchez to attack the PP and Vox and their denialist discourse, thus countering the attacks received in recent months for the alleged corruption of the socialists, with particularly damaging cases for the executive such as that of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. In this regard, the council of ministers also approved this Tuesday in a second reading the anti-corruption plan that began processing in February following the Cerdán case. And it has given the green light to a draft law to protect employees who report possible cases of corruption in companies or institutions.

However, Sánchez has once again found in the economy a way to vindicate the work of the coalition government of PSOE and Sumar – the "common sense" agenda – and to instill optimism, particularly thanks to the labor market which closes the second quarter with an unemployment rate below 10% and a record of 22.78 million employed. Sánchez took the opportunity to emphasize that the State has become the European locomotive in economic terms: "It generates nearly half of the employment in the European Union," he stated. And he valued this given the tumultuous international context marked by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. "The [Spanish] economy knows how to navigate in a complex context," he insisted.

All of this serves as a boost for him: not only to attack "neoliberal activism" which, according to Sánchez, the PP practices and which translates into "cuts"; but also to defend the continuity of his government.

In any case, the executive will not have it easy to navigate the final stretch of the legislature. Just recently, this Monday, it had to announce the postponement of the new housing decree – which included the extension of rents until 2028 – due to a lack of support in Congress. The Ministry of Housing has promised to approve it in September, but the investiture partners, and especially Junts, have not given him guarantees of an agreement either.

But beyond the partners, the opposition also digs in its heels when it comes to embracing any proposal – for the moment, it seems impossible to reach an agreement between PP and PSOE for a State pact for the Climate Emergency and against fires, which Sánchez already promised last year. At the same time, the Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy (CPFF) scheduled for this Wednesday, where the new financing system model negotiated between the Ministry of Finance and ERC was to be voted on, has been suspended. In this case, it has been the PP communities that have asked the Spanish government to postpone it until after the summer.