Sánchez unlinks the partial pardon to Borràs from the relationship with Junts and the negotiation of the budgets

PalmaPedro Sánchez has wanted to cut off any political interpretation of the partial pardon granted to the former President of the Parliament Laura Borràs at its root. During his institutional visit to Mallorca, the Spanish head of government denied that the clemency measure has any relation to the negotiations opened with Junts or to the need to guarantee support for the approval of the General State Budgets for 2027. "It has nothing to do with the budget negotiations or with anything related to politics. Please, you must be clear about this," he stated in a press conference.

Sánchez defended that the decision responds solely to the compliance with the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), which had already described the sentence of four and a half years in prison imposed on Borràs as "disproportionate and excessive", despite confirming the rest of the conviction. The partial pardon eliminates the prison sentence, but leaves intact the 4 years of disqualification and the fine of 36,000 euros.

Hours later, it was Borràs herself who gave him "reason". "I have not been part of any political negotiation," she stated in an interview on TV3. The former President of the Parliament affirmed that the possibility of going to prison "for a long time has been a very real option" and that she "had prepared for it." However, she asked not to "confuse the partial pardon with a reparation" and denied that it was a "political victory".

Fires and police disproportionality

Sánchez made his statements from Palma, where this Wednesday he met with the president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, and later with the Spanish king Felipe VI. In the same appearance, Sánchez also avoided delving into other current political issues, such as the indictment of the former director of the Civil Guard Leonardo Marcos in the Leire Díez case or the purchase of a penthouse in the center of Madrid by the Community of Madrid.

The fires of recent days and those that are still active have been a major focus of the meeting between Sánchez and Felipe VI. The Spanish president, in this regard, announced that he has formally asked the president of the European Commission for the future European coordination center for the fight against fires in the Western Mediterranean to be located at the Son Sant Joan air base in Mallorca – the center for the Eastern Mediterranean will be in Cyprus.

At a regional level, Sánchez assured that he maintains his "absolute confidence" in the delegate of the state executive in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, following the controversy surrounding police violence against anti-tourism protesters on July 26. Sánchez showed his support for Rodríguez. "I want to express my absolute empathy with the citizens," he remarked. Sánchez acknowledged that he has not yet spoken about the incidents with Rodríguez and indicated that he hopes the investigation commissioned by the delegate will serve to "determine responsibilities".

Regarding the demands against tourist saturation, the Spanish president focused them on housing and urged the president of the Government, Marga Prohens, to apply the state law to limit rental and purchase prices: "The Spanish government's law allows intervention in a market that is out of control, but there are governments that refuse to use it due to neoliberal dogmatism and partisanship".

The meeting with Prohens

In turn, Prohens has taken advantage of the meeting with Sánchez to place the debate on the limits of the tourism model at the center of the Balearic agenda. One of the main points of disagreement that Prohens has conveyed to Sánchez has been the role of airports. The president has assured that there are areas where the Balearic Islands cannot act because they depend on the State and has placed airport policy as one of the main examples: “It cannot be that while all administrations, economic sectors, social agents, and a large part of society are aligned in the need to talk about limits and AENA continues to plan to increase the number of passengers”. Beyond tourism, the president has assured that the meeting with Sánchez has served to convey the main demands of the Balearic Islands, although she has regretted that sufficient progress has not been made.

On the migratory issue, Sánchez also spoke about the migratory route from Algeria to the Balearic Islands, and assured that his meeting with President Abdelmayid Tebune on July 20 will represent “a turning point” in the arrival of migrants to the Islands, as also conveyed to the President of the Government, Marga Prohens.