"The captain doesn't back down": Sánchez tries to "save the course" despite doubts and discouragement in the PSOE

MadridThe last PSOE federal committee meeting in Ferraz was the five-day meeting of reflection, a year ago, with a unanimous message of support for the Spanish prime minister, who had left his continued presence in the air. This Saturday's meeting is also a gathering of long faces and many doubts about the continued mandate of Pedro Sánchez, immersed in his worst moment of seven years in government due to the Cerdán scandal. "You chose me as the captain of the ship, and the captain doesn't back down when the sea is rough; he stays to weather the storm and steer the course," said the head of the Spanish government, to the dismay of a party waiting to see what the next audio recording will be that will implicate its leaders.

However, the federal committee kicked off with a novelty not linked to corruption, but to sexism. Eldiario.es has published the complaint of at least two women, one of them an employee of the Moncloa, about "inappropriate behavior" of a sexual nature by Francisco Salazar, secretary general of institutional coordination in the cabinet of the presidency of the Spanish government. Salazar was supposed to be one of the four members of the new reinforced area of organization in the PSOE, led by Valencian Rebeca Torró, but the proposal has not even reached the executive because the The affected person himself has resignedSalazar has also requested to be temporarily removed from his position at the Moncloa Palace, although both the PSOE and the executive have made it clear that the alleged victims have not filed any internal complaints. "When there are potential cases of sexual assault or harassment, I ask the fellow victims to use the channels, and we will protect them," Sánchez said.

Behind him, many members of the executive branch had a serious pose, such as the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, one of those who has worked closely with Salazar at the Moncloa Palace. "I appear with a broken heart, but my determination intact," Sánchez began. And he concluded with a similar message: "I look forward with enthusiasm and more determination than ever [...] With our heads held high, proud of what we have achieved, with hope for what is to come," he urged his colleagues, in a speech clearly marked by an attempt to inject energy. "It's time for commitment, for resilience, for optimism [...] The betrayal we have experienced is painful. The shadow of error cannot make us abdicate responsibility," he insisted.

Corruption and conversations between former minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García about prostitutes have severely damaged the PSOE, which Sánchez is working hard to revive. The PSOE is trying to recover the party's feminist image, and the next day, it wakes up facing suspicions of sexual harassment against one of its mainstays in the Moncloa. jokes and self-parodying gags are allowed"They're holding the political funeral of a dead Sanchezism," said the new secretary general of the Conservatives, Miguel Tellado, reveling in the sentiment.

Page hints that Sánchez should give in.

However, the Spanish president has survived the federal committee and has garnered support for his proposals to strengthen the party against corruption—among other things, the introduction of double signatures in the organization department and random checks on the assets of its leaders—especially because in recent years he has managed to reduce internal opposition. Only the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, has suggested that he should give in. "Either we regain the parliamentary trust we have lost, and not in exchange for more obscene blackmail from the separatists, or we can hold elections," he argued, according to sources close to him. Several leaders have criticized him for aligning himself with the right, with Minister Óscar Puente being particularly forceful, calling him "a hypocrite" and recalling how Felipe González accompanied former minister José Barrionuevo in prison for the GAL (Gal Group of Allegiances). The Extremaduran leader, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, more mild-mannered than Page, also expressed the pacts with the independence movement as "inexplicable."

The vast majority of regional leaders have closed ranks with Sánchez, such as the Catalan president, Salvador Illa, who, with the appointment of Montse Mínguez as PSOE spokesperson, has culminated the PSC's symbiosis with the state party. "The secretary general is doing his job very well. When they attack Sánchez, they attack the entire party. He has my full recognition and admiration," Illa emphasized in his speech, in which he also defended the amnesty, recently endorsed by the Constitutional Court. "We have come to convey a voice of support and internal unity," emphasized Pilar Alegría, leader of the Aragonese federation, who was previously highly critical when it was headed by Javier Lambán. "We have come to explicitly support the secretary general and president of the Spanish government," added Diana Morant of Valencia. Navarrese María Chivite, who made a career alongside Cerdán, advocated for "unity" and defended the "honesty of the vast majority" of Socialist officials.

The new PSOE executive committee, endorsed by the federal committee with only one dissenting vote, is down to 43 members—nine departures and four additions—and a last-minute surprise: the continuation of Juanfran Serrano, Santos Cerdán's inseparable number two, as deputy secretary of the secretariat. This is a way of avoiding having to pay the price for his former boss, and he remains on the executive committee as secretary of municipal policy. With internal support for the changes, Sánchez will attempt to overcome the wave of anti-corruption legislation, such as banning corrupt companies from receiving contracts, among others, in order to convince his parliamentary allies during his crucial appearance in Congress next Wednesday.