The PSOE presents itself as a victim of Santos Cerdán and Leire Díez: "Phonies, opportunists and resentful"

Barcelona"A sum of individual behaviors by fake people, opportunists, and resentful individuals who have used the name of the PSOE in vain and falsely, much to the PSOE's regret." The phrase, written on X by the socialists' organization secretary, Rebeca Torró, summarizes the defense strategy the party has activated to distance itself from the plot that was operating from its headquarters on Ferraz street. The PSOE no longer denies that an organized group might have existed that was dedicated to trying to obtain information from investigations, police, judges, and prosecutors to pressure them. "The summary known today reveals a sum of intolerable behaviors by people who falsely and vainly used the name of the PSOE to benefit themselves or defend dark interests," published, also this Wednesday, the party's official account. What the socialist leadership fully rejects is that they were behind it, as, on the other hand, the investigating judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz, does suspect. In fact, the intention of the group allegedly led by Santos Cerdán and Leire Díez was precisely to deactivate the judicial proceedings against the PSOE.

Once the summary of the Leire case began to be made public, the PSOE has qualified its strategy. Now they are not focusing on the possible persecution of the party (although it remains a complementary avenue, with minister Óscar Puente as the main exponent), but on the actions of a series of people who allegedly acted in an uncontrolled manner and without their endorsement. Investigators from the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard place Santos Cerdán at the top and Leire Díez as the main driver of the group.

Furthermore, the summary is full of meetings at the PSOE headquarters and conversations in which Díez assures that she has access "to the top" and to the "one" of the party" and "of the Spanish government". In one of them, via Whatsapp on April 24, 2024 —precisely the day Sánchez announced he was taking five days for reflection—, Leire tells the president of the PSOE, María Cristina Narbona, that they must "redirect" the attacks on Sánchez, offer "qualified help" and "turn the situation completely around". In this same conversation, Narbona replies that "you explained this to Santos [Cerdán] the other day".

Díez also boasts of having access to the Attorney General of the State —then Álvaro García Ortíz— and of being able to maneuver to achieve special appointments: for example, to a Civil Guard agent she wants to recruit, she offers him to end up as a special advisor to the director of the corps. In fact, a series of meetings are documented between Díez and the director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González, with whom this Thursday the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has closed ranks.

In any case, the PSOE is beginning to publicly assume that within the party there were those who were cooking up dark operations. An attitude that contrasts with the one adopted when the judicial investigation into Leire Díez first broke out, a year ago. At that time, the PSOE downplayed her role in the party and defined her as "just another militant".

Internal peace?

Despite the proliferation of legal cases surrounding the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez, the internal voices that have cried out are few and not very representative of the socialist power structures. The only baron calling for immediate general elections is the president of Castilla - La Mancha and usual critic, Emiliano García Page. However, there are some voices within the membership demanding changes. For now, they are a minority and are heard through, for example, former ministers Ramón Jáuregui and Jordi Sevilla. This Thursday, a new group has been presented, signed by various grassroots socialist militants such as Laura López Mendizábal, Aritz Duran, or Carmen Fernández de Castro, which calls for elections to be called before the end of the year, for Pedro Sánchez not to run again, and for the party to call an extraordinary federal congress.