Who is the PP senator who led the tense questioning of Sánchez?

MadridThe date of Pedro Sánchez's questioning before the Koldo/Ábalos committee was prominently displayed on the Popular Party's parliamentary group's calendar in the Senate. In a chamber where there are few well-known PP members, one of the unknowns was which senator would be tasked with questioning the Spanish Prime Minister. That responsibility fell to Alejo Miranda de Larra (Cuenca, 1981), who ultimately carried out the interview. chaotic face-to-face with the socialist leaderUpon leaving, Miranda de Larra received applause from the leadership of the Popular Party group in the Senate and expressed his satisfaction with his performance.

Among the Socialist ranks, however, there have been disparaging comments about the Popular Party senator's performance, even suggesting that his rushed questioning of Sánchez warranted his downfall. "The important thing was to see a president cornered, avoiding the truth and knowing all the tricks," PP sources justified. The Popular Party had several options on the table. Besides Miranda de Larra, there were other senators "waiting to be called upon," all of them studying thoroughly to be able to conduct the questioning.

They prepared collectively, sources from the parliamentary group recount. "Imagine how many days I've been closed that I didn't even realize the time change [for the weekend] until yesterday," the man who was ultimately chosen told journalists in an informal conversation. Miranda de Larra explained that he was unaware of the change until Wednesday, when, after a call from his father, he noticed his car clock was showing an extra hour, and he didn't understand the reason for the discrepancy. Right from the start of the committee hearing, the senator shared another detail from his biography that might offer some clues as to why he was chosen.

"I am a victim of COVID-19 who five years ago was in an ICU, sedated, intubated, and on a ventilator." This experience led him to directly criticize Sánchez, alleging that the supposed network of former PSOE officials profited from mask contracts. During the pandemic, Miranda de Larra also served as a high-ranking official in Isabel Díaz Ayuso's Madrid regional government. He was in charge of leading the construction of the controversial Isabel Zendal pandemic hospital, created in response to the coronavirus. A lawyer by training, specializing in business administration and taxation, he has been a senator since 2023. He serves as deputy spokesperson and, in the Koldo committee, had already been in charge of questioning other high-profile figures, such as the president of Navarre, María Chivite, and the former socialist activist Leire Díez.