Gabriel Rufián takes another step. The ERC leader in Madrid, who has become a phenomenon for the Spanish left, has shown himself "willing" this Wednesday to lead a new space for the Spanish elections of 2027. In a conference at the Club Siglo XXI in Madrid, reported by Europa Press, the Republican leader ignores the parties' refusal to join this option and insists on his path: the unity of the left in the upcoming elections. Until now, he had not opened himself to directly head this eventual new space, which the leadership of Esquerra in Barcelona completely rejects.

The imputation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero before the National Court is an earthquake of still incalculable scope for Spanish politics. News that has shaken the PSOE and given the PP a new reason to attack the Spanish government and ask the Socialists to leave Moncloa. That is why all eyes were on Congress at first, where the first reaction of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, to the issue was expected. And the script has not changed: "All my support for President Zapatero," he said. "If you want to look at corruption, look in the mirror," he even snapped at the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom he accused of having privileged information from the judiciary and using it politically. "Elections are won with votes, not shortcuts. There will be elections in 2027," Sánchez continued, who also defended Zapatero's legacy. "He did not put us in an illegal war, he advanced rights such as same-sex marriage and ended ETA," he summarized.

The indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is not just the indictment of a former Spanish president (which is significant in itself). It is also the indictment of Pedro Sánchez's closest confidant after his inner circle has fallen: José Luis Ábalos, in preventive detention, and Santos Cerdán. Zapatero is the last pillar of the PSOE leader to be called into question by an alleged corruption scheme.

The PSOE's defeat in Andalusia is profound. One only needs to look at the evolution of the electoral results from the 1982 regional elections to the present day to realize the magnitude of the disaster. Because it's not just a loss of votes for the party, but there is a clear rightward shift in this community. An underlying current that has been gaining traction since 2018, the first year since the restoration of democracy that the PP came to power hand in hand with Vox and Ciudadanos. The candidate herself, María Jesús Montero, has been self-critical —honesty is always welcome—, as she is aware that she has fallen far short of her objective and that if the left-wing bloc has revived minimally, it has been due to the result of the sovereignist left of Endavant Andalusia.

The choice of Junts' candidate for Barcelona City Council is not only unresolved, but also complicated. As ARA has learned, the party's spokesperson in the consistory, Jordi Martí, has informed the leadership of his decision to run in a potential primary and fight for the position. An intention that clashes with Junts' leadership's desire to appoint a candidate without an internal dispute. In fact, after receiving a 'no' from independents such as businessman Tatxo Benet or former president Artur Mas and ex-councillor Joaquim Forn, the leadership's most likely option was the spokesperson, Josep Rius. Carles Puigdemont's right-hand man since he was president of the Generalitat.

Since March 11, there has been an open selection process to choose the next Spanish judge at the European Court of Human Rights. It is a call that has opened a new dispute between the judiciary and the Spanish government, there are about twenty applicants and interviews have already begun. Among those who have applied for this call, according to various sources consulted by ARA, is the Catalan jurist Jordi Nieva-Fenoll (Barcelona, 1970). This well-known professor of procedural law in Catalonia, along with the member of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) Carlos Hugo Preciado (who has challenged the procedure in the National High Court), are the two Catalans of whom this newspaper is aware among the 28 applicants who have submitted credentials to reach Strasbourg. A list that is not public at the moment.

The controversy is associated with the name of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. In fact, for years she has made this her particular political strategy, but surely her latest trip to Mexico has exceeded all expectations. An official trip that, on the one hand, has called into question the reconciliation process between Spain and the country presided over by Claudia Sheinbaum after years of frozen relations; and on the other hand, has ignited Mexican politics and society to the point where Díaz Ayuso's team decided to leave the official trip ahead of time. This Monday, the president of the Community of Madrid has opted to blame the Spanish and Mexican governments: "We had to disappear. We were in danger".

"We trust in the comeback." In this way, the PSOE spokesperson, Montse Mínguez, responded this Monday to all the published polls that point to a historic defeat for the socialists in the Andalusian elections on May 17. "Let's not get demoralized, quite the opposite," she added, and assured that there are "many people worried about public services" who will trust María Jesús Montero to change the model that the PP has established in the last two legislatures. "We will fight until the end, the vote is on May 17 and that is the poll that counts," she stated.

For a few weeks now, the Government and Esquerra have been negotiating the budgets that derailed in March with discretion. The two parties decided to give themselves a second chance to try to reach an agreement before the summer holidays and, after multiple meetings and working groups, as the ARA has learned, socialists and republicans in Barcelona and Madridhave unblocked two issues that pave the way for the accounts. If part of the Quart Cinturó (by road) was what unblocked the 2022 budgets of Pere Aragonès' Government, the orbital railway axis, a kind of railway Quart Cinturó, is what seems to be getting Salvador Illa's first accounts on track. It is about the railway network to connect the second metropolitan ring without passing through Barcelona.

The election of magistrates to occupy relevant positions in the judiciary is always associated with political battles or, at least, with the tug-of-war between conservatives and progressives. The composition of the General Council of the Judiciary, the Constitutional Court, and the Supreme Court usually makes front-page news, while the election to international bodies often takes a back seat. This is not the case now: there is an open battle over the selection process for the Spanish judge at the European Court of Human Rights. The current judge, the conservative María Elósegui, sees her term end in March 2027, and the process initiated by the Spanish government has generated controversy among candidates: it has been challenged by a member of the CGPJ proposed by Sumar, Carlos Hugo Preciado, and, according to legal sources consulted by this newspaper, he has not been the only one, as other aspirants have also done so or have voiced their intention to do so.

It was only a matter of time before the management of the hantavirus crisis spilled over into the political arena. This happened on Thursday, two days after the debate began on whether the Canary Islands should be a stop or not for the ship MV Hondius where the outbreak of the disease has been detected. The PP has already criticized the role of Pedro Sánchez's government, and Vox has insinuated that if the Minister of Health, Mónica García, has finally accepted the cruise ship's passage, it is because she expects a future position in the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs appeared urgently this Thursday in Congress to report on the actions taken to demand the immediate release of the Palestinian-Catalan citizen Saif Abukeshek, who was detained by Israel in international waters and is currently held by an Israeli court. "He is a European citizen," he reaffirmed in his first statement, and once again demanded his immediate release. Last week, Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza to provide humanitarian aid and, although it released most of the activists, it is holding Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila, accused of terrorism. As a protest, Saif Abukeshek is on a hunger and thirst strike. In his statement, Albares promised to increase all diplomatic pressure for his release, but also referred to the situation in Iran, demanding that they also release the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. Albares' position was not supported by the PP, which clashed, once again, with the Spanish government.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso does not seem overly concerned by the diplomatic headaches between Spain and Mexico. Beyond what the progressive meeting in Barcelona meant for the left, that summit was also relevant for another reason: the visit of Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to the State. Her presence signified a resumption of diplomatic relations after years of clashes due to the Spanish refusal to apologize for the Conquest. The Spanish government recognized for the first time the "injustice" of the colonial past with Mexico, and then King Felipe VI acknowledged "abuses" with a gesture that was very well received by the Mexican authorities. However, amid this climate of reconciliation, the president of the Community of Madrid has intervened.

The presentation of Iván Redondo's book could not be ordinary. If one thing has characterized this political consultant, who was Pedro Sánchez's chief of staff from 2018 to 2021, it is his ability to go off-script and to surprise. And the event he held to present El Manual (Contraluz, 2026) has not disappointed. "Madrid has attended the presentation," in the sense that those who were supposed to be there were at the Teatro de Bellas Artes; and it did not start where everyone expected it to start: with him and his book. Redondo did not want to be the headliner from the outset and ceded the spotlight to who he has revealed as the true minister of democracy: Magdalena Chércoles.

For months, a week in June has been circled in red in Madrid: from the 6th to the 12th. It is an event that is on the social but also political agenda, to the point that it is speculated that Juanma Moreno Bonilla decided to move forward the Andalusian elections so as not to coincide with the election campaign. It is about the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the State, where he will stop in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. This Monday, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, presided over the general meeting of the security device in Madrid, in which the director of the police, Josep Lluís Trapero, also participated. As the minister explained in statements to the media, collected by the ACN, the visit will involve the deployment of 11,000 national police officers, in addition to 2,200 Civil Guard agents. In a few hours, the Mossos d'Esquadra have also committed to reporting on their device. Taking into account the context in which the pontiff's trip is taking place, Marlaska asserted that it involves

Months ago, a week in June was marked in red in Madrid: from the 6th to the 12th. It is an event that is on the social agenda, but also political, to the point that it is speculated that Juanma Moreno Bonilla decided to advance the Andalusian elections so that the electoral campaign would not coincide. It is about the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the State, where he will make a stop in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. This Monday, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, presided over the general meeting of the security device in Madrid, in which the director of the police, Josep Lluís Trapero, also participated.

Despite the scarce media coverage in Madrid, this week has been key for the Pujol case. Fourteen years later, all the children have testified before the court presided over by Ricardo de Prada, who, after forcing the former president into an unnecessary trip to Madrid, excluded him from the case due to incapacity. This fact was not front-page news in any of the main newspapers published in the Spanish capital (though it was in Catalonia), despite the time dedicated to Pujol's figure during the Procés. It is clear that a page has been turned and now the battle is for the Aldamas, Koldos, Ábalos, and Kitchen.

Gabriel Rufián directly addresses the Junts deputies and shows them a 50 euro bill: "This is your flag, the one you share with the PP and Vox". And, afterwards, he lists one by one the parliamentarians who vote against the rental extension and goes up to the seats where Míriam Nogueras and the rest of the group sit to give them a dossier full of tweets against the political position of Carles Puigdemont's party. "I've removed the insults," he warns. In this way, the spokesperson for Esquerra in Congress defended the yes to the decree for the rental extension and attacked the Junts members for their opposition on Tuesday in the Spanish chamber. A staging that has ignited the relationship between the Republicans and Carles Puigdemont's party, but which, according to various sources consulted by ARA, has also not pleased some ERC leaders in Barcelona and Madrid who are wary of Rufián's methods: they criticize Junts' position on housing —they speak of "abominable"—, but they do not like the spokesperson's way of acting in Congress. In fact, not all Esquerra deputies applauded after his speech on Tuesday. Officially, the Republican leadership avoids making any comment.

With former president Jordi Pujol no longer on the scene and two marathon interrogation sessions with the eldest son, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, and Josep Pujol Ferrusola, this Wednesday at the Audiencia Nacional it was the turn of the rest of the family. Oriol Pujol, the only one of the children who went into politics, was the first and set the defense line. The thesis is that the origin of the inheritance in Andorra is not corruption, as the Prosecutor's Office claims, but an inheritance left to them by their grandfather because he did not trust the political activities that his father, Jordi Pujol i Soley, might engage in – Florenci Pujol died in 1980. So much so that Oriol Pujol has stated that the former president never had an account in Andorra in his name because he was expressly excluded from the inheritance. He said that, knowing his grandfather's distrust, it is not "strange" that he left a legacy directly to his grandchildrenEl Correo Catalán'.