Pedro Sánchez has had to face many crises since he arrived at La Moncloa in 2018. The Process, the pandemic, the outbreak of corruption cases in the PSOE, and the proliferation of new wars in the international context. The Ceuta crisis is the latest, but while Sánchez has overcome all those he has experienced so far, the massive entry of immigrants on July 30 has overwhelmed the Spanish government. The week of appearances by a dozen ministers to account for the management of the crisis has only created a sense of lack of control. With Sánchez, moreover, practically disappeared.

"It is not true". With these three words, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, responded to all the deputies who, this Friday, during his appearance in Congress, referred to prior warnings about an entry of people into Ceuta – Marlaska put the figure at 72,000 – on July 30th. "Do not say that someone saw what would happen on the 30th [of July] coming, because it is not true," stated Marlaska, who began his speech by calling for calm in Ceuta and rejecting "partisan" speeches that "incite hatred".

Was there a warning from the CNI or not, to foresee that there would be a massive influx of immigrants on July 30? This is the question that has led to a clash of versions within the Spanish government, especially between the Ministry of Defense, from which intelligence services depend, and the Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for border control. Minister Margarita Robles, who at no time said she was aware of a migratory wave like the one that occurred, has assured that the CNI shared two warnings with the Interior, the government of Ceuta, and the Spanish Government Delegation verbally: on the one hand, that there was a surge in swimming entries; and, on the other, that there was a call on social networks to enter Spain through Ceuta. A statement that has called into question the entire Spanish government and, especially, the Ministry of the Interior, as it implies that if there were warnings, it could have acted. For this reason, Moncloa aligns with Fernando Grande-Marlaska: it emphasizes that there was no report from the intelligence services from which it could be inferred that there could be an entry of more than 80,000 immigrants into Ceuta.

Pedro Sánchez has convened the National Security Council (CSN) this Tuesday at 9 a.m. He convened it 26 days after thousands of people crossed the border with Morocco and entered the autonomous city of Ceuta, which is already the deadliest migratory crisis experienced in Spain. The Spanish government itself branded the events as a violation of Spain's territorial integrity.

The recent squabbles and tensions between the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, and King Felipe VI, have once again put the complex coexistence between the Head of State and the executive under the spotlight. This is not a new phenomenon. Historian Charles Powell recalled how the former President of the Spanish Government, José María Aznar, deliberately sidelined the emeritus King Juan Carlos I during state visits of great international relevance, generating enormous suspicion at the Zarzuela Palace. These frictions highlight an unavoidable reality of the Spanish political system: theoretically, the monarch and the President of the Government must get along by force, as practically no act of the King is valid without the executive's approval.

Madrid has been a political pressure cooker for some time, but in this summer of high temperatures, fires, earthquakes, and migratory crises in the capital of the State, there is a ray of hope, a comment that is whispered and that more or less says this: "Finally, this is the last summer of our lives with Pedro Sánchez as president." So much so that a newspaper like The World has decided to create a permanent section titled "Sánchez's Countdown." The name is well chosen because it can be interpreted in two ways: Sánchez's own countdown to calling elections, or each reader's countdown to consign Sánchez to the dustbin of history.

The joint letter signed by the Prime Ministers of Italy and Denmark, Giorgia Meloni and Mette Frederiksen, in favor of creating deportation centers for immigrants in third countries is the latest episode of how European division and internal interests are eroding the European Union and turning migration policy into a political battleground between different European governments. Aside from the fact that it is deeply striking that the social democrat Frederiksen adopts the entire discourse of the extreme right on migration, from linking it to crime and sexual assault to the need to protect Christian culture, it is evident that this is a skillful move by Meloni in her confrontation with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, following the Ceuta crisis and the decision by Rome – and later Madrid – to impose border controls on their respective citizens.

In the new European migratory crisis due to the serious and dramatic events in Ceuta, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has finally come to the rescue of Pedro Sánchez, who, under the leadership of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the far-right and right-wing Europe has sought to position as a danger to the common border-closing migratory policy and, therefore, to the security of the Schengen area. The images and figures of arrivals on the first day impacted public opinion and continental chanceries, and gave rise to positioning the Spanish government in a supposed position of tolerance with illegal immigration, adding to the critical package the recent regularization, to which a supposed "pull effect" was quickly attributed. This Monday, the Spanish PP was still insisting on it.

The first response —and therefore the most sincere— from the European Union to the crisis in Ceuta orchestrated by Morocco has been what community policy can least afford: once again, division, a lack of unity. Pedro Sánchez, who from the outset has asked European partners for "solidarity and empathy", has found himself practically alone, singled out, questioned, threatened in the face of an external destabilization attempt. It took Ursula von der Leyen five days to publicly support Madrid. It is the minimum required by her office. Tuesday's emergency meeting in Brussels could serve to minimize the damage or make it deeper.

Power is a Lernaean hydra, a multi-headed dragon. Part of the power is embodied in formal institutions, but there are centers whose greatest strength lies precisely in their informal nature. Montesquieu's separation of powers, which is the scheme of checks and balances that predominates in increasingly worn-out modern democracies, does not by any means encompass the spheres of influence and decision-making that intervene in the economy, politics, or society. Although in the free, open, and democratic world we think of the preeminence of the political, the truth is that in this area, even if there is a tendency to overact, verbal excesses are in reality a demonstration of weakness and impotence. Power, when it is real and authentic, tends to be quiet and to move in a certain clandestinity. When opacity surpasses the evident, we will be facing a society that has lost the value of transparency and where the reign of concealment prevails.Political organizations and leaders lose all credibility to the extent that they hold government, but govern very little, either due to incapacity or due to the blocking by the opposition, which can be stridently political, but can be accompanied by an empowered judiciary, economic sectors that want more benevolent policies, or media outlets predominantly against whoever formally holds the government. In Spain, to say that Pedro Sánchez holds power would be a fallacy. He has made very brave social and economic decisions, but he cannot approve budgets, and his theoretical allies in Congress cause his major legislative initiatives to falter. At the same time, the bodies of the judiciary show him - day in, day out - who really is in charge.The great economic powers express themselves in the Bernabéu box or in the newspapers demanding tax cuts and greater economic liberalization, especially of public services. Meanwhile, the bishops blame the governing left from the pulpit and the pseudo-media fill the communicative space with disqualifications, lies, and half-truths. The left-wing electorate that does not fall for the fictional narrative of anti-Sanchismo, knows that it is in "resistance" mode and that its policies are being blocked while it suffers a ruthless attack from a justice system that is everything but just. Whoever governs does not have the power, does not have hegemony in the Gramscian sense: it is a tenant farmer who wants to be evicted, whether civilly or criminally.

This has been –or perhaps we should say it still is– a dramatic and crazy end to the school year. The fires in several provinces and the events in Ceuta are chilling. We were getting used to seeing the daily images of hundreds of people housed in sports centers while anxiously awaiting news about the fire and about their homes and belongings, when even harsher images assaulted us, such as those of tens of thousands of immigrants –especially young people, very young people– crossing from Morocco to Ceuta, in what the head of government himself, Pedro Sánchez, has described as a "violation of Spain's territorial integrity." An emergency situation, undoubtedly, which has provoked all sorts of reactions. And this is where the idea of madness fits in, due to the capacity that this situation and these images have to trigger the most barbaric and unacceptable comments and initiatives.

The entry of thousands of migrants into Ceuta, which has already resulted in 67 deaths, according to the latest police update, has triggered a diplomatic clash in the European Union over border protection and will lead to an extraordinary meeting of the Interior Ministers of the different member states this Tuesday by videoconference. The meeting will take place after the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, requested it on Saturday morning in a letter sent to the EU institutions. 22 other countries have also requested it, joining a letter initiated by Italy and Denmark calling for an analysis of the crisis in Ceuta and to "agree on a coordinated response and immediate actions for the control of the external border".

From Navaluenga, in Àvila, one of the provinces where fire has been burning uncontrollably in recent days, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, insisted this Thursday on political unity "in response, prevention, and reconstruction" of the areas affected by the fires, and once again offered "the extended hand of the Spanish government" to reach "a country agreement" on climate emergency matters, an issue he considers paramount right now. That is to say, as he has done in his recent public interventions, Sánchez once again brought to the table the "State Pact against the Climate Emergency": a plan presented in September 2025 and expanded in December with 15 axes and 80 measures that has not yet seen the light of day due to a lack of political consensus.

The fact that both Spain and France have experienced the worst fires in their history – that of the Community of Madrid and Ávila, and Bordeaux, respectively – has a scientific explanation. The meteorological conditions that favor large fires have intensified by up to 50% in these two countries over the last decade, according to the conclusions of the study published this Thursday in the journal Nature. The article comes to light the same day that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has ended the "national emergency" due to fires in the center of the State, which have already burned more than 75,000 hectares.

Pedro 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.

That Spanish morning magazines organize the entire television narrative against Pedro Sánchez is already a classic. Both Telecinco and Antena 3 lean to the right, and any opportunity is good to attack the socialist government. The large fires in Madrid, Ávila, and Vall d'Uixó have now become the perfect fuel to further stoke the fire with the same virulence that the forests burn.To kick off the broadcasts, they have been fueling the melodrama discourse for days. They make video clips with images of the fires and properties devastated by the flames, combining operatic chants with the ambient sound of tragedy: cries, sirens, and screams. They revel in the misfortune of people who have seen their homes burn and, even worse, expose them to contemplating the devastation with reporters digging into the wound: “We accompany them for the first time and with our camera as a witness to see their reaction upon discovering, before their eyes, the devastation of the fire”. They make them explain, in detail, every burnt space, every charred object. To add drama, they also give the names of celebrities whose properties have burned down. The fire victims, after being interrogated about their losses and miseries, are asked about political responsibles. The false idea about the prohibition of collecting pine cones and cleaning the land is constantly repeated. And they take the opportunity to attack environmentalists and the idea of climate change. It is a mantra that each interviewee reiterates. Once the drama phase is over, the insults towards Sánchez are reiterated, which is the new informative trend. Underline, subtitle and amplify the insults hurled at socialist politicians in any circumstance. “Does he avoid people?”, they caption on screen. And they transcribe each of the outbursts, however vulgar they may be. The microphones barely pick them up, but transcribed on screen and repeated in a loop, they increase the feeling of tension. “Son of a b...!” or “Dog, to jail!” are inserts that, every now and then, are added to the reports. “Does Sánchez fear contact with citizens?” is the slogan they repeated to boredom during the Andalusian elections. “Can Sánchez escape the Paiporta syndrome?”, they ask themselves as if he lived sentenced to an eternal condemnation.But what they do, in reality, is the typical exercise of exalting the masses and associating Sánchez's figure with the natural reaction of insulting him. It is the same as sports news did when, during the Process, they wondered for days and days if in the stadiums where the Spanish national team played, the stands would boo some of the Catalan footballers. It is a way of exciting the audience and creating a kind of predisposition, a logical inertia, towards insult and tension as a popular right that invariably extends. It is the way to always guarantee the news and to consolidate and normalize the image of collective contempt.

That Pedro Sánchez is the smartest in the class and gives Alberto Núñez Feijóo fifty communicative turns (as is being seen these days every time the PP leader opens his mouth at the scene of the fire) does not mean that the tricks of the dialectical sleight of hand he practices are not visible from three hours away. In the political year review that he presented today, Sánchez recalled that in 2018, when he arrived at Moncloa, 40% of Catalans stated that one of their main problems was the relationship between Catalonia and the general state administration, and that, on the other hand, today, this percentage is only 2%.

After a minimal truce (we won't call it "courtesy", because that has disappeared), and as expected, the Spanish ultra-nationalist right and Spanish woman has burst out to take advantage of the disaster of the great fires (those everywhere, but especially, as expected, those besieging Madrid) to engage in demagoguery and politicking. You can read the chronicle of Roger Hernàndez Pujol in this diary.More astute and agile, Pedro Sánchez got ahead of them with a proposal: a state pact for the climate emergency, which he had shelved last year. It is true that, to counteract his perennial parliamentary weakness and face the last year of this bruised and fierce legislature, it would be very beneficial for Sánchez to lead a state pact of whatever. But it is equally true that, beyond Sánchez's political conveniences, there is no shortage of areas in great need of major agreements and long-term improvement projects: education – as we are seeing particularly starkly these days in Catalonia –, femicide, alternatives to real estate speculation and mass tourism, boosting research and development, etc. If politics had not turned into a grotesque spectacle similar to Ibai Llanos's that Mònica Planas criticizes in her article, the parties would know how to make these major pacts and, at the same time, maintain the tone and task of the opposition. But this is not the case: it is easier to follow the inertia of systematic polarization and tension, even at the cost of crashing directly into reality: it is what we know as negationism. When Sánchez brings up his proposal for a state pact for the climate emergency, he does so knowing that PP and Vox will not only not sign it, but will reject it with the usual negationist outcry. He also does it to expose them.It is not, however, a minor issue. Global warming reached 1.37 degrees above the pre-industrial era in 2025, and by 2030 it could reach the 1.5-degree increase that the 2015 Paris Agreement set as a limit. We are already suffering the consequences now, in the form of fires and extreme weather phenomena. We do not need to give in to apocalyptic imagination to understand that the lifestyle developed by the West in the last hundred years is not sustainable in the next hundred: not, at least, in the way we know it. Resources, both human and economic, will have to be dedicated to finding alternatives that are, at the same time, environmentally acceptable and do not represent a setback in people's way of life. Some, however, are clear about it: in the Balearic Islands (currently in the news), a denialist government of PP and Vox has legislated to deregulate rustic land and protected natural areas, in order to build and speculate there. The threat of the far-right is against democracy, certainly. But also against nature and people's health, in exchange for the economic benefit not of an elite (a word too prestigious), but of the usual smart alecks.

During the review of the political year before the summer holidays, Pedro Sánchez made no mention of anything related to the judicial fronts around the PSOE – he spoke briefly about corruption and only when referring to the approval this Tuesday in second reading of the public integrity law–, nor about his personal environment, until the journalists' turn to ask questions. Sánchez was asked about the Zapatero case and the explanations of the former Spanish president, but also about the proceedings affecting David Sánchez, his brother, and Begoña Gómez, his wife. And in this latter sense, the head of the Spanish executive did not shy away from addressing it fully.

Spain is experiencing one of the worst fire seasons in the last 10 years, with more than 170,000 hectares burned since January. In fact, the fires in Madrid, Avila and Toledo are the "most serious and aggressive" in the history of the State, according to the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Spanish government has declared these three territories a national emergency zone, with nearly 90,000 evacuated or confined. The macro-fire affecting the center of the State joins the one from only a few weeks ago in Almeria, where there were 14 deaths — the last confirmed just today—. Fire has become the main environmental threat of recent summers and its management. And this is when climate denialism from the far-right has strongly emerged, which the left has tried to confront with empirical evidence of the virulence of recent fires.