The controversial reaction of Vox deputy José María Sánchez García, who confronted the presidency of Congress during the debate of a non-law proposal (PNL) on historical memory, has put the focus on the deterioration of parliamentarism. "What happened is not an anecdote. It is a way of doing politics based on noise, intimidation, and disregard for the basic rules of democratic coexistence." This is the conclusion drawn from this episode by the parties of the plurinational majority, as stated in an institutional declaration promoted this Wednesday by the PSOE. Various parliamentary sources from the parties that have signed it, consulted by ARA, agree in diagnosing that the presence of Vox in the lower house has caused a change in parliamentary life, which worsens year after year. The declaration could not be read at the end of Wednesday's plenary session because Vox, PP, and UPN refused to sign it.

The beginning of the speech was indicative of what the tone of the debate and the strategy of the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, would be to defend Iran's 'no to war'. A few minutes after taking the podium in Congress, he recited: "There are dates that are not forgotten, that remain marked forever in the collective memory of a country. February 15, 2003 is one. That Saturday, 3 million citizens said no to war", he recalled. In this way, alluding to the citizenry's reaction to the invasion of Iraq twenty years ago, Sánchez contrasted his position with that of the PP government in 2003. "José María Aznar dragged us into a war to feel important and because Bush invited him for a cigar," he stated, guaranteeing that "now Spain will not be an accomplice, not while I am president."

Pedro Sánchez has reaffirmed his "No to war" stance, which positions him as the antithesis of Donald Trump within the European Union, and has intensified his confrontation with the President of the United States. the publication of an article in 'The Economist' this FridayIn it, the Spanish Prime Minister explains the position that has led to his clash with the Trump administration and argues that he owes "blind obedience" to the US in the "reckless path" it has embarked upon in Iran, however much it may be an allied country. Sánchez insisted on this point in his appearance following the Spanish-Portuguese summit held in Huelva. "Among allied countries, it is good to help when one is right and also to point out when one is wrong or is making a mistake," he said.

The Government and ERC are aware that they are assured of the band and band of a bullfight. The main folder that he had was the new financial model that, in parallel, was negotiated by the Spanish government. In fact, the Catalan side, in this negotiation, goes on a common front because the principle of order is guaranteed in the new system, always for Catalonia. There was a relationship of trust that, after the No d'Oriol Junqueras to negotiate the budgets, has been touched. Esquerra considers that the PSC "has not done its duty" to put pressure on the PSOE because it transfers the recapture of personal income tax; Instead, the Government believes that the Republicans have changed their position and are demanding more guarantees than those they initially demanded. Unfortunately, both parties have responded to contacts this week to try to resolve the situation. Finally, they have all given more room to negotiate and have extended the term to present reports to the totality of the comptes: the final debate will be on March 20.

The political truce that prevailed during the first hours of the Adamuz and Gelida tragedy is now history. As the days have passed, the PP's discourse has become increasingly... in crescendo When it comes to demanding accountability for the accidents, which have been compounded by the railway chaos in Catalonia and the AVE high-speed train speed restrictions, the PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, directly blamed Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for the accidents on Wednesday and predicted that his government "will be in the dock" for the train tragedy. "They played Russian roulette with our safety; this was an avoidable accident, not an unforeseeable catastrophe," the PP leader declared. He said this after Sánchez appeared before Congress to explain his government's handling of the accidents, in which he defended the Andalusian case, stating that all maintenance controls were "scrupulously" followed, although he acknowledged that protocols "are not infallible" and that quality standards are not always met.

Time. This is the factor that will now determine the restoration of normal rail service in Spain, and particularly in Catalonia, where the commuter rail network has been mired in chaos for days. This was reiterated by the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, during his appearance before Congress this Tuesday: "The rail network isn't a teapot. It can't be fixed in two days," stated Puente, who, five days after appearing before the Senate regarding the Adamúz (Córdoba) train accident—also a fatal accident in Gelida—repeated the procedure in the lower house of the Spanish Parliament. Puente appeared again at his own request and that of the parliamentary groups—this Tuesday, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) submitted a list of requests for his appearance regarding the rail chaos—and immediately took the opportunity to defend his decision to address the situation during this rail crisis. He also apologized to commuter rail users. The Transport Minister has been under intense scrutiny for days, especially from the right wing and the Catalan independence movement, who have called for his resignation. But he is also being targeted by railway unions, particularly train drivers, and will meet with them this Wednesday to discuss their demands.

With a sour and belligerent tone and going on the offensive, Alberto Núñez Feijóo appeared before the Congressional committee on the woman from the Valencian Country to explain the information he had on the day of the tragedy. For three and a half hours, he used ETA's letter and avoided clarifying why the PP keeps Carlos Mazón as Member of Parliament in the Valencian Parliament —which allows him to retain his parliamentary immunity—, he blamed the Spanish government's partners for endorsing the Moncloa Palace's handling of the situation, took refuge behind the railway chaos, and resorted to an expression he repeated three times: "So brave with a resigned president and so cowardly with a sitting president."

The CEO poll showing Aliança Catalana tied with Junts in seats is still causing a stir, and we'll talk about it shortly. First, a moment from this morning in the Congressional control sessionFeijóo, of course, asked Sánchez about the conviction of the Attorney General (of which, by the way, we still don't have the sentence) and Sánchez, despite being in dire straits, surrounded by those under investigation and unable to pass budgets, didn't even flinch:

Long gone are the days when Pedro Sánchez praised the "independent work of the Supreme Court" and proclaimed that in Spain "no one is judged for their ideas or their political project." This is what he defended in October 2019 in an institutional statement at the Moncloa Palace to assess the verdict in the Catalan independence trial that convicted the pro-independence leaders of sedition. Six years later, when it is the Attorney General appointed by the Socialist leader who has suffered a setback from a court with a very similar composition—four of the five judges who opted to disqualify Álvaro García Ortiz signed the October 1st ruling—the Spanish president's reaction has been quite different. Despite Sánchez's assertion, as he did previously, that he "respects" and "accepts" the Attorney General's conviction, this time the Socialist leader defended his right to disagree with the Supreme Court and predicted that "time will put things right," referring to the possibility of a reversal by the Constitutional Court or European justice. During Wednesday's question time, Sánchez, as he did on Sunday, defended García Ortiz's innocence despite the Supreme Court's ruling and cast suspicion on the high court's handling of the matter, given the revelation of the cone. "This government will always stand for the truth," Sánchez emphasized, contrasting it with the testimony of the journalists who exonerated García Ortiz in court with the "lies" he attributes to Isabel Díaz Ayuso's inner circle. This approach has provoked outrage from the PP and Vox. In the opinion of the PP president, Sánchez does not respect the judges and is issuing "an unprecedented challenge to the Supreme Court." "He is becoming increasingly dangerous for democracy," Alberto Núñez Feijóo emphasized, echoing the views of the Madrid president, who sees a dictatorial drift in the head of the Spanish government and called on Monday for more voices to dare to denounce him.

The Congressional commission of inquiry into the state's sewage system is on hold. At least as far as appearances are concerned. The last ones were in May, shortly before the Leire Díez and Santos Cerdán cases broke out, and although several were agreed upon but still pending, no one has testified on the committee for five months. Despite the reduction in activity, this Tuesday it approved a new extension to continue working beyond October 24, when its activity was due to end. Until now, the committee has mostly testified politicians and key figures from the Mariano Rajoy administration, but it remains pending approval to appear for profiles with responsibilities from 2018 onwards, when Pedro Sánchez was in power and when the majority of the Pegasus espionage cases occurred.

When Pedro Sánchez left the chamber of Congress about twenty minutes after the start of Wednesday's plenary session, having already undergone the control session, the day's prospects were not good for the Prime Minister. In this week's head-to-head debate, Alberto Núñez Feijóo took the offensive against him a step further and announced that the PP will summon him to appear before the commission of inquiry into the Koldo/Ábalos case in the Senate, where the PP holds an absolute majority, during the month of October. At that time, two initiatives relevant to the executive branch, such as the decree embargoing arms against Israel and the law on sustainable mobility—whose approval depends on the arrival of €10 billion in European funds—were still up in the air due to the reluctance of Podemos. However, the developments during the day meant that when Sánchez left the lower house ten hours later, after the votes, he did so victorious amid smiles, applause, and back-slapping from his supporters.

Pedro Sánchez boasted this Wednesday about the stability of his government. He did so to defend himself against the accusation by PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo that the Spanish government was using the Palestinian cause to cover up its problems: "You don't defend any noble cause, you just want to cover up your shame," Feijóo retorted in the face-to-face session. The PP member was referring to the lack of a general budget in the State, but also to the open legal battles that are cornering the Socialists. "During these seven years [of government] there have been seven prime ministers in France, six in Austria, and five in the United Kingdom, and when we talk about national [Spanish] politics, the truth is that you are the third-leading leader of the PP. [...] This is a government that governs with stability and effectiveness," Sánchez replied.

In the coming weeks and months, the consequences of the speech delivered by the Second Vice President of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz, against Junts this Wednesday during the debate on the reduction of the working day in Congress will be felt. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) is always careful not to raise its tone too much against Carles Puigdemont's party because it knows that the continuation of the legislature depends on its seven deputies, but the leader of Sumar (Sumar Party) took a direct stand with a harsh intervention that she personalized against the spokesperson for the Junts party in Madrid. "Ms. [Míriam] Nogueras, you and I represent something that moves history: the class struggle. You represent capital. I and the government of Spain represent the working people of Catalonia and Spain," Díaz said. The reduction of the working day failed with 178 votes against and 170 in favor.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles' appearance in the Senate to explain her handling of this summer's wildfires began in an unusual way: for 50 minutes, those attending the Senate's Defense Committee remained silent, watching a video that compiled, in chronological order from the 10th to the 10th, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and the ministry headed by Robles. The tweets mainly showed videos and photographs of multiple army personnel working on the ground to combat the fires, following days in which the Popular Party (PP) criticized the Spanish government's management, accusing it of not activating enough troops to put out the flames. At the end of the viewing, Robles said that she found it "curious" that some senators had stopped paying attention.

After the metaphor of the captain who doesn't abandon ship, used in the PSOE committee, came the metaphor of the towel in Congress. Sánchez repeated it four times in three-quarters of an hour: he won't throw in the towel. The towel It could have been the title of one of those erotic songs about bus trips sung by Georgie Dann, but this Wednesday it was an easy discursive resource to make it clear to us that she doesn't give in.

The bill to create the State Public Health Agency has narrowly passed the first step in the Congress of Deputies. The proposal has been passed on its second attempt in the chamber, despite the dissenting votes of the PP, Vox, and Junts (Junts), so the process will continue in the Senate.

The Spanish government won't fall for the time being, even though Vice President Yolanda Díaz refused to go to Congress today to sit next to Sánchez, and the PP and Vox said all kinds of things to the Spanish president. It all means: "You look like a skinned lamb, but you're the leader of the pack."

The important thing is the symbolic and political message. This is what sources in the Ministry of Defense are conveying, as they find it very difficult to implement a real arms embargo on Israel. The day after the Congress will process a bill which proposes the introduction of this legal concept against states that violate international law, with the favorable vote of the PSOE, Margarita Robles' entourage cools this possibility. "There are some licenses that are being used, but I say it again: they are not weapons. We cannot put everything in the same bag, they are for the protection of lives. We do not dwell on the details," she said in statements to the media, when asked if Spain will continue acquiring Israeli products in the field of defense and security.

In the midst of the controversy over the WhatsApp between Pedro Sánchez and the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos who in the last four days has published The World, The Spanish president had to survive another scrutiny session in Congress this Wednesday. Once again, he counterattacked by questioning Alberto Núñez Feijóo's leadership of the PP. "He compared the PP congress to the Vatican conclave. From someone unexpected. Earlier, Feijóo had once again emulated José María Aznar with his"Go away" in Felipe González. "Go ahead, call elections. It will save the Spanish people the shame," he told the head of the State's executive.

The day after Pedro Sánchez be submitted to the scrutiny of Congress Due to the power outage and the increase in defense spending, the Spanish government has passed a new test with the vote on the decree to address Donald Trump's tariffsThe confrontation with the right that occurred during the Prime Minister's appearance has been brought to light once again with the umpteenth vote against the PP, which refused to support the regulation that activates the first €7.72 billion to mitigate the effects of the trade war. Vox also opposed it, but the plurinational majority that appointed Sánchez saved the package of measures. The votes in favor of ERC, Junts, Bildu, PNV, BNG, and Coalición Canaria, as well as the abstention of Podemos, have allowed the Spanish government to breathe a little after two weeks of shocks.