The cases of alleged sexual harassment within the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and the mishandling of complaints against former leader and high-ranking official at Moncloa Palace, Paco Salazar, have become the PP's (People's Party) preferred weapon against Pedro Sánchez. This Wednesday, a new scandal provided the Popular Party with even more ammunition. Hours after allegations against the president of the Lugo Provincial Council, José Tomé, were made public, this other Socialist official was forced to resign, although he proclaimed his innocence. In response, Alberto Núñez Feijóo declared the flank of the now former Attorney General to be neutralized, and the following day... the publication of the controversial conviction Following the Supreme Court's decision to indict Álvaro García Ortiz, the leader of the People's Party (PP) focused his final head-to-head debate of the year with the Spanish Prime Minister on an issue that deeply pains the Socialists: questioning his legitimacy to champion feminism. This comes on top of the damage caused by the derogatory remarks about women made by former party organization secretary José Luis Ábalos. Just this Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld his indictment in the case investigating alleged irregularities in public contracts awarded during his tenure as Minister of Transport, and Congress suspended him as a member of parliament. "The root of the problem isn't any of your people. It's you, and now the women in your party know it," Feijóo stated, going even further and using prostitution to discredit the Socialist leader.

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.

Santos Cerdán was the main focus of the day in Congress. This occurred before the news had even broken. the decision by the judge investigating the former number three of the PSOE to release himThe report by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, made public yesterday, is what has been the focus of the PP's attacks on the Spanish government during the question period. "The spindle is Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters) and you've taken it to Moncloa Palace," Alberto Núñez Feijóo reproached Pedro Sánchez. The PP questions whether the Spanish Prime Minister knew nothing about the alleged irregularities committed by those who, until less than six months ago, were his right-hand men, and they have made the percentage that, according to investigators, the company Servinabar, supposedly linked to Cerdán, received from public works contracts awarded to Acciona, into a category they are expanding. "They are the 2% government," the PP's Secretary General, Miguel Tellado, also declared. At Moncloa Palace, they do not deny the "seriousness" of the events that the UCO attributes to Cerdán, but they insist on portraying the alleged scheme as an isolated case that they disassociate from both the PSOE and the Spanish government. "Zero tolerance for corruption," Sánchez responded to the leader of the opposition, echoing his remarks from Tuesday during the joint appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sánchez, like other Socialist voices in the halls of the lower house on Wednesday, argued that the party acted "decisively" from the "very beginning." In fact, although the Popular Party has attacked the Socialist leader, the new evidence against Cerdán does not currently threaten the legislature. The spokesperson for ERC, Gabriel Rufián, reiterated that the Spanish government "must not fall" if the Cerdán case remains "three men sharing money through corrupt practices," but warned again that if it "escalates" and illegal financing of the PSOE is proven, the Republicans will ask Sánchez to call elections. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), another ally of the plurinational majority, has expressed a similar view. The Basque nationalists have been targeted by the PP (People's Party) because Feijóo's party has extended its accusations to the party led by Aitor Esteban. According to the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard) report, the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) allegedly asked Cerdán to make several appointments after the 2018 vote of no confidence that ousted Mariano Rajoy. Esteban has denied this "categorically." "They're trying to stir things up by making accusations that make no sense. The PP isn't moving forward. It's stuck on the vote of no confidence and is setting a very bad example of what it means to conduct dignified politics," complained the PNV spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, in statements to the corridors. For Feijóo, however, it has been proven that Sánchez's 2018 vote of no confidence "wasn't against corruption, but rather for the corruption of his cronies."

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.

Sánchez has managed to make his accusations about Israel cover everything up: the imprisonment of his deputy, Cerdán; the indictment of his brother and his wife; the difficulty in passing the budget; and the arms embargo in Israel. Sánchez's denunciation of the Palestinian tragedy is just, but the world doesn't end there, and he's being reminded of this by parties with which he has agreements, such as Esquerra and Junts, or those in the opposition, such as the PP.

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.

"There is nothing that we have not solved." With these words a member of the Spanish government showed on Wednesday afternoon that the Clash between PSOE and Sumar over taxation of the new minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) The IRPF (personal income tax) must be redirected in some way. But it is still too early to know if the Ministry of Finance will move: Sumar believes that María Jesús Montero will have to back down and in the socialist ranks there are those who do not rule it out, but the Moncloa for the moment reaffirms the decision taken. And that is despite the fact that the great majority of parties in Congress have shown themselves against workers who receive the minimum wage having to pay IRPF. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, spoke about this during the first control session of the year in Congress and acknowledged that there is "debate" within the coalition, although in the corridors he denied any crisis with his minority partner in the government. Sánchez and the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, smiled from their seats to try to reduce the tension on Tuesday. It would have been different if Montero had also attended the chamber, but she was absent due to a fever.

Despite the fact that a large part of Pedro Sánchez's government's future depends on the negotiating table with the Catalan government, linked as it is to ERC's support in the Spanish parliament, it has not been the main theme of the opposition's questions in Parliament today. A few hours before the meeting, the right questioned the meeting, but it has not subjected ministers to a barrage of reproaches exclusively because of the talks with the independence movement. The huge increase in the price of electricity has stolen the limelight from an issue which at another time would have monopolised the session. Even so, three of the members from the Spanish delegation have defended the meeting, including Sánchez, who has described it as "the essence of democracy".