These days we have entered a new phase of the current electoral cycle. This is one of the windows that open between the various elections, a period that institutions and parties take advantage of to hold commemorative and/or propaganda events. Between the results of the regional elections, we are seeing celebrations and initiatives of all kinds. We had the event celebrating that the 1978 Constitution has become the longest-lasting in Spain – 47 years – surpassing that of 1876. And in parallel, we are seeing, in all its forms, the political parties' warm-up maneuvers, both in the short term regarding preparations for the general elections. These are supposed to be in 2027, as the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has reiterated, taking the opportunity to return the favor to his predecessor, Felipe González. He had said he wouldn't vote for the PSOE while the current Socialist leader was at the top of the list, and the person in question responded that he was very pleased to hear it, adding that the former president would have to be patient, because it would be some time before he supported his party's candidates again, given that he plans to run again next year.

The scandal caused by the sexual assault complaint filed by a female officer against the now-former Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the National Police, José Ángel Rodríguez, demonstrates the extent to which rape culture is present in our society, if the accusation proves true. That the highest-ranking civilian uniformed official in the State is accused of such a serious crime in a thoroughly documented complaint sends a terrible message: not even the police, who are supposed to uphold the law, are safe spaces for women facing this type of aggression. In this case, moreover, the alleged assault was committed against a subordinate, adding a textbook example of abuse of power.

Shouts for resignation, table-banging, and serious accusations. This is what prevailed this Wednesday during the question period in the Congress of Deputies, with Pedro Sánchez absent due to his trip to India, following the Complaint of sexual assault against the head of the National PoliceThe PP has targeted Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, demanding he cover up the case. "We knew nothing and, given the seriousness of the situation, we asked him to resign," Marlaska told the media, after it emerged that a Madrid judge had dismissed him. has summoned him to testify The Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the National Police, José Ángel González, is under investigation for an alleged assault involving penetration of a lower-ranking officer. Officer Gemma Barrosso has temporarily assumed his duties.

Pedro Sánchez ordered on April 24 terminate contracts with the Israeli company IMI Systems LTD to acquire 15 million rounds of ammunition for the Civil Guard, following a heated controversy over the Spanish government's contradictions, which boasted of not trading with Benjamin Netanyahu's regime in the midst of the offensive in Gaza. It wasn't until Monday that the Secretary of State for Security, Aina Calvo, signed the resolution on the files, citing the arms embargo decree approved by the Council of Ministers last week, according to Europa Press. Once the Interministerial Board for the Regulation of International Trade in Defense and Dual-Use Material (JIMDDU) denied the import, the Ministry of the Interior was able to permanently tear up the paperwork.

The fires continue in the northwest of the peninsula, as well as the appearances of ministers in the Senate, like the one this Thursday from the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, explicit when describing the attitude of the PP. "I cannot agree with the partisan use of a catastrophe by the Senate to serve the interests of a party and its strategy of harassment in the Spanish government, based on manipulation and noise. We saw it with the DANA and we see it now with the fires: the attempt by the PP, and it's hard to say, but it has to be said, but it has to be said, but it has to be said, but it has to be said, but it has to be said, but it has to be said, and it masks the errors of its management," he said just as he began his intervention.

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.

As a judge, Fernando Grande-Marlaska is remembered for several milestones. Perhaps the most impressive is that the European Court of Human Rights has convicted Spain up to five times for torture of detainees in cases he led. In keeping with this resume, as a minister, he has also been politically responsible for a bloody incident such as the massacre of migrants at the Melilla fence three years ago in the summer, or for a major scandal such as the spying on politicians using the Pegasus program, which primarily affected other figures involved in the Catalan independence process. Marlaska continued with Defense Minister Margarita Robles and ended with his boss, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez.

Pedro Sánchez backtracks and breaks the Interior Ministry contract with an Israeli company. It is quite a corrective for Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the Civil Guard, who closed the purchase of 15 million rounds of ammunition for 6.6 million euros from a company from the country presided over by Benjamin Netanyahu, despite the commitment to cut all commercial relations while the war in Gaza lasts. "The dual-use material investment board will deny the company permission to import this material into our country for reasons of public interest, and then the Ministry of the Interior will terminate the contract," the Moncloa (Ministry of Justice) reported in a joint statement with Sumar. The Interior Ministry's argument for formalizing the award was that giving up the ammunition would mean having to pay the money anyway, but less than 24 hours later the Spanish government changed its mind. 6.6 million euros is an anecdotal figure compared to the 10.471 billion agreed for the security and defense plan that Pedro Sánchez announced on Tuesday and which Sumar also does not approve of. For its part, the Israeli government "firmly condemns" this decision, in statements by a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry reported by Europa Press. "The Spanish government is sacrificing security considerations for political ends and continues to place itself on the wrong side of history," he added this Thursday.

Around fifteen men wearing black balaclavas, wearing neo-Nazi aesthetics, with their arms crossed over their chests and standing in formation behind a spokesperson are featured in the video that the Civil Guard has been investigating since Tuesday as a hate crime. It was broadcast Sunday night on X by the far-right organization Núcleo Nacional, which the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has targeted eight months after allowing them to register as a legal association. In the video, the hooded spokesperson for Núcleo Nacional calls for the "active defense" of the state's streets "against foreign invasion," as Marlaska denounced in a media address on Wednesday morning, criticizing the "unnecessary" existence of these "saviors of the country."

The PP is making a fuss about the PSOE's pact with Junts on immigration, and the PSOE is defending itself by diluting the scope of the delegation of powers to the Generalitat. "Control of the borders or irregular migratory flows is not being ceded. National security is not being compromised. The National Police and the Civil Guard at the border will continue to do the same job," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated this Wednesday in Congress in response to a question from the PP on the matter. The PP has been trying to corner Marlaska throughout the morning, coinciding with the control session. Previously, two PP deputies had already asked him two questions about the agreement with the Junts, accusing him of being an "exhausted, incapable, and disempowered" minister due to his public reluctance to accept Carles Puigdemont's demands.

Last week the repatriation of unaccompanied migrant children to Morocco, who had been in Ceuta for almost three months, began. The Minister of Home Affairs, Grande-Marlaska, says that they are minors who want to return to their country and that they are not expulsions but "assisted returns". The minister can use all the euphemisms he wants but he is finding it hard to pass off his actions as legal - or even fair.