Andalusia is the most populous autonomous community, the autonomy that distributes the most seats in Spanish elections and also the region that hosts the largest socialist federation. It is the historical stronghold of the PSOE, which governed the community uninterruptedly until 2019, when Juanma Moreno Bonilla's PP conquered the San Telmo Palace. Two legislatures later, the PSOE's outlook in the elections already called for May 17 is not to regain the government, on the contrary: polls assure Moreno Bonilla's victory and it seems the doubt is whether he maintains the absolute majority or if he depends on Vox. It is in this context that the minister and first vice-president, María Jesús Montero, makes the leap to Andalusia as a socialist candidate, with declining prospects, at historic lows. And it is with this horizon that this Thursday former president Felipe González has shared a stage in Seville with Juanma Moreno Bonilla, in a conversation moderated by the journalist Susanna Griso and organized by the Cajasol Foundation with the title: "Cayetana de Alba, a political duchess".

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.

Carmen Calvo speaking with José María Aznar. Felipe González and Miquel Roca. Or the Queen greeting Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo. These are images only seen at celebrations like the one held this Tuesday in the Congress of Deputies, where all the institutions of the State come together to commemorate an anniversary. This Tuesday's event was special, as the Senate and Congress convened jointly to reaffirm that the 1978 Constitution is the longest-lasting in Spanish history. The Speaker of the Congress, Francina Armengol, offered words of praise, calling for everyone to "honor" the Constitution and "not let their guard down" in ensuring its effectiveness, while King Felipe VI affirmed that the path has been "brilliant" and will continue to be so "if we keep writing it." However, the attendance at the event alone suggests that this "together" journey has many nuances.

To listen to a talk given by Felipe González at the Ateneo in Madrid is to hear one of the most critical voices against Sánchez's policies right now. —beyond the PP and Vox—. The former Spanish president dislikes everything Pedro Sánchez is currently doing, criticizing him for failing to articulate a project that could be accepted by the "majority of Spanish citizens" due to his pacts with the Basque radical left and the Catalan independence movement. González took his seat on Tuesday with the intention of returning all the questions posed by journalists Esther Palomera, Pedro García Cuartango, and Lucia Méndez. He did so with irony, but with a scathing underlying message against what the plurinational alliance forged by the PSOE this legislature represents. He even confessed that, if elections were held now, he would cast a blank ballot and that he sees parallels between the leadership of Pedro Sánchez and Donald Trump, with whom he has a close relationship. Moncloa is now seeking confrontation.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo and José María Aznar had to appear together at an event for the Faes Foundation, which the latter chairs, to try to unify their messages regarding the Gaza massacre and the malevolent strategy of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to disguise his preferred discourse of solidarity as social discourse. What Pedro Sánchez would like more than to be able to eliminate the judicial investigations that plague him and their social repercussions. It's not that easy. However, the truth is that he has managed to open a front of public debate that could give it oxygen.

1. Alfonso Armada, a general in the Spanish army, was sentenced to 26 years, eight months, and one day of major imprisonment for being, along with Milans del Bosch, the leader of the attempted military coup d'état in February 1981. Only seven years later, and almost as a Christmas present, the PSOE cabinet pardoned Armada. The president of that government was none other than Felipe González. Those who wanted to reverse democracy in Spain, those who sought to interrupt the Transition and return to the Francoist ways of the last forty years, were pardoned by a socialist government that had no need to. Perhaps there we already had an indication of where the character stood.

The amnesty brings merriment. While Catalonia greets him with distrust—there are still many heads to be sorted out—resentment is surfacing in Madrid. I'll leave aside the ritual shouting of indignant Spanish nationalism and stick with the vanity fair represented by Feijóo and the ineffable Felipe González.

Before the sentence was made public, Felipe González had already taken it upon himself to call it "garbage," "political corruption," and "barrabassada." And with all solemnity, he announced that he would not vote for the PSOE if Pedro Sánchez is the candidate, nor as long as it is led by someone who participated in the amnesty. This is the latest episode in a long-standing estrangement, which began, in fact, in the Zapatero era. His tragedy is that he cannot even approach the PP, the party to which he is undoubtedly closest today, without losing the little credit he retains and betraying his biography.

The other day, a lifelong PP voter (and when I say lifelong, I mean the party's entire life, since 1977, when the party founded by six former Franco ministers was called AP and won 100,000 votes and one deputy in Catalonia) told me: "When I was young, Felipe was me, I was young. I agree 100%." Well, there's no other question, Your Honor.

Conceptually, amnesties are granted to correct abuses of power committed by the state. This answers the question posed by Felipe González, who was the first to react (with a bitter tone, for a change) to the Constitutional Court's ruling in favor of the amnesty law, on behalf of all the patriots of good Spain: "How is it possible to ask for forgiveness from criminals?" he asked.

That the amnesty in the Process doesn't please Felipe González is nothing new. However, just hours before the Constitutional Court's ruling upholding the law was made public, the former Socialist president has raised his voice and attacked the report signed by the body's vice president, the progressive Inmaculada Montalbán, which supports its constitutionality: "The rapporteur who did this, why... react?" González said in an interview on Onda Cero. "How can you apologize to criminals?" he asked about the law to erase judicial persecution in the Process.

José Enrique Serrano, who was chief of staff to former Socialist presidents Felipe González and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, died this Tuesday at the age of 75. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) recognized Serrano as "a servant of Spain and a socialist committed to the deepest values of this party." "This country will always be indebted to José Enrique Serrano," they stated on social media, as reported by Europa Press. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared that he was an "unrepeatable" person.

This week, two of the broadcasts ofThe anthill They have become the most-watched programs of the day in Spain. On Tuesday, with Miguel Ángel Revilla, it reached more than 2,200,000 viewers. And the following day, Wednesday, Felipe González surpassed that figure, with more than 2,300,000. It's hard to understand these results considering the verbosity of the two protagonists is unbearable. And even more so in a supposedly family-friendly format. Both guests have become regular visitors due to their ability to effortlessly break the audience ratings. There's a disturbing fact about how they both communicate on this program: when they speak, they look at the audience in the stands more than at Pablo Motos. Their speeches are more suited to a rally or a public speech than a conversation.