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."

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.

Sánchez's appearance to take stock of the year was exactly as we had predicted: he will hold on.