Óscar López enters his office straight from the airport. He is wearing a blue suit and a tie that he will take off in a moment as a gesture of relief and the end of the day. On the plane that brought him from Santander, he did not listen to the interview that Pedro Sánchez gave this morning to Cadena Ser, but he doesn’t need to. If anyone knows what the Prime Minister thinks, it’s him. Sánchez used a low and defensive tone regarding the Ceuta crisis, but sharpened the knife when talking about the 400-square-meter penthouse that the Community of Madrid bought for 6.3 million euros for Isabel Díaz Ayuso to use. López, a tall guy with square glasses and a jokester, moves in the same coordinates as his boss. As a minister, he has experienced a complicated summer due to the collapse of the autonomous city caused by the massive influx of immigrants; however, his candidacy next year for the PSOE to govern Madrid has received an unexpected boost due to the strange real estate operation of his opponent, which has left her offside and unable to react. The opposition starts this new political term with the wind at its back.
Question. The PSOE has not governed Madrid since 1995. Why do you think now is the time?
Answer. Because in fact it could have governed in 2003 and we all remember what happened. Mr. Gabilondo won a few years ago and we all know that Ciudadanos gave the government to the Popular Party. Ms. Ayuso got the worst result in the history of the PP in Madrid, 22% of the vote, and with that she became president. It’s time for a change in Madrid after more than 30 years. Her model is privatizing, for a few, for the penthouse elites. And certainly, a lot of corruption.
Q. The PSOE has recently lost in Extremadura, Castilla y León, Andalusia, and Aragon. Can this electoral trend be reversed?
A. Every election is a world of its own. If we look at 2023, the PSOE was the most voted force in many communities, but lost governments due to PP’s pacts with Vox. Two months later, the PSOE maintained the government of Spain in the general elections. I am absolutely convinced that the time for change in Madrid has come. Moreover, I believe this penthouse has been the last straw. I truly believe the time for change has arrived. What worries me most now is no longer denouncing all the outrageous things Ayuso does and says, but making a good project to govern Madrid.
Q. You have access to La Moncloa. Will the presidential elections be before or after the regional elections in May?
A. That is up to the Prime Minister. I am not a fortune teller nor is it my place to set the date for the general elections, but I am absolutely convinced that the Prime Minister will finish the legislature.
Q. Is the idea of a super Sunday on the table?
A. I give you the same answer.
Q. One of Vox’s strategies has been to penetrate the working-class neighborhoods in Madrid, which were formerly socialist strongholds. What is your plan of action regarding this?
A. Studies show that Vox voters are mostly right-wing voters. Many right-wing voters stick with the original instead of the copy, which is the PP. The left may have had a problem with demobilization in certain areas, but not with the vote for Vox.
Q. How do you intend to mobilize that electorate?
A. We have to win back people who have lost faith in the political class. Anti-politics has prevailed. We have to reach those people and explain, over and over, that it’s not the same to have a good primary care center as to have to go to a private insurance; that it’s not the same to have a good public school as to have to pay; it’s not acceptable to use public resources to pay for a luxury penthouse for the president in secret. With me, universities will be better funded, students won’t have to resort to loans, and healthcare will be better funded.
Q. Do you have any internal polls after the penthouse crisis?
A. No, but beyond the polls, I can’t imagine who could justify something like that.
Q. Why do you think the Community of Madrid bought that property in Chamberí?
A. It’s obvious they were buying an apartment for Ms. Ayuso. According to them, it was to be a temporary office because she can’t work in Sol. Then we all discovered it’s not an office, it’s a penthouse intended for living.
Q. Why do you think the Madrid Government doesn’t want to show the file of the operation?
A. Because a series of crimes may have been committed and that’s why we went to court. It’s impossible to put together a purchase file by a company dependent on the Community of Madrid [Planifica Madrid] to allocate more than 6 million to buy a penthouse through a luxury real estate agency in La Moraleja with the relevant commissions. There’s no way to put together such a file.
Q. How far will the responsibilities go?
A. That purchase was badly done. I feel sorry for those who will have to pay for Ms. Ayuso’s whims, because everyone involved in the purchase or who signed any paper will have a problem. They bought an apartment for temporary use that has no office use. Who signed that? With what justification? With what price comparison? With what elements of judgment? It’s absolutely contrary to any legal figure, apart from common sense. They have gotten into a very serious problem.
Q. The president declared 623 euros in expenses for her troubled trip to Mexico.
A. There is a setback in transparency policies with Ayuso. Who finances the trips of a political representative who tomorrow can make decisions? Who lobbies Ms. Ayuso? It’s the same for me as with the penthouse. There are 1,000 legends running around Madrid, but I try to base myself on facts. That’s why we have requested the documentation in court, in transparency bodies, and in the Madrid Assembly.
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Q. Is this Ayuso’s weakest moment since she has been governing?
A. Without a doubt. You just have to read the right-wing press to understand it and see the opinions and statements of PP leaders. Ms. Ayuso has little problems in the Popular Party. For the first time, there are people who dare to distance themselves.
Q. Alberto González Amador, the president’s partner, is going to trial for possible tax fraud, but there is no date yet. Do you expect it to be held before the elections?
A. I don’t know, it depends on the justice system. What I would like is for justice to be equal for everyone and that there is no suspicion that some judicial procedures advance on one schedule and others on another.
Q. Spain has a serious housing problem, and Madrid even more so. How would you combat it?
A. When I am president, I will meet with mayors to see all available land and make a plan to build affordable housing. We have some of the largest operations underway, but I admit some have been very slow, like the Campamento Operation.
Q. The Spanish Government, with Mónica García at the head, is preparing a bill to curb privatization in public healthcare, but it doesn’t seem likely to pass, at least in this legislature. Can that privatization process be reversed?
A. There is an example that was applied by Ximo Puig in the Valencian Community. It’s the only example there has been. And that is the path I believe we have to take in the Community of Madrid. We have to analyze those agreements and see how public healthcare can be strengthened.
Q. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has reclassified 448,000 square meters of Real Madrid’s sports city for private hospitals or hotels. What is your opinion?
A. I would like there to be more public hospitals and, certainly, more affordable housing and that the uses are not always for private hospitals and other things.
Q. When do you plan to leave your position as minister?
A. The appointment and dismissal of ministers are decisions that depend exclusively on the Prime Minister.
Q. Has the Pedro Sánchez Government lacked self-criticism in the Ceuta crisis?
A. It is a truly extraordinary episode. The priority is to return normality to Ceuta as soon as possible. There will be time to analyze and learn.
Q. Do you understand the discontent of the people of Ceuta?
A. Absolutely. But I also say that Spain cannot forget that our country is a social, democratic, and rule-of-law state. There are some people on the right with very exacerbated moods. Our country is perfectly capable of defending its borders, but also doing so respecting international law and human rights.
Q. It is also not well understood that the Government blames Israel or Russia, but not Morocco, where most of the immigrants came from.
A. There is not a single indication that leads to seeking responsibility in the Government of Morocco. On the contrary, it has cooperated. Everyone has also been able to see Morocco’s collaboration in preventing a second assault that was half-announced for August 15. It is in Spain’s interest to have that good relationship and cooperation with Morocco.
Q. Will Felipe VI be able to go to Ceuta soon?
A. I am absolutely convinced.
Q. Minister Óscar Puente strongly criticized the photo of the King with the ultra agitator Javier Negre. The president emphasized on Cadena Ser that the King has never been to Ceuta; however, he has. A statement that can be misunderstood as a comparison. Is there not a good relationship between La Moncloa and the Royals?
A. The Government works with full normality and full coordination with the Royal House. One can disagree with a photo of the King; I share that opinion of Óscar Puente. People like Negre are a real danger to democracy; they are people who have found a business case in hatred and have discovered that there is a lot of money provoking, lying, spreading hoaxes, feeding hate campaigns. They are not journalists, they do not seek the truth.
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