The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has positioned himself this Friday as the best alternative to defend the interests of Ceuta and Melilla, two cities that, according to him, the Government has forgotten: “The Government has neglected its duty to defend the Spanish identity of both.” Feijóo, who spoke at the Board of Directors of his party in Melilla, has maintained his attacks against the Government and Pedro Sánchez, whom he accused of having been on vacation, neglecting the warnings from the CNI and the president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, and rejecting European aid. In response to these criticisms, Feijóo presented himself as the candidate the autonomous cities need to have “the same rights as the rest of Spaniards.”
In statements prior to his intervention at the Board of Directors of the Popular Party of Melilla, Feijóo insisted on the thesis that this is not a migration crisis, but a security issue. “We have confirmed that this is not immigration. Immigrants do not confront the Police; immigrants try to find work even if they are irregular immigrants. These gentlemen do not come to look for work, they come to confront the constitutional public order and the State Security Forces and Corps,” he concluded.
These words from the PP leader about immigrants, and his criticism of the operation to relocate 1,700 of them to the facilities at the port of Ceuta, have caused notable anger in the Government. At La Moncloa, Feijóo is labeled “irresponsible” for stirring up citizens against immigrants, accusing them of not wanting to work, despite all of them demanding to go to the peninsula to look for work, and also for criticizing an operation that, for the Government, given its complexity, has worked quite well.
The Government is satisfied with the operation in Ceuta, despite some images of disorder early in the morning. At La Moncloa, they point out that it was very difficult to carry out because so many people had never been moved to a relocation site before, and they consider that everything has developed “with civility and without violence.”
The Government believes that the 24-hour suspension of the National Court has focused attention on this operation and has caused a call effect because many immigrants who were not on the beaches, but in the mountains, have come down and gathered waiting for the transfer to possibly take place this Friday, as it finally did. That unforeseen event, the temporary suspension, attracted many more immigrants than expected and complicated the operation. The Government believes that the PP is trying to stretch the Ceuta crisis as much as possible to wear down Sánchez and, therefore, all steps from now on will be taken with the Popular Party opposing.
Feijóo has used the relocation of migrants this morning at the port of Ceuta to attack the Government again: “50 days later, the disorder in Ceuta as an invaded city is total. Spain remains a nation without a government. 50 days later, this morning’s images reflect a knocked-out Government.” Feijóo has referred to the scenes experienced this morning to defend the solution that the Popular Party has proposed all this time: “Return all those who have invaded Ceuta.” The Government insists that this is the final goal, but first they must be relocated and removed from the beaches to be identified and start the return procedures, something that is already underway with almost 2,000 people, but many more are still missing. At La Moncloa, they believe Feijóo is deceiving people by making them believe that all those who entered can be returned overnight, without the slow process of individual files required by law.
In line with the stance his party has maintained in the Congress of Deputies, where he accused Morocco of being responsible for the massive crossing of migrants on July 30 and 31, Feijóo has stated that he has no secrets, only “opposition.” He also said that if Spaniards vote for him, “Morocco will find a loyal neighboring country, a serious and reliable Prime Minister, but never a Prime Minister subordinate to anyone or anything.”
These statements come in a context in which Feijóo has multiplied his efforts to “Europeanize” the Ceuta crisis. On one hand, the Spanish PP promoted on Thursday that the European Parliament approve a resolution that holds Spain responsible for the entry of between 70,000 and 80,000 migrants in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 and also issues a serious warning to Rabat by opening the door to suspending the association agreement between the EU and Morocco. On the other hand, the Popular leader will travel next Monday to Ceuta with members of the European People’s Party to show them the situation. With the backing of the agreement reached in the Eurochamber, Feijóo has claimed the need to defend “the only Spanish border and the only border Europe has in Africa.”
Feijóo, who traveled to Melilla on Thursday on the occasion of the autonomous city’s day, met this morning with civil society entities. According to the president of the PP of the city, Juan José Imbroda, who explained afterwards, in these meetings they agreed on different action plans for Melilla, which will include investments and legislative measures coordinated with the national leadership of the party in Genoa. Among the measures, he promised a reduction in Social Security contributions and an increase in investments by the State.
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