The Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has criticized Feijóo’s proposal to Junts and PNV to support a motion of no confidence as “cynicism” and “desperation.” “The People’s Party has no country project. It has no project to advance Spain. That opposition they are doing is empty, it contributes nothing,” she added. Feijóo stated this Tuesday that “Spain urgently needs a Government with autonomy to govern and with a majority capable of defending the general interest.” However, he avoided the proposal to meet in Waterloo with Carles Puigdemont to negotiate Junts’ support for the motion of no confidence: “Let’s talk about serious things,” he said at the Círculo de Economía in Barcelona. Meanwhile, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, acknowledged in an interview on RNE that she is “very concerned about the political situation of her country and the world.” During the conversation, she avoided directly commenting on the investigations affecting the PSOE and limited herself to pointing out that “the State institutions have to do their job.” The vice president also assured that “Mr. Aznar and the de facto powers of our country are in the ‘let whoever can do it, do it’,” an attitude she described as “extremely serious.”
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The Government, on Feijóo’s proposal of a motion of no confidence: “The People’s Party has no country project”
The Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has stated that the relationship with partners and political groups that supported the investiture is one of “dialogue and constant contact.” She also described Feijóo’s proposal to Junts and PNV to support a motion of no confidence as “cynicism” and “desperation.” “The People’s Party has no country project. It has no project to advance Spain. That opposition they are doing is empty, it contributes nothing,” she added.
Generalitat Valenciana
Vox warns PP that it will not support Consell’s budgets if it does not include its national priority which it has so far ignored
Faced with journalists’ insistence, finally the Vox spokesman in Les Corts Valencianes, José María Llanos, came to acknowledge this Tuesday that the purpose of calling a press conference was nothing other than to send a warning to navigators: if the PP and the Consell do not include their “national priority” in the Generalitat’s budgets, they will not support the accounts.
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Montero is “absolutely calm” about SEPI’s work on Plus Ultra
The general secretary of the Andalusian PSOE and former Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, stated this Tuesday that she is “absolutely calm” about the work carried out by SEPI in the public loan received by the airline Plus Ultra, as the government’s processing of the files “has been correct.”
In her first press conference after the Andalusian elections held on May 17, Montero said she is “calm” about the work done as the top official of SEPI regarding the rescue of Plus Ultra, a case for which former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been indicted.
Montero, who had not yet spoken on this matter, defended the former president and pointed out that the SEPI’s work file “has been reviewed thoroughly,” also by the State General Intervention and the Court of Auditors, as well as by the European Commission. (Efe)
The Government appears after Feijóo’s proposal of a motion of no confidence
The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, and Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz; the Minister of Finance, Arcadi España; the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, appear at the press conference following the Council of Ministers.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo
Expansion | Feijóo dodges in Barcelona the proposal to negotiate in Waterloo and with Puigdemont the motion of no confidence
The leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, dodged this Tuesday in Barcelona the proposal that Junts per Catalunya made just an hour earlier regarding the motion of no confidence against Pedro Sánchez. “If Feijóo has something serious to explain, see you in Waterloo,” said the number two of the pro-independence party, Jordi Turull, on Catalunya Ràdio, making it clear that the proposal must be negotiated directly with the party president, Carles Puigdemont. Feijóo, during his speech at the Círculo de Economía sessions, tried to appear determined: “I will return decency to my country with or without help,” he said in the discussion. “Let’s talk about serious things,” he snapped when asked by journalists about the Junts offer after the event.
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ERC, Compromís and BNG file a request for the appearance of Fernando Grande-Marlaska
ERC, Compromís and BNG have filed this Tuesday a request for the appearance of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to report and explain the actions of the National Police during the Valencian teachers’ mobilizations held in the city of Valencia on May 31.
The initiative demands that the minister account for the police actions publicly denounced as disproportionate during a peaceful protest, as well as information regarding the possible participation of plainclothes or infiltrated agents in the mobilization. It also requests explanations about the investigations opened following the incidents and about the statements issued later by National Police unions related to these events.
Feijóo dodges Junts’ proposal: “Let’s talk about serious things”
After his speech at the Círculo de Economía in Barcelona, the leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was asked if he plans to meet in Waterloo with Carles Puigdemont to negotiate Junts’ support for the motion of no confidence. “Let’s talk about serious things,” said the opposition leader, without specifying.
Earlier, during his participation in the sessions, he had presented the situation differently: “I will return decency to my country with or without help,” assured the opposition leader.
This morning, on Catalunya Ràdio, Junts’ secretary general, Jordi Turull, had stated that any proposal would be about a motion of no confidence against Pedro Sánchez’s government and had to be negotiated in person with Puigdemont. “If Feijóo has something serious to explain, see you in Waterloo,” he said.
‘Trial of David Sánchez’
David Sánchez’s defense to a key witness of the accusations: “Why didn’t you file a complaint in 2017?”
Orchestra conductor Cristina de Frutos appeared this Tuesday at the Provincial Court of Badajoz as one of the key witnesses for the accusations in the case that puts David Sánchez, brother of the Prime Minister, former leader of the Extremaduran PSOE Miguel Ángel Gallardo, and nine others on trial. The defenses, especially that of Pedro Sánchez’s relative, have thoroughly dismantled her testimony, in which she pointed to alleged irregularities in the awarding of the high management position of the Badajoz provincial council to which she aspired but was ultimately awarded to David Sánchez. During her interrogation, lawyer Emilio Cortés asked her to explain why, if she suspected the position was pre-awarded and felt aggrieved, she did not file a complaint in 2017 with other candidates. “Well, first, I didn’t know [the other candidates]. Second, because I decided not to. I thought it was something too high, honestly. And third, because I had my job. And that’s it. It’s not like my life depended on it,” she stated via videoconference.
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Maíllo warns PSOE that it cannot make unilateral decisions
The federal coordinator of United Left, Antonio Maíllo, has again urged the PSOE to give “many explanations” about the alleged corruption cases that beset it and warned the socialist part of the coalition government against the temptation to make decisions alone. “If Moncloa thinks that in a coalition government they are the ones who decide the discourse, position, and strategy, the rest of us feel free to express opinions and, of course, to follow our own strategy. If the coalition government, as it should be, faces a joint strategy, we will be involved in it, but if one part of the government unilaterally assumes a position and strategy, we will feel free to propose what we deem appropriate.”
Maíllo highlighted that thanks to Sumar, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, will appear in Congress. “The Socialist Party has to give many explanations as a party and Zapatero will also have to explain his appearance. We will have to carefully evaluate both what Zapatero says in court and what Sánchez says in Congress,” said the IU leader at the presentation of the Por Andalucía group in the autonomous Parliament.
Podemos warns that the Pope’s visit cannot overshadow the Government’s explanations about corruption cases
The secretary general of Podemos, Ione Belarra, said this Tuesday at a press conference that “the situation we currently live in is absolutely disappointing” and that “progressive people are totally disappointed with this Government.” According to her, “citizens expected a legislature like the one we had when Podemos was part of the Government,” but, in her opinion, what they are seeing is “a legislature marked by rearmament and very serious corruption cases.” Belarra also expressed concern that the Pope’s visit might divert attention from the explanations that, in her opinion, the Executive must provide. “We hope the visit does not serve to cover up corruption or avoid the explanations the Government has to give. There are many people out there waiting to hear from the president and Zapatero,” she said.
Asked about the resignation of the Podemos Andalusia coordinator, Raquel Martínez, announced this Tuesday, the purple leader was brief. “I want to deeply thank the work Raquel Martínez has done for Podemos Andalusia,” she said, before adding that the organization will open a primary process to choose a new leadership. Sources from the party downplayed Martínez’s departure and assured there is no concern about the party’s organizational situation in Andalusia.
Ibáñez (Sumar): “Feijóo has to swallow the toad of making deals with separatists and independents for 150 euros”
The Sumar deputy and Compromís spokesperson in Congress, Alberto Ibañez, stated that the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, “has to swallow the toad of making deals with separatists, independents, and very dangerous people who do not want the great Spain he claims to defend, for 150 euros.” The Valencian spokesperson explained that this is the cost of a plane ticket from Madrid to Brussels and a train ticket to Waterloo.
When asked if his political space’s strategy against the alleged PSOE corruption cases should be more drastic, Ibáñez said they requested the Prime Minister’s appearance since last week and that he believes “he appears late.” “Once we hear these explanations, we will evaluate, but drastic measures are assessed based on the relationship with the Socialist Party and not other matters,” he explained.
Núñez Feijóo, at the Círculo de Economía in Barcelona: “I will return decency to my country with or without help”
The leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, spoke this Tuesday at the Círculo de Economía sessions held in Barcelona but avoided referring to Junts per Catalunya’s proposal that he travel to Belgium to propose to Carles Puigdemont his motion of no confidence proposal. “I will return decency to my country with or without help,” assured the opposition leader.
“I do not intend to stir consciences. I do not seek shortcuts because what needs to be tackled is Spain’s situation. And I do not come to ask for favors, nor to give them. What I come for is to defend the need for a clean project,” Feijóo assured Catalan businessmen, after describing the corruption scandals hovering over the PSOE and the Government as “the white elephant in the room.”
The popular leader used a business analogy to try to convey his argument in favor of the motion of no confidence. “You know that the first duty of any responsible leader is to protect the solvency, reputation, and future of their organization,” he explained. “None of you would reach any business agreement with a company investigated for countless corruptions, with several executives in prison, without filed accounts, insolvent, or whose only purpose is to make it to the next day. You wouldn’t, even if that alliance could bring you a small short-term benefit,” he added.
“Catalonia should no longer aspire to achieve things by collision or coercion, but by conviction,” concluded the opposition leader.
The CGPJ calls for “respect” after questioning judges’ actions
The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) approved this Tuesday in its Permanent Commission an institutional declaration reiterating its call to respect the actions of judges and magistrates, in the face of criticism following the indictment of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the outbreak of the Leire Díez case.
“The CGPJ expresses its concern about statements from qualified officials of high State institutions that question the independence, responsibility, and submission to the law of specific judicial actions,” reads the text approved by the six members forming the Permanent Commission.
The governing body of judges warns that such statements “contribute to eroding citizens’ trust in the Rule of Law,” thereby weakening “the foundations of an advanced democratic society.”
In this regard, it recalls that “the defense of constitutional values and principles, judicial independence, and the right to defense are pillars on which the Rule of Law rests.”
Therefore, it emphasizes once again “the need to respect the independence of the Judiciary,” a respect it considers “incompatible with disqualification or attributing to the judicial function purposes unrelated to guaranteeing the Rule of Law and citizens’ freedoms.”
Feijóo states that Spain needs a Government “with majority” to overcome its “deep decline”
The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated at the beginning of his speech at the Cercle d’Economia in Barcelona that “before anything else, Spain urgently needs a Government with autonomy to govern and with a majority capable of defending the general interest.” Thus, he portrayed the country’s situation as “a deep decline in most areas,” where “corruption is no longer the exception but the norm.”
Vox assures that “no one would understand” if PP sat down to negotiate with Junts in Waterloo
The Vox spokesperson in Congress, Pepa Millán, assured that “no one would understand” if the PP sat down to negotiate with Junts in Waterloo, as the Catalans requested this Tuesday. “For all Spaniards, it is unacceptable and condemnable that the People’s Party sits with a separatist party outside Spain,” she stated. Millán insisted that now is not the time to negotiate but to act: “If the PP wants to present a motion of no confidence, let them do it, because what they are doing is giving the PSOE a lifeline,” argued the parliamentarian, before asking that no “breath” be given to the socialists.
Pisarello (Comuns) assures that “the only thing that can keep the legislature alive” is “to accelerate pending reforms”
The Secretary of the Congress Board and deputy of Comuns and Sumar, Gerardo Pisarello, assured that “the only thing that can keep this legislature alive” is “to unblock and accelerate pending reforms.” For the deputy, this is also the formula to “stop the reactionary program” of PP and Vox, who, he said, “anxiously formulate their dream” of reaching Moncloa.
Pisarello demanded consistency between words and actions, referring directly to the PSOE: “If it is said that in this country there are judicial and police operations to overthrow governments by undemocratic means, the pending reforms must also be unblocked, starting with the repeal of the gag law or the democratization measures of justice that have not been approved,” he said. The parliamentarian also referred to laws to end corruption that were announced but have not yet come into force: “Measures must be accelerated to prevent influence peddling, shadow lobbying, and political corruption,” he requested.
Vox assures that the national priority is agreed and secured in the budgets
The Vox spokesman in Les Corts Valencianes, José María Llanos, assured this Tuesday that the national priority is agreed and secured in the 2026 Generalitat Budget bill since, if it were not, “Vox would not be negotiating and would not support them.” This will be reflected in “measures and numbers” in aspects such as housing, social aid, and the defense of the national product, Llanos detailed in a press conference about the 2026 budgets that the PP has agreed with Vox, which have already been ratified by the Consell plenary and will be approved in Les Corts on July 22.
The Vox spokesman defended that he does not enter the “debate of nationals or naturalized”: “I have always spoken of Spaniards first, I am not talking about eight surnames,” according to Llanos, who related the concept of national priority to the permanence, connection, and collaboration of people with the Valencian Community.
“Vox is talking about illegal immigrants who have arrived massively in Spain and our community, immigrants who commit crimes in our land, who do not adapt and do not contribute to sustaining the public system,” he added to warn that “many things will still have to be modified,” because that “is part of the negotiations,” but he reiterated that the ‘national priority’ is agreed.
The spokesman announced that a reinforced minimum period of rooting, registration, connection with the territory, and contribution history will be established to access housing and social aid, and added: “There will be an exclusion from structural benefits for those in irregular situations. Those in need will be attended to, but they will not be given structural priority in access to social services.” (Efe)
Yolanda Díaz expresses concern about Spain’s political situation and denounces the actions of the “de facto powers”
The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, stated this Tuesday in an interview on RNE that she is “very concerned about the political situation of her country and the world.” During the conversation, she avoided directly commenting on the investigations affecting the PSOE and limited herself to pointing out that “the State institutions have to do their job.” However, she added that there are “coincidences, I say ironically, striking,” and gave as an example that “during the European elections, the Prime Minister’s wife was summoned to testify.” “I do not talk about campaigns. There are causes in our country being investigated with manifest seriousness and gravity, and I ask for respect for the courts. No jokes with corruption,” she emphasized. The vice president also assured that “Mr. Aznar and the de facto powers of our country are in the ‘let whoever can do it, do it’,” an attitude she described as “extremely serious.” Regarding the new decree to extend rents announced by Sumar, Díaz assured that the Government will negotiate “until the last minute with the three rights” and is willing to agree “whatever is necessary” to pass the initiative. The minister insisted that “it won’t be because of them” if the decree falls again after passing through Congress.
POLITICS
Junts: “If Feijóo has something serious to explain, see you in Waterloo”
Junts per Catalunya pressures but does not strangle Pedro Sánchez’s Government. In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio, Jordi Turull stated that Junts “is not here to support the PP or PSOE” and said that if the popular party wants to propose a motion of no confidence, they know where to address the matter: “If Feijóo has something serious to explain, see you in Waterloo.” Junts refers the PP to meet with Carles Puigdemont in Belgium if they want to explore any agreement.
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GABRIEL RUFIÁN
ERC stops Rufián in his request to have control over the list for the general elections
Only Pedro Sánchez knows when the next general elections will be, but Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) announced this Monday that it is starting the internal machinery to prepare its candidacy. With the approval, next Saturday, of the regulation to prepare the lists, the leadership led by Oriol Junqueras is addressing two fronts. On one hand, shielding itself against the uncertainty of how long Pedro Sánchez’s government can endure. On the other, confronting the plans of its spokesperson in Madrid, Gabriel Rufián, who has been privately demanding for months to have control over the names on the list. This is a condition he has put on the table while advancing his crusade to unify the left of the PSOE for the upcoming elections. The draft, for example, increases the quota of independent names that the Executive can include.
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‘KITCHEN CASE’
Video | Three strategies in the Kitchen case and a talkative Villarejo
The statements of the first accused reveal differences in the defense lines of the political and police leadership.
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PSOE
Sánchez questions the justice’s treatment of PSOE before his leadership
Pedro Sánchez dedicated much of his speech yesterday before the PSOE leadership to arming his people to go on the offensive, amid enormous political and judicial pressure against the Government and the party for various open cases. In the closed-door meeting of the federal executive, Sánchez emphasized the PSOE’s “total collaboration” with justice compared to the response Mariano Rajoy gave when the Gürtel case investigation began — “it’s a plot against the PP,” said the former popular president — and explained the “different speeds” of some procedures that have cornered the socialists again compared to other cases from Génova, according to sources present consulted by EL PAÍS. The PSOE secretary general cited as an example the dismissal of Begoña Gómez’s complaint against ultra activist Vito Quiles for harassment.
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Good morning. We start the live narration of the latest political news this Tuesday, June 2. In a week when more details of the so-called Leire Díez case are expected to be known once the judge has partially lifted the secrecy of the summary, the PSOE reiterates its full collaboration with justice.
Pedro Sánchez marks eight years today as Prime Minister with only three budgets approved, a period in which he has had to manage unprecedented situations for the economy such as a pandemic, various natural disasters, and two price crises caused by international armed conflicts.
The PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, speaks at 10:45 in the second day of the annual meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, which brings together business and political leaders to debate current issues. This speech comes at a time when the popular leader tries to convince Junts and PNV to support a motion of no confidence against Sánchez to force an early election.
In Castilla y León, PP and Vox continue negotiations on the details of the agreement expected to be announced in the coming hours or days, which will allow the popular Alfonso Fernández Mañueco to become president of Castilla y León again in a coalition government.
Read more The Parliament of Catalonia rejects Illa appearing this week over the PSOE’s judicial cases
