Pedro Sánchez appeared this Tuesday at La Moncloa to review the political course. The president answered 16 questions from five media outlets. These are the headlines from his intervention, which lasted an hour and a half.
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On the judicial cases in his family circle: “Is that the Spain we want?”
Asked about the recent sentence against his brother, David Sánchez, to nine years of disqualification for a crime of prevarication related to his hiring in 2017 by the Diputación de Badajoz; and about the indictment of his wife, Begoña Gómez, who will be tried by a popular jury, accused of influence peddling and embezzlement, the head of the Executive defended both and offered a reflection on the “dehumanization” in politics. “Obviously, Begoña Gómez is my wife and David Sánchez is my brother, but they are Begoña Gómez and David Sánchez, two people who throughout their lives have worked and trained,” the president declared. “My brother has a degree in economics from Icade, a degree in composition and orchestral conducting from the University of Saint Petersburg; he speaks English, Russian, French, and Italian perfectly. He is not just my brother. He is, fundamentally, David Sánchez.” “And the same goes for Begoña Gómez. We met when we were 30 years old. She had already been working in her company for more than 10 years. She left it in 2018. She resigned to avoid any conflict of interest and any kind of problem that could arise, even if artificial and intentional. She was a professional before I met her. Before I was secretary general of the PSOE, she collaborated with the Complutense. She is not my wife, she is Begoña Gómez. With such strategies, people who have a past of integrity and professionalism and have sacrificed a good part of their professional development simply because I am president of the Government are dehumanized. The question we have to ask ourselves is: Does the president’s partner have to give up their career? Is that the Spain we want?”.
Sánchez expressed confidence that both cases will be resolved favorably in the courts. “In a guarantee system like ours, he has every right to appeal this sentence which he considers unfair and we hope other instances will give him reason as I also defend him,” he said about the sentence against his brother. “We hope the judicial drift will end where it has to end,” he added referring to the instruction by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado and the trial of his wife.
On the investigation of Zapatero: “By all means, the Plus Ultra file is impeccable”
Several questions at the press conference revolved around the investigation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra. Asked if he was convinced by the explanations given in the recent TVE interview, Sánchez replied: “On behalf of the Government of Spain and the party I am honored to lead, he has our support. We respect his presumption of innocence and we are in the initial phases of this investigation which we will see where it leads.” When reminded that the former president had missed the deadline he himself had given the judge to clarify the origin of the jewels found in his office, he responded: “I am not Zapatero’s spokesperson. He will give explanations when he considers.” And questioned about the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra, he assured: “The file has been examined by all means, I don’t know how many times. It is of absolutely impeccable legality. Absolute peace of mind in this regard.” Sánchez, like Zapatero, also did not want to comment on the accusations made by Julio Martínez, who directly accuses the former president of having participated in that bailout: “That is his version,” he concluded.
On corruption and political regeneration plans: “There is a huge difference between some and others”
The president did not refer, during his long presentation reviewing the political course, to the corruption cases affecting his party, some of them already judged, such as the one that led to a 24-year prison sentence for the former minister and former PSOE Organization Secretary José Luis Ábalos. He stated that the Government had implemented “almost all” of the anti-corruption plan measures announced a year ago, but then admitted that the public integrity bill had been approved in second reading by the Council of Ministers this very morning. Almost all the measures of the plan depend on this law and depend on a complex parliamentary process in Congress. Sánchez asked parliamentary groups for “broad-mindedness” for its approval.
When reminded that he came to government through a motion of no confidence after the Gürtel case sentence implicating the PP government and asked if he would have asked for the president’s resignation if a government minister had been sentenced to 24 years in prison, referring to Ábalos, Sánchez replied: “I offered Rajoy to assume political responsibilities [to resign before facing the motion of no confidence]. But what he did was cover up and protect systemic corruption. The PSOE, when there has been the slightest hint, has acted decisively. There is a huge difference between some and others.”
On tension and Óscar Puente’s tweets: “Fires have no ideology”
Without mentioning him directly, several questions at the press conference alluded to the tweets and statements of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who in recent days accused the PP of wanting the Government to solve “the problem” of the fires for them, when the Madrid president requested the declaration of a national emergency, and suggested that in the justice system there are actors trying to bring down the Government by “undemocratic methods.” Throughout the appearance, the President of the Government highlighted the current “collaboration between administrations against the common enemy, which is fire,” and insisted that climate change and fires “have no ideology,” although he regretted that some political leaders have spread “rumors,” referring to the discourse that claims it is forbidden to clean the forests. “It makes me very sad to see it,” he added.
Regarding whether there are actors in the justice system trying to bring down the Government by undemocratic methods, Sánchez assured that popular accusations, which sometimes include parties like the PP and Vox, “are driving
On dialogue and possible pacts with the PP: “I wish we had a constructive and not destructive opposition”
Sánchez highlighted that a pact with the communities governed by the PP to face the fires is already working, but what is needed is to sign a State agreement to prevent them and decide the best way to face the day after. In this regard, he insisted several times throughout his intervention that the “climate denialism” preached by the PP’s partner in several regional governments is “the worst fuel” and ruled out the possibility of negotiating a pact with the PP on fires that does not address “the elephant in the room,” referring to climate change.
Asked if he plans to meet soon with the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Sánchez replied that the Government is “always open to talk with the opposition,” which he called “destructive,” but from his answer, it did not seem that this meeting will take place soon.
On the amnesty and Puigdemont’s situation: “Now he wants to meet with Feijóo”
The head of the Executive welcomed the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the amnesty law: “It has confirmed that we acted according to the law to promote reconciliation. It was a brave and necessary decision. When we came to government, 40% of Catalans pointed to the relationship with the State as one of the main problems and today it is only 2%. That is no coincidence.”
Asked if he plans to meet with Carles Puigdemont in Spain and if he wants the Spanish justice system to speed up his amnesty, Sánchez mocked the PP’s attempt to approach Junts, whose leader recently advocated closing the procés chapter: “Even Feijóo wants to meet with Puigdemont. A success of the amnesty law is that PP and Junts meet again,” he added, addressing the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños. The president did not clarify, in any case, if he plans to meet with Puigdemont.
On the Budgets and the duration of the legislature: “We respect the results. Let others apply the same story”
As he has been doing in recent months, Sánchez assured that his “intention” is to present the General State Budgets, and his “will” is to approve them, but he did not specify when he will do so nor did he stop to explain the lack of parliamentary support to get them through. He also insisted that an early election is not in his plans: “Legislatures, also when the left governs, last four years. The only thing I ask is that the results be accepted. We always do it. Let’s see if others apply the same story.”
The reivindicative tone of the appearance had, in any case, an air of electoral pre-campaign. Sánchez has highlighted economic growth and the increase in the number of jobs despite international uncertainty and has contrasted on several occasions the “social shield” measures and decrees with the “liberal” government that preceded it, referring to the PP. “We have gone through several crises and the question is how others would have responded. The answer is very simple in view of what they did when they governed.”