Sánchez gets into all the battles

The best political result of Pedro Sánchez, the victory of April 2019, the first of the PSOE in 11 years, began with a great mobilization of the right in the streets of Madrid, the so-called photo of Colón.

It was a Sunday, February 10, 2019. The motto, "for a united Spain, elections now", similar to that of this Saturday: "For Spain, democracy and the Constitution".

That Monday, February 11, Sánchez and his closest team decided on the date: April 28.

And on Friday the 15th, five days later, the president announced early elections with a message similar to the one he raised yesterday in Valladolid: between the independentistas who want to return to the

and the right and extreme right who demand an "exclusionary" Spain, according to the vision of the president, the Government offers a viable Spain.

In 2019, that image of Colón's photo was a great mobilizer of the left.

In 2023, for the moment, it is unknown.

But of course there is clear proof that Alberto Núñez Feijóo fears that he will repeat himself: unlike Pablo Casado, he decided not to attend the protest, although he sent members of his leadership.

The Government is convinced that Feijóo is going to spend the whole year entangled in his relationship with Vox, as has been seen with the anti-abortion controversy in Castilla y León.

The municipal ones will only increase that conflict, they believe in the Executive, because the PP will have to share a lot of power with Vox.

“Vox wins with the demonstration.

And Feijóo does not go, but he does not break either.

More radicalism and more clarity for the Government”, summarized in La Moncloa.

Even so, the march also shows the enormous mobilization of the right and anti-Sanchismo, which has become a very relevant political movement.

“It is clear that the right is much more mobilized than the left.

But that gives us much more room to grow”, summarizes a minister.

It is a classic scheme in Spanish politics: the right wing takes to the streets a lot —it did so against Zapatero, whom it accused of betraying Spain with ETA and now against Sánchez, whom they accuse of being a dictator— but it always runs the risk of go too far and move to the left.

“The big question is how strong the anti-Sanchista party is.

The PP by itself does not manage to break.

Feijóo has deflated.

Vox neither.

Citizens disappear.

The great bet of the opposition is anti-Sanchismo”, pointed out a member of the Government.

PP leaders believe that the elections will be a big referendum on the president.

And Sánchez, far from hiding, assumes the challenge.

Although this time the general elections are not in April, as in 2019, but in December, with a flying goal in the municipal elections in May, the campaign is already absolutely unleashed and occupies everything.

And Sánchez, who does not start with him as a favorite but is a true specialist in comebacks, has exhibited all his strengths in a single week and, above all, his firm will to fight.

The Socialist leader is perhaps the politician who best adapts to the maddening rhythm of Spanish politics.

He in fact he acts as one of the main agents of its acceleration.

This week he has multiplied his activity.

First, he started by exploiting one of his best assets against Feijóo, according to his team: his international agenda, with a trip to Davos in which he has met fifty of the top managers of multinationals and investment funds —including the almighty Larry Fink , from BlackRock—, kindly photographed himself with the leadership of the Ibex 35, with whom he had maintained a strong tension, and sent a message to the international economic elite about the malfunctioning of the capitalist system that is generating enormous injustices.

The video of his tirade in English managed to go viral in progressive sectors.

Back in Madrid, on Wednesday, as soon as they landed, Sánchez's team arranged a meeting with retirees from Coslada with whom they played petanque, again with apparently homemade videos but in reality very prepared to show more closeness and above all to vindicate one of his great political decisions, the 8.5% increase in pensions, which just this week have begun to be noticed in the payrolls of pensioners with an average increase of 108 euros per month.

03:10

Sánchez asks the Davos elite to change the system to end inequality

The president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, launched in Davos, Switzerland, a call to prevent far-right parties from reaching the institutions and destroying the European Union from within, a "very real threat" that he said has the support of conservative formations that open government doors for them, during his speech before the plenary session of the World Economic Forum, this Tuesday.

Photo: EFE/Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

On Thursday, Sánchez once again showed his taste for risk and strong decisions.

The long-prepared key summit with Emmanuel Macron, which puts the relationship with Spain and France at the level of the Franco-German axis, was held in Barcelona, ​​and not in any other quieter place.

The risk was that the separatists could blow it up.

But the opposite happened: the meeting showed a divided and demobilized independence movement against a Sánchez who is taking a summit of this level to Barcelona and promises more investment.

And even next Tuesday he will finish off the week with a plenary session in Congress to exhibit these international successes and try to entangle the PP with Vox again.

The president is going to make the most of the economic data, better than expected, and he still has a very positive decision to announce: the rise in the minimum wage.

The Government is still discussing its amount —Yolanda Díaz is pressing for an increase in the high range proposed by the experts, close to 1,080 euros per month— but it will undoubtedly be a significant increase.

Sanchez doesn't stop.

Neither is the opposition.

The play will be long and full of ups and downs.

But, after a critical month of December, the government believes it has regained control of the agenda, at least for now.

Subscribe to continue reading

Read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber