The very different ways that the PP and Vox have of 'standing up' to Pedro Sánchez

@ElentirENG ES 8·04·2024 · 7:01 0

The Spanish media affiliated with the Popular Party seem to have the happy mission of making Spaniards emit a healthy laugh.

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Yesterday, VozPópuli published the following headline: «PP will "stand up" to Sánchez for leaving Spain "in the hands" of "500 independentists who hate it"». The news refers to the alleged reaction of the Popular Party to the agreement between the socialists of the PSOE and the separatists of ERC to grant the government of Catalonia the management of 100% of the taxes, breaking the principle of solidarity between regions.

The PP's statement that it will now "stand up" to Sánchez reminds me of the reaction of a student who, after months of neglecting his studies, a few days before exams says that he will now take things seriously. In Spain, we have been suffering for six years a constant erosion of our democracy and national unity by the Sánchez government. It is not a process that has just begun, or that is at its most serious right now, as can be deduced from the PP's announcement.

During this time, the socialists have violated fundamental rights (as the Constitutional Court confirmed in response to several appeals by Vox), they have made pacts with pro-ETA, communists and separatists (making Spain the only European country with a government with communist ministers and which makes pacts with those who refuse to condemn terrorism) they have attacked judicial independence, they have approved illegal pardons and an unconstitutional amnesty (granting penal privileges to their separatist allies in exchange for their support). Likewise, the government has been involved in serious corruption scandals, which affect Pedro Sánchez himself through his wife. And now, finally, it is destroying solidarity between regions.

Faced with all these abuses, Vox presented two motions of censure against Sánchez (the PP did not support either of the two and even voted against the first one together with the government and its allies). Vox also presented several appeals to the Constitutional Court against the government's violations of fundamental rights during the pandemic lockdown (the PP did not present any despite having more deputies than Vox).

Furthermore, Vox has taken the socialists' corruption scandals to court, including those affecting Sánchez's personal entourage (the PP has done nothing about it). To this must be added successive mobilisations called by Vox against Sánchez's abuses, without the PP supporting any of them.

In addition to not supporting any of Vox's motions of censure, not appealing to the Constitutional Court the abuses of Sánchez during the pandemic and not taking the socialist corruption scandals to court, what has the PP done in this time? The answer to that question includes things like sharing the Court of Auditors, the Ombudsman and the RTVE Council with the PSOE in 2021, contributing to the socialists colonizing all the institutions.

At the end of 2022, the PP handed Sánchez control of the Constitutional Court, rendering all appeals filed since then before that body useless and allowing Sánchez to do whatever he wanted, since he now has the TC to bless everything he does, even if it is seriously contrary to the Constitution.

Just a few weeks ago, the PP shared the General Council of the Judiciary and the Central Electoral Board with the socialists, giving Pedro Sánchez one of the things he most wanted: control of the judges. In addition, the European People's Party has repeated its "grand coalition" with the socialists in Brussels (while pretending to be their rivals in countries like Spain). Finally, the PP has agreed with Sánchez on a distribution of illegal immigrants throughout Spain, causing the breakdown of its agreements with Vox and accentuating a problem that seriously affects the security of millions of Spaniards.

The PP has made all these pacts with the socialists while Sánchez was busy demolishing our rule of law, attacking judges and threatening free media. While criticising these abuses, the PP had no qualms about making a pact with Sánchez as if none of this really mattered to it. And now the same PP says that it will "stand up" to Sánchez. A statement that, after what we have just reviewed, only deserves a loud laugh in response.