The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced yesterday his decision to continue in office despite the investigations opened against his wife, Begoña Gómez.
“I have decided, and I have previously informed the head of State, to continue, with more strength if possible, at the head of the Presidency of the Government,” he announced. “It is not a final point, it is a full stop,” added the head of the Executive during an institutional statement to the media at the Moncloa Palace.
Last Wednesday, Sánchez published a surprise open letter in which he announced his intention to cancel his agenda and give himself five days to “reflect” whether it was worth continuing to lead the Government. The president announced this “impasse” in response to the “strategy of harassment and demolition” launched against him and his wife, Begoña Gómez, against whom an investigation has been opened for alleged influence peddling and corruption in business as a result of the presentation of a complaint by the ‘Manos Limpias’ union.
In today’s message from him, the president denounced the “harassment” that he and his family have suffered for “ten years” and warned of the need to say “enough” to “this degradation of public life.” “It is not an ideological issue, we are talking about respect, dignity, beyond political opinions,” he stated. “It has nothing to do with the legitimate debate about political options, it has to do with the rules of the game,” he continued.
“If we allow deliberate hoaxes (…), if we relegate women to the domestic sphere, sacrificing their professional careers for the benefit of their husbands,” she continued, “great damage would be done” to democracy,” said Sánchez, who urged not to “confusing freedom of expression with freedom of defamation.” Pedro Sánchez expressed his gratitude for the “shows of solidarity and empathy received”, with special attention to his “beloved Socialist Party”, which have “influenced” his decision.
Satisfaction in the PSOE and partners
Sánchez’s decision, which kept Spanish public opinion on tenterhooks for five days, was greeted with jubilation by members of his government and some of his parliamentary partners. The PSOE leadership greeted him with ‘Thank you for your courage, your determination and also thank you for your humanity president. Thank you for moving forward. With you we will make it worthwhile’.
From Sumar, its leader and second vice-president, Yolanda Díaz, called on Sánchez that the ‘full stop’ for the legislature, which she referred to as ‘governing more and better’ and going ‘beyond the strict fulfilment’ of the investiture pact. Specifically, he pointed to the repeal of the Citizen Security Law, known by his detractors as the ‘Gag’ Law, and reforms in the field of justice, beginning with legislative changes to renew the General Council of the Judiciary and the system of access to the judicial career.
For its part, the leadership of Izquierda Unida, as well as insisting on implementing a legislative change so that the ‘majority’ of Congress can reshape the governing body of judges, advocated a law on truthful information and against ‘hoaxes’, which are the basis of the strategy of ‘judicial war’.
The spokesperson for EH Bildu in the Congress of Deputies, Mertxe Aizpurua, stated in her account on the social network X: ‘It is time to act and put our foot on the wall against the reactionary right in all its aspects, with a courageous democratising agenda’.
More critical were JuntsxCatalunya and ERC, who saw Sñanchez’s appearance as a manoeuvre ahead of the 12 May elections in Catalonia.
Thus, Jordi Turull, secretary general of Carles Puigdemont’s party, said: ‘It is a grave irresponsibility to use emotions about the suffering that represents an undignified media harassment for electoral tactics’.
The president of the Generalitat de Catalunya and ERC candidate for revalidation accused Sánchez of raising ‘a smokescreen’ in the form of an electoral act for five days and urged him to reform the Penal Code, the Official Secrets Act and the Gag Law. In addition, his party asked the Central Electoral Board to ban Sánchez’s interview on Spanish television and denounced the survey by the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) on his letter to the public on the 24th.
Interestingly, Sánchez’s decision was also welcomed by Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, who said that ‘Obviously, it is a good thing for Gibraltar; but it is also good for decency in politics’.
PP, Judges and journalists
The main criticism of the President of the Government’s attitude came from the PP, which also called for the interview not to be broadcast on TVE, while its leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused Sánchez of staging a farce and wanting to ‘sneak in a change of regime through the back door’. His speech today,’ he said, ’is the most dangerous of all those he has made.
Sánchez’s reflection ends with a concession that we all already knew. He does not accept dissent. He wants a country tailored to him and at his service. Citizen to citizen, institution to institution. And behind all his representation is the claim to be even more president, even if it is at the cost of even less democracy. He wants no opposition, no justice, no media. He only wants himself.
Judges’ and journalists’ associations also reacted to the chief executive’s appearance.
The spokesperson for the Professional Association of the Judiciary, María Jesús del Barco, pointed out that it was foreseeable that Sánchez would continue. In relation to the legal proceedings against Begoña Gómez, she said: ‘It is normal for criminal proceedings to be followed when there are possible indications that a criminal act has been committed. In the same way that if there are proceedings, they can be closed if, after the investigation, it is clear that there is nothing. I don’t think there was any reason to resign.
For his part, the spokesman for Judges for Democracy (JJpD), Edmundo Rodríguez, believes that his decision was an ‘act of democratic normality’.
In the journalistic field, the Federation of Associations of Journalists of Spain (FAPE) reproached Sánchez for not making the statement to the press and submitting himself to questions from reporters to clarify the regeneration proposals he spoke of.
The Madrid Press Association (APM) joined the criticism made by FAPE, and warned that, although it considers that the right to information does not imply the right to defamation, ‘to combat hoaxes and false information there are mechanisms in our judicial system and even in the professional sphere’. Furthermore, after pointing out that spreading the idea that the media, and even the judicial system, are not committed to democracy ‘only manages to weaken it’, he offered to debate with the Government on the limits of information, although he reminded that they are already set out in the Spanish Constitution.
Full text of the statement:
“Good afternoon. As you know, last Wednesday I wrote a letter addressed to all citizens, in which I asked them if it was worth enduring the harassment that my family has suffered for 10 years in exchange for presiding over the Government of Spain.
Today, after these days of reflection, I have a clear answer: if we all accept as a society that political action allows the indiscriminate attack on innocent people, then it is not worth it. If we allow partisan conflict to justify the exercise of hatred, insidiousness and falsehood towards third parties, then it is not worth it. If we allow the grossest lies to take the place of respectful, rational, evidence-based debate, then it’s not worth it. No matter how high it may be, there is no honor that justifies the unjust suffering of the people one loves and respects the most, and seeing how an attempt is made to destroy their dignity without the slightest foundation.
As I announced, I needed to stop and reflect on all of this. And I know that the letter I sent you may have been disconcerting because it does not obey any political calculation and it is true. I am aware that I have shown a sentiment that is not usually admissible in politics. I have acknowledged to those who seek to break me, not because of who I am but because of what I represent, that it hurts to live in this situation, that I do not desire anyone. Also because whatever our job, our work responsibility, we live in a society where we are only taught and required to keep moving at all costs.
But there are times when the only way to move forward is to stop, reflect and decide clearly where we want to walk. I have acted from a clear conviction. Either we say enough is enough or this degradation of public life will determine our future, condemning us as a country.
It is true that I have taken this step for personal reasons, but they are reasons that everyone can understand and feel as their own because they respond to core values of a supportive and family-oriented society such as Spain. Because this is not an ideological question. We are talking about respect, dignity, principles that go far beyond political opinions and that define us as a society.
This has nothing to do with the legitimate debate between political options. It has to do with the rules of the game. If we allow deliberate hoaxes to direct or direct the political debate, if we force the victims of these lies to have to prove their innocence against the rule of our Rule of Law.
If we allow a woman’s role to be relegated to the domestic sphere once again, having to sacrifice her professional career for the benefit of her husband’s, if we ultimately allow unreason to become routine, the consequence will be that we will have done irreparable damage. to our democracy. Demanding unconditional resistance from the leaders targeted by this strategy is putting the focus on the victims and not the aggressors.
And confusing freedom of expression with freedom of defamation is a democratic perversion with disastrous consequences. Therefore, the question is simple: Do we want this for Spain? My wife and I know that this smear campaign will not stop. We have been suffering from it for ten years. It is serious, but it is not the most relevant thing. We can with her.
The important thing, the truly transcendent thing, is that we want to heartily thank you for the expressions of solidarity and empathy that we have received, from all walks of life. Logically, they will allow me a special thanks to my beloved Socialist Party.
In any case, thanks to that social mobilization that has decisively influenced my reflection and for which I am once again grateful, I want to share with all of you what I have finally decided. I have previously informed the Head of State of this this morning.
I have decided to continue. Continue with more strength if possible as head of the presidency of the Government of Spain. This decision is not an end-all-be-all. It is a point and apart.
Therefore, I assume before you my commitment to work tirelessly, firmly and with serenity for the pending regeneration of our democracy and for the advancement and consolidation of rights and freedoms. I assume the decision to continue with even more strength as head of the presidency of the government of Spain. There is only one way to reverse this situation. May the social majority, as it has done these five days, mobilize in a determined commitment to dignity and common sense, putting a stop to the politics of shame that we have been suffering for too long.
Because this is not about the destiny of a particular leader. That is the least. It’s about deciding what kind of society we want to be. And I think our country needs to do this collective reflection. In fact, during these five days we have already started doing it. A collective reflection that opens the way to cleanliness, regeneration, and fair play.
We have been letting the mud colonize political life and public life with impunity for too long, contaminating us with toxic practices unimaginable just a few years ago. I appeal, consequently, to the collective conscience of Spanish society. A society that, through generous agreement, knew how to overcome the terrible and deep wounds of the worst of its past.
A society that managed to overcome in an exemplary way all the democratic challenges it suffered. Who successfully overcame a pandemic. That, despite the difficult geopolitical context that we suffer with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, we are experiencing a very good economic moment. And breathe social peace. A society that amazed the world with its enthusiastic acceptance of rights and freedoms, going from being an obscure country to an international benchmark of freedoms and democracy, progress and coexistence. Today I ask Spanish society to once again be an example, an inspiration for a troubled and wounded world, because the evils that afflict us are by no means exclusive to Spain. They are part of a global reactionary movement that aspires to impose its regressive agenda through defamation and falsehood, hatred and appeal to fears and threats that do not correspond to science or rationality.
Let’s show the world how democracy is defended. Let us put an end to this mud in the only possible way, through collective, serene, democratic rejection, beyond the acronyms and ideologies that I am committed to firmly leading as President of the Government of Spain. Thank you”.
