Therese Ribera He is a fan of Fito and Fitipaldis. So much so that the ringtone of his cell phone is precisely Fito’s voice singing one of his best-known songs.
Ribera will take office in the coming days as vice-president of the European Commission thanks to that Pedro Sanchez accepted the Italian extreme right Raffaele Fittoto circumvent the trap set by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo boycott the nomination. Fitto saved Ribera and Sánchez was thus able to avoid further danger to his survival.
The president of the government had for months ignored Ribera’s direct requests to remove her from the executive as quickly as possible so that she could devote herself to preparing for her new position as European vice-president.
Sánchez intended to make this change during the last week of November. But DANA demonstrated that Sánchez’s efforts were a mistake and forced him to make a final commitment to save Ribera’s nomination, which forced him to pay the price of ruining a large part of the speech of the sanitary cordon on the far right.
In the same way, the Abalos affair ended long ago with the speech of “clean government” to transmute it into the argument of “we react with force” and now move on to the lack of evidence and the defense of the “current government” when Víctor de Aldama launches quick accusations against the ministers.
“There is no proof and there won’t be any“, said Felipe Gonzalez in the late 80s to shake off the GAL scandal. Today, the government is using a similar expression to confront Aldama’s accusations.
Government sources say they are upset by ““to what extent” the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office put freedom and the possible pact with Aldama. They assure that for the government it would have been more worrying if the commissioner’s version had been agreed with Ábalos and Koldo Garcia and, therefore, they are relieved to face each other.
Changes
Government and party members believed that Sánchez could take advantage of Ribera’s replacement to bring about more changes within the government. Council of Ministers and renew the party in Congress next weekend. It would be a question of giving impetus to his project, one year after his inauguration.
However, the president has already announced that Sarah AagesenTHE number two de Ribera, will assume the vice-presidency. That is, as little movement as possible within the government, with Ribera’s natural successor, and it is anticipated that something similar will happen in the PSOE, since the latest events indicate that it is possible that, by example, the manager is removed from his position. job. organization, Santos Cerdan.
“There is a stable team“In times of tribulation there is no need to make changes and if changes must be made in the territories, do not touch the leadership of Ferraz who must carry them out,” says a prominent socialist. In principle, the agitation will come later. regional congresses.
This eventful week, the President of the Government also overcame the difficult objective of tax reform, which allows him to move towards Budgets and towards the end of the legislature. He overcame it, but again leaving shreds along the way.
Firstly because he had to renounce certain points of this tax reform. Second, because the way of negotiating Maria Jesus Montero angered some of his partners and had to be Felix Bolanos which will close the agreement and because, finally, this agreement is in turn based on another future pact on the tax on energy companies.
That is to say, reaching agreements again, but kicking the ball while waiting to find it again and compromise something which, ultimately, does not depend on the government, but on a third party.
This is what happened with the amnesty lawwith the postponed transfer of immigration jurisdiction to save a decree or with the impossibility of approving the tax agreement for Catalonia to obtain the investiture of Salvador Illa, among others.
But what matters in the Moncloa This is the result, ending the week with oxygen and prospects for the future, even if it leaves shreds along the way.
“If the law is not approved, the government falls“, government negotiators literally told their parliamentary partners last week to move forward with tax reform. What the partners understand as emotional blackmail, which annoys some of them, but which has proven effective.
Because, as a prominent member of the government maintains, “in this Congress there is neither a progressive majority nor a plurinational majority; in reality, what there is is a majority rejecting the PP and Vox“. Because the fear of what could happen continues to function in negotiations.
It is effective, but as another minister explains, “it has the disadvantage of making us a government without a plan, beyond saving every week with some difficulty and abandoning our positions.”
The partners say they have had enough of this situation of pressure and risk until the last moment, with negotiation procedures such as carrying out a tax reform with amendments to a European directive or with cross or contradictory agreements. They go so far as to explain that sometimes Parties like EH Bildu or ERC seem to have more responsibilities and even a feeling of state that the PSOE itself.
Moreover, curiously, Minister Félix Bolaños, who joined the negotiation at the last moment, when it was the most confused, echoed Thursday on his Instagram account a parody of The intermediary (The sixth) in which he presented it as “the pact unlocker“. It is not for nothing that the government partners missed their participation in the negotiations, which only took place at 11 p.m. on Monday, when everything was most complicated.
Socialist sources draw some positive visions from the episode of the approval of the reform, as what they consider to be the beginning of the recovery by Junts del role that Convergència i Unió hadthat is, a party willing to reach an agreement with the government.
But what counts in Moncloa is the result and Sánchez goes to the PSOE congress to be acclaimed and without discussion.
There may be a debate about regional fundingbut the PSOE leadership is working to find a text that is sufficiently ambiguous so that all positions can be included. Nor will there be open debates on changes in direction at the head of the party and, even less, whether the impression is given that it is possible to approve budgets and move forward in the legislature.
Internal struggles are reserved for regional congresses. For example, in Andalusia If the movements against Juan Espadas; in Madrid if the idea of replacing Juan Lobato for one Oscar Lopez excited to face Isabel Diaz Ayuso; in Castile and León if support for Francis Martinez to end Luis Tudança; if they decide to end Miguel Gallardo in Extremadura or if the supporters of Javier Lamban in Aragon.
Ministers and socialist leaders claim that they also receive oxygen thanks to Feijóo’s wear. For the failure of his operation against Ribera in Brussels and for the criticism of Carlos Mazón for his management of the effects of DANA.
“Mazón injured Feijóo twice: in 2023 when the pact with Voice and ruined his strategy for the general elections and now for DANA”, explains a minister.
