Far from uniting government partners, yesterday’s appearance of Pedro Sánchez contributed to deepening the gap between the PSOE and Sumar. The group led by Vice President Yolanda Díaz showed last week that its patience was running out and demanded that the president carry out a “deep overhaul” of the government, which the head of executive once again ruled out this Monday.
Although in public the Minister of Culture and spokesperson for Movimiento Sumar, Ernest Urtasun, avoided going off-script, anticipating scenarios and further aggravating the crisis, in private, several leaders in the political space expressed their anger and “disappointment” in the face of the president’s attitude. Urtasun dishonored the socialist leader by saying that his explanations on the end-of-year balance sheet were “insufficient” and left a warning: “Immobility is not an option, it is the main ally of the PP and Vox to reach the government.” For the moment, despite the discomfort, Sumar remains within the Executive.
During the Christmas drink in La Moncloa after the press conference, Sánchez did not want to enter into conflict with Sumar, but he repeatedly ruled out a more radical change of government than the replacement of Pilar Alegría, who will be replaced by a woman, as the president explained, but he strove to convey a completely different message from that of Díaz’s group. That is, peace of mind, there will be no sharp turns and there will be a legislature for a while, because he intends to exhaust it. “I’m in great shape,” Sánchez said despite the difficulties.
The president met with journalists in several groups during the Christmas drink and his message as well as that of several ministers were in the same direction: the government will continue, there is no drastic short-term movement planned like that requested by Sumar. In fact, Sánchez raised many contrary questions. The president wanted to send a message of strength and was confident he could wear out the legislature. According to him, in 2026, “a window of opportunity” could open to restore relations with Junts if current agreements are respected.
Sánchez is striving to achieve this and said that “amnesty and European funds will be the two big steps in 2026.” This year, it is hoped that Carles Puigdemont will be able to return to Spain if the Constitutional Court grants him the protection he has requested. Sánchez has always shown a clear desire to continue despite the scandals.
The president also announced that Pilar Alegría’s replacement as spokesperson would also be a woman, without specifying who. The Minister of Education will also soon leave the government to be a candidate in Aragon.
Sánchez opened many fronts, but all to show the continuity of government. A very important problem concerns the Episcopal Conference. The president stressed, during an informal interview, that the Executive is currently in full negotiation with the Church to seek a solution to the scandal of sexual abuse in Catholic schools and institutes. Sánchez assured that he wanted an agreement, particularly on the question of compensation and recognition of guilt, but that if he does not achieve it, “the government will act”. The president believes that this tension with the Church on this very delicate issue explains the recent political criticism of the president of the Episcopal Conference, who asked Sánchez to call elections.
Tension between the two wings of the coalition has increased in recent days, especially as the leader of the Labor Party called for these changes in ministries in a television program on Friday. While in the PSOE they see the movement as a gesture to stand out and avoid the attrition that could happen to them due to the trickle of cases of corruption and complaints of harassment that affect senior party officials, in Sumar they defend that it is about providing a “political solution” to the crisis that the PSOE is going through, which has already transcended the organization itself and puts the government in danger.
Urtasun, who described the situation as “very serious,” was explicit in his assessment yesterday. According to the party, Sánchez did not give sufficient explanations or answer the fundamental question, namely what he proposes to end the crisis. “Sumar wants it to be halfway through the legislature, but I repeat, it will depend on the decisions that are taken or not (…) Making a positive assessment of the last six months does not answer the question of knowing what the PSOE is going to do,” he insisted.
In response to Sánchez who defended his party’s response to accusations of harassment, Antonio Maíllo, federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida, criticized the lack of “force and speed” in this action, which ignored complaints in the organization’s internal channels for five months. The same day that the president confirmed a meeting with the first leader of the ERC, Oriol Junqueras, the IU leader asked Miajadas (Cáceres) to convene the monitoring commission of the coalition pact, a sort of crisis cabinet which brings together in the most delicate moments of the legislature the representatives of all parties. Emphasizing the disagreement with the socialists, also early in the morning, the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, once again demanded the extension of the 600,000 rental contracts which expire in the coming months, exposing tenants to increases of up to 40% in certain cases.
Despite Sánchez’s rejection, Sumar hopes there is still room for maneuver for the president. “There is no other way out and it is no longer valid only with the social agenda,” they conclude within Díaz’s cabinet. The idea, for now, is not to rush and give the PSOE some room to react. For the moment, they are not inclined to leave the Government, but everything can change in a very unstable context.
In Sumar, we are convinced that the Christmas holidays will not contribute this time to easing the crisis, as was the case this summer after the imprisonment of Santos Cerdán. They believe that since then, with the double crisis that the party faces due to corruption and sexist behavior, the situation has worsened considerably and even some sources now consider Sánchez to be “out of touch with reality.”
The government’s minority partner recognizes in any case that the group’s position “is not easy” and some voices even suggest that they themselves find themselves in an impasse which could undermine their credibility if the head of government does not react. “We will do nothing to facilitate the arrival of PP and Vox,” they admit. But at the same time, the changes depend on the president, his power of influence within the Executive is limited and they do not all want to end up with the destruction of their political capital.
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