The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, saw this coming like his coalition partner Yolanda Díaz, demanding a profound overhaul of the government after a series of scandals that surrounded it and this Saturday the tension also rose with his parliamentary allies. Oriol Junqueras, president of Esquerra Republicana, asked the PSOE for “work and commitments” to end “all forms of sexual harassment and put an end to corruption” and to “democratize areas where democracy has not yet arrived.”
La Moncloa has ruled out any change of government and the measures are limited to being tough on those involved in cases of accidental corruption, with immediate suspensions of activism. It does not appear that this decision pleases the Republicans. In a direct position within the network, Junqueras declared “that those who mistreat and corrupt each other” cannot generate democracy. “In the Spanish State, corruption is systemic and structural, as has been demonstrated repeatedly in the PP and PSOE (and also in other areas).”
With this message, Esquerra wanted to visualize his deep discontent. Junqueras stressed that stopping the far right is a “non-negotiable duty,” but this is not the case only with words like “demonstrate that we are better.” This is the first time that ERC has commented on the latest scandals occurring at the PSOE. That day, spokesperson Isaac Albert responded with irony to Míriam Nogueras’ proposal to work together to improve the weakness of the PSOE. “We have open fronts in the Rodalies and in the finances. Let’s take advantage of the moment before the 24 hours and the change of opinion,” he said.
The unease and indignation over the cascade of cases of sexual harassment and signs of corruption focused on the intervention of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, at the National Council of Communities of Barcelona. Sumar’s minister approved Yolanda Díaz’s petition to restructure the coalition government. “The citizenry is ready to see how, in recent years, the legacy of bipartisanship continues to reproduce corruption,” he wrote.
Faced with Sánchez’s refusal to reshape the government, Urtasun addressed the president to provide explanations and clarify the proposals he would suggest to end the crisis. “We have received a response and we believe that this negative response is audacious and premature because the seriousness of what is happening is not calibrated,” warned the minister. Urtasun and the leader of Communities in the Parliament of Catalonia, Jessica Albiach, ask Sánchez to expand anti-corruption measures and reestablish the social shield at the center of legislative power.
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