Pedro Sánchez's second "no is no"

"You're cruel, even to your own people." Alberto Núñez Feijóo was also struck by Pedro Sánchez's reference to corruption during Felipe González's final term in power. It could be interpreted as mere revenge for the former president's recent criticisms, who even said he wouldn't vote for the PSOE if Sánchez remained in power, but it's something more.

Sánchez drew a dotted line yesterday. He defended José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's presidency and declared that both had led the two cleanest governments in democracy. Immediately, he left González's government out. He acknowledged his achievements and ability to transform the country, but "in terms of corruption, he wasn't perfect." This wasn't a passing allusion, but rather a reciprocal mention of some of the scandals that led to González's downfall, such as the Roldán case or that of the governor of the Bank of Spain. That PSOE congress of October 2021, the one with the current leader's embrace (still wearing masks) with González and Zapatero (and Adriana Lastra, later ousted by Santos Cerdán), is buried. Sánchez tries to sketch the next step on the dotted line...

The amendment to Felipe González is also an amendment to the PSOE, which would be willing to invest Feijóo.

González has long questioned the current Socialist leader's management. He has done so both ironically ("I've agreed with Pedro Sánchez many more times than Pedro Sánchez has with himself: but I just don't have time to adapt to his changes") and more profoundly (for example, against the Amnesty Law, which he considers an "act of political corruption," a "true outrage against the rules of the game, against the rule of law"). That all of this pains Sánchez was evident at the last federal committee, when he stated: "When I leave, I will be a member who will stand by my secretary general." But this is not just a question of personal affinities, but of strategic disagreement for the PSOE.

Feijóo is confident that the election result will allow him to govern without including Vox in the government. To achieve the investiture, given that an absolute majority is unlikely, he could turn to Santiago Abascal, but he could also do so with the PSOE if that party were to enter an internal crisis without Sánchez. The PP is amplifying the protests of critical socialists to foster a movement in that direction.

The traumatic 2016 federal committee, from which he resigned two and a half years after taking the reins under pressure from his own party, is etched in Sánchez's intense political life. He insisted on "no means no," that is, on refusing to grant Rajoy the presidency with the PSOE abstaining. The internal war was triggered by statements by González, who said he felt "deceived" by Sánchez because he had assured him he would abstain.

When Sánchez regained control of the party, there were ups and downs over which direction to take, including nightmares about governing with Pablo Iglesias or reaching an agreement with Ciudadanos. But once the coalition government with Unidas Podemos was formed, and even more so following the pacts with ERC, Sánchez forged alliances with the left and with nationalists and independentists, defining a socialist party that declares itself progressive and plurinational. And he has done so with Zapatero's help.

As this strategy has become more established ("making a virtue out of necessity"), the gap with what González represents has widened. What is at stake in the PSOE now that Sánchez is weaker is whether a return to the previous strategy will open the way. Yesterday, with his amendment to González, he once again sent a message to his party: "No means no."