Sánchez is willing to meet with Puigdemont to approve the budget.

This dead man is very much alive. Or at least that's the impression Pedro Sánchez tried to convey yesterday, closing the year with an unexpected coup. A very high-risk political gamble, in any case, to try to save a mandate that seemed to be dying after the blow received by the corruption scandal that erupted at the very heart of the PSOE.

"Yes, the Government will present the general state budget for 2026," Sánchez announced in his appearance to review the current year. This would be the first draft of public accounts that the Executive would approve in this term—the current budget has been extended from 2023—and it is the first time that the president has committed to giving it the green light in the Council of Ministers, even though he has not yet secured the parliamentary support to even advance the full debate in Congress that would allow its processing.

Although Sánchez approved three consecutive budgets "on time and in the proper manner" during the previous term, the "elusive majority" he now enjoys and the uncertainty that has reigned since the beginning of the current mandate prevented the adoption of new budgets. The dominant theory in the Moncloa government, until now, was not to present a budget without securing its support, to avoid a parliamentary defeat that would lead to an early election. Sánchez himself already precipitated the date with the polls in 2019, after ERC and the PDECat announced comprehensive amendments to the budget during his first term following the vote of no confidence that brought down Mariano Rajoy.

Sánchez assured yesterday that the new budgets "will be better from a social perspective," despite warning that the current budgets, which have been extended, are already "very good" in this regard. However, this proposal would also reflect the increase in defense spending committed to NATO, up to 2.1% of GDP. "We will work with all parliamentary groups to push these budgets forward," he emphasized.

Closing remarks at the end of the school year: "Yes, the government will present the 2026 state budget."

The president recalled that he still has the "fantastic tool" of the European recovery funds, of which a fifth disbursement of €24 billion has just been approved for Spain. These non-repayable European funds, of which Spain is the largest recipient, now total €55 billion, and until now were the main argument used to justify governing without a new budget.

Although Sánchez declined to say what he would do if the new budget doesn't pass the initial Congressional filter and a parliamentary majority rejects it, he stated, "We're going to work to get it approved." He insisted, however, that he expressed his willingness to "persuade" the parliamentary groups supporting the government that "it's a good budget to address the challenges our country faces."

Although he ruled out the possibility of early elections. "Legislatures last four years, and the general elections will be in 2027," he emphasized.

And he once again expressed his willingness to meet with the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, to settle a new score. When specifically asked about the former president of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Sánchez stated: "I will meet with all the political interlocutors. The Amnesty Law is precisely to overcome the situation experienced in 2017. This is a country that looks forward, and I will meet with all of them to discuss these issues and many others."

"Legislatures last four years and elections will be held in 2027," says the head of the Executive.

The Moncloa government confirmed Sánchez's willingness to meet with Puigdemont, although they warned that the meeting remains unscheduled: "No date or time has been set." A year ago, in the same closing appearance for the 2024 school year before the August break, the president expressed this same willingness to meet with Puigdemont, which would have the effect of a "political amnesty" for the Junts leader, who has lived in Belgium since 2017. The meeting remains up in the air, but the Moncloa government always believed it could materialize in order to seal a significant agreement, such as a state budget.

Sánchez reiterated that the only alternative remains a government of the People's Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party. He expressed confidence: "There's still a long legislative term ahead." With a new budget: "We're going to do it, and we're going to fight for it."