The White House is urging all countries, including Spain, to meet the NATO threshold.

Pedro Sánchez isn't the only leader of the Atlantic Alliance club who rejects raising his country's military spending to 5% of GDP. But he is the one who most explicitly champions this position, as La Vanguardia reported yesterday, in the face of demands from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the imperious demands of US President Donald Trump. And now, even more so.

In the midst of a political, judicial, and media storm over the corruption scandal that has the government and the PSOE in suspense, and even threatens the survival of his own mandate, Sánchez yesterday took a hasty break and turned all attention to the NATO summit, which begins in The Hague next Tuesday, and the intense international agenda planned for the next two weeks.

The president is thus seeking to reestablish himself on the international stage, where he is trying to maintain his leadership as one of the last social democratic leaders in a new right-wing world order, from the bitter domestic scene dominated by daily revelations about a corruption scheme that is beyond his control and overshadowing all his political initiative.

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After trying to defend himself against adversaries and allies in a heated session of Congress, and completing his round of meetings to try to calm the irritation of the partners who still hold the legislature together, but with increasing doubts about his viability, Sánchez decided on Wednesday night to suspend his public agenda scheduled for yesterday (the CC.OO. congress was attended, in his place, by Vice President Montero) and lock himself in his office in Moncloa.

His team warned that the president's goal with this hiatus is not to lick his wounds, but rather to focus on the momentous NATO summit on June 24 and 25, dates that had been highlighted in red on his calendar for months.

The head of the Executive tries to recompose himself on the international scene in the next two weeks.

The Moncloa later released the forceful letter Sánchez sent to the NATO Secretary General, in which he defends his commitment to increasing military spending to 2% this year. He also categorically rejects any further increases.

“Committing to 5% would be irresponsible. In fact, it would be counterproductive,” Sánchez warns Rutte. “Abruptly and unnecessarily” increasing defense spending, he argues, would “weaken the collective project” of the EU, increase dependence on third countries, and impede the development of EU industry. Furthermore, he argues, it would harm economic growth by skyrocketing debt and inflation, and would cut investment in healthcare and education.

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In short, "because it would be incompatible with our welfare state." Spain, he asserts, is fully aware of the need to increase its security and defense capabilities, but "without neglecting other significant challenges" facing citizens, such as access to housing, climate change, migration, and inequality.

"It is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not it is willing to make those sacrifices. As a sovereign ally, we decided not to," Sánchez emphasized.

The White House press secretary calls on all countries, including Spain, to meet the NATO threshold.

The Prime Minister's letter received a response yesterday from White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, who warned that she would make sure to inform Donald Trump of Spain's position and reiterated that all European countries must "pay their fair share and meet that 5% defense threshold."

Following the meeting in The Hague, Sánchez will travel to Brussels for the European Council on June 26 and 27. He will then host the UN conference on financing for development, in Seville from June 30 to July 3. At the Moncloa Palace, this meeting is being prepared as the "major milestone" in the international policy of this term.

Although the fierce storm the government and the PSOE are enduring following the outbreak of a corruption scandal that could yet yield very unpleasant surprises, it threatens to overshadow this international agenda.