Evaluation after the break with Vox
The leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has summoned the leadership of his party this Monday to make a detailed assessment of a particularly intense political year. This evaluation includes the processing of the amnesty law in Congress and four significant electoral events held this year. Furthermore, the possibility of new elections in Catalonia is not ruled out if an investiture is not achieved in August.
The meeting takes place at a crucial moment, just ten days after the breakdown of the autonomous pacts with Vox. In this intervention, Feijóo will take the opportunity to position the PP as the ‘only alternative’ to the Pedro Sánchez government, which he accuses of being ‘harassed’ by corruption.
Meeting of the National Board of Directors of the PP
The convocation of the National Board of Directors, the highest body of the party between congresses, will take place with more than three hundred PP officials present, including regional presidents, members of the steering committee, deputies, senators and territorial officials.
This meeting is the first that Feijóo has held with the PP’s top leadership since Vox fulfilled its ultimatum to break up the coalition governments in five regions due to the PP’s acceptance of the distribution of migrant minors.
Tension with Vox and criticism of Pedro Sánchez
From the PP headquarters in Genoa, they consider that Vox’s focus is on attacking the PP, while Feijóo focuses on the government of Pedro Sánchez. Feijóo recently criticized that Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, dedicated half of his time in Congress to attacking the PP, while he sees urgent change as necessary in Spain. He reiterated that the Popular Party is the only viable option for this change.
Voting on the reform of the Immigration Law
The meeting of the Board of Directors takes place one day before an important vote in Congress on the reform of the Immigration Law, which would make the distribution of migrant minors mandatory. This issue was the trigger for the breakup between the PP and Vox, although the PP believes that there are ‘other circumstances’ behind this breakup.
The Popular Party has not yet revealed its position in this vote. An abstention by the PP would allow the bill, whose initiative corresponds to the PSOE, Sumar and Coalición Canaria, to move forward.
The first anniversary of an inconclusive election
Feijóo’s meeting with his team takes place just one day before the first anniversary of the general elections of July 23, in which the PP was the party with the most votes but did not obtain the parliamentary support necessary to reach Moncloa, winning Pedro Sánchez maintain your position.
Feijóo has repeated on several occasions that the PP is the leading political force in Spain, a message that he will emphasize this Monday to make citizens see that they are the ‘only alternative’ to Sánchez, who according to the PP is ‘besieged by corruption’ .
Accusations of corruption and demands on the Government
The PP has been demanding explanations from the President of the Government for months for ‘cases of alleged corruption’ involving members of his Government and his family environment, including judicial investigations related to his wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez.
In this context, Feijóo has suggested that Pedro Sánchez should present his resignation and ‘leave Spanish democracy in peace’. This was made known during a recent debate in Congress on the Government’s democratic regeneration plan.
From Genoa they consider that this plan is a ‘smokescreen’ to divert attention from the corruption cases that affect Sánchez. Feijóo has pointed out that the president is trying to create a ‘nebula’ so that citizens distrust the news reported about his family.
Expectations from the meeting with the Government
Despite the criticism, the PP will attend the meeting to listen to the democratic regeneration measures proposed by the Government, although they already anticipate their skepticism. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday between the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, and the head of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, with the spokesperson for the Popular Group in Congress, Miguel Tellado.
Months marked by the amnesty law
The first months of the legislature have been focused on the amnesty law, published in the Official State Gazette a month ago. The PP is considering appealing it to the Constitutional Court, although it has said that it will make the most of the deadline to do so.
The political panorama will become clearer in September, when it will be known if there will be new elections in Catalonia or if the socialist Salvador Illa will obtain the necessary votes from ERC to be invested as president of the Generalitat.
Unique agreement in a tense period
Despite the tensions, the period of parliamentary sessions has seen a single agreement between the Government and the PP: the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, whose mandate had expired for more than five years.