Pedro Sanchez has been praised as ‘refreshing’ and a ‘visionary’ after appearing on the UK political podcast The Rest Is Politics.
The Spanish prime minister sat down with Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart in La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, where they discussed everything from Iran and Brexit to immigration and EU enlargement.
In a post-interview analysis, Campbell, who was Tony Blair’s spin doctor during his terms as Britain’s prime minister, said he found the way Sanchez answered questions clearly and eloquently as ‘refreshing.’
Fans of the show commenting on the conversation said Sanchez was a ‘visionary’ and an ‘inspiration.’
‘It’s so nice to hear a politician who can talk in complete sentences and express complex, nuances thoughts eloquently,’ wrote one.
Another said: ‘Phenomenal leader and lots should take note of his foreign policy work – Spain has become a leader that truly matters to the electorate.’
Below is what Sanchez discussed.
Iran war ‘is illegal’
Sanchez defended his decision to refuse the US the right to use its bases in Andalucia for strikes against Iran.
‘If you look at the Iraqi war, it did not bring anything good for the Middle East, for Europe or for the whole world, so we need to have the courage to learn lessons and look for other solutions to resolve most of the instability challenges that we are facing.’
On coming out against Donald Trump and Israel’s invasion of Iran, he said he ‘debated it with my team’ and the government.
He lamented that the world is facing a ‘weakening’ of the international rules based order.
‘We of course rejected the use of our military bases in southern Spain to be used to deploy military capabilities in the Middle East,’ he said.
Asked if he feared he would be punished by Trump, he said: ‘Of course there’s always a trade off… but at the end of the day, it’s also true that real allies are like real friends, they tell each other the truth no matter what…
‘And when it comes to our relationship with the US and the whole EU, it is true that we want to keep that transatlantic tie but if you go into the details, what you see is that we have an open trade war, which was opened unilaterally by the US administration.
‘There is also a question mark when it comes to the respect of our territorial integrity, that means Greenland.’
He called for Europe to strengthen itself, which would in turn strengthen the transatlantic relationship.
Sanchez said that Trump is undermining the international order.
He also reminded the US that they have a trade deficit with Spain, suggesting that he does not take Trump’s threats to cut all trade seriously.
Spain has great relationship with UK
Sanchez said Spain and Britain ‘have a great relationship’, saying it’s ‘very good between governments and within our societies.’
He said Europe ‘needs to be a force for good.’
‘We need to have a more engaged approach when it comes to global debates,’ he added, ‘be it on global warming, inequality, social injustice, AI.’
He also said the EU should prioritise enlargement to bring in Moldova, Ukraine and other Balkan states.
Brexit was ‘terrible’
Sanchez also said Brexit was a ‘disaster’ saying: ‘I would like to have the UK back in again.’
‘I think societies make mistakes and you can review those mistakes… and I think it was a mistake for the UK to leave the EU.’
He later added: ‘Brexit was a terrible loss not only for Britain but also the European Union.
‘We have also lost one of our major political actors when it comes to international politics and welfare of the EU as a whole… I think it’s important to open that debate…
‘It’s a very difficult debate to face, but again, it’s a question of framework, how could Britain win more sovereignty? In my opinion, you don’t win more sovereignty when you are out of a bigger a political project…
‘Imagine Spain out of the EU, it would be a disaster.’
Migration is a moral issue
Sanchez said he sees migration as a moral issue, defending his move to regularise 500,000 irregular migrants in the country.
He said: ‘There’s a moral dimension, which I think is very important not to forget, that these are people that are looking for new opportunities…
‘But there is also a pragmatic dimension… we are suffering a winter demography within Western societies… when you talk to business associations, they tell you we need talent, we need migration, and that is why it’s so important to have regular path to migration.’
He said it is important to reduce illegal immigration, which claimed has been reduced by 60%.
Sanchez said one of Trump’s ‘biggest mistakes’ is trying to close borders.
‘In Spain, migrants represent 10% of income to the social security system, but at the same time only 1% of total public spending.
‘The challenge is how do we integrate this migration?’
The full interview can be found on Spotify.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
