Spain’s ruling PSOE has launched a blistering attack on the country’s right-wing opposition over its response to the Ceuta migration crisis.
In a combative article published on Friday in El Socialista, the PSOE’s official publication, it accused the Partido Popular (PP) and Vox of exploiting the emergency to ‘stoke fear’ and ‘spread hate’.
The party accused its political rivals of turning the emergency into an opportunity to attack Pedro Sanchez’s government rather than offer solutions.
Under the headline When Spain needs solutions, the right returns to noise, the bulletin declares that whenever Spain requires ‘help and solidarity’, the PP’s response is to turn the problem into an opportunity to attack the government.
It goes on to accuse the PP and Vox of confronting crises with ‘hoaxes, hatred and lies’.
The PSOE argues that the same pattern was seen during the Covid pandemic, the devastating DANA floods and this summer’s wildfires.
It then turns directly to the extraordinary situation in Ceuta, where the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco triggered a humanitarian and political crisis and prompted protests across Spain this week.
According to the Socialist bulletin, the opposition has transformed the crisis into a vehicle for ‘confrontation and fear’ rather than concentrating on the people of Ceuta.
The PSOE also takes aim at opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo personally, accusing him of failing to provide credible alternatives.
The party points to demonstrations, banners, accusations and calls for resignations from the opposition before asking: ‘But where are the proposals?’
It dismisses blaming Morocco alone as insufficient, arguing that accusing the neighbouring country does not amount to a diplomatic strategy capable of restoring normality in the Spanish enclave.
‘Tin-pot patriotism’
Some of the bulletin’s harshest language is reserved for the opposition’s use of Spanish patriotism during the crisis.
The PSOE accuses the right of displaying what it calls ‘patriotismo de hojalata’ (roughly translated as ‘tin-pot patriotism’) during a national emergency.
It further claims the PP and Vox have sought to alarm the public and spread misinformation about alleged health risks, while calling for the illegal return of minors.
The party also attacks PP-run regional governments for failing, it claims, to offer sufficient help with the humanitarian response.
The broadside comes amid an increasingly bitter political battle over the handling of the Ceuta crisis.
PP and Vox backed demonstrations across Spain on Wednesday, while the government has faced intense questions over its handling of the border and its relationship with Morocco.
