Pedro Sanchez has accused his conservative rivals of wanting the country to fail as he defended his government’s response to the migration crisis in Ceuta.
The prime minister launched the attack on the Partido Popular (PP) and Vox during the Socialist Party’s Fiesta de la Rosa in Gava, Barcelona, where he appeared alongside Catalonia’s regional president Salvador Illa.
‘Every new crisis – and we have already been through quite a few over the past eight years – brings with it a new act of disloyalty from the Partido Popular and Vox,’ Sanchez said.
‘They believe that the worse things go for Spain, the better.’
Sanchez insisted that his government was reinforcing Ceuta’s border while providing a ‘dignified response’ to those caught up in what he described as a humanitarian crisis.
‘Our commitment is that Ceuta will move forward with the unequivocal support of the Spanish government,’ he said.
The government has unveiled a €309million package in response to the crisis, while also requesting a permanent Frontex presence in the Spanish enclave. El Pais reported that Vox rejected the package and Junts abstained.
Funding pledge for Spain’s regions
Sanchez also promised support for Catalunya through debt relief and a proposed overhaul of Spain’s regional financing system.
He said the new model would provide Spain’s autonomous communities with more than €21billion and urged other political parties to support it.
The prime minister praised Illa’s leadership and told the political right: ‘It is possible to govern without needing to have enemies.’
Sanchez said his political project would continue beyond the next scheduled general election in 2027 and look towards 2030, with priorities including renewable energy, climate adaptation, housing and social cohesion.
Row over voting rights
The Socialist leader also criticised emergency measures accepted by the Supreme Court that have temporarily suspended the voting rights of some Spaniards living abroad who obtained citizenship through the so-called Grandchildren’s Law.
The legislation forms part of Spain’s Democratic Memory Law and grants nationality to descendants of people forced into exile by the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.
Sanchez described the suspension as ‘a very serious event that undermines our democracy’, although he said he would await the court’s final ruling.
He blamed the PP and Vox for bringing the legal challenge and accused them of attempting to create ‘first and second-class citizens’.
