The Government will defend its administration, set legislature priorities and expect restrained criticism from Podemos

It will serve to check if there is a rapprochement between the Executive and ERC after the agreement for Sánchez and Aragonès to meet

MADRID, 10 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government faces the Debate on the State of the Nation with the aim of defending its management and setting its priorities for the remaining year and a half until the next general election. The appointment is marked by the socialist defeat in the last Andalusian elections, the economic clouds due to the rise in inflation and the war in Ukraine, as well as the discrepancies within the coalition staged in recent weeks. In this sense, the Socialists are aware that Podemos will show different positions on some issues, although they expect their support for the bulk of the Executive's action.

Therefore, from Moncloa they consider that the celebration of the debate will be a great opportunity for the president, Pedro Sánchez, to explain the measures that the Executive has taken in these two and a half years that they have been governing, as stated by the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, on July 1, the day on which they formally requested that the debate be held between the 12th and 14th of this month.

He also conveyed that it will be time to explain the future plans and priorities of the Government for the remaining year and a half of the legislature. "All to strengthen the Welfare State, guarantee economic growth, continue consolidating employment growth and to expand rights," said Bolaños.

In this sense, PSOE sources specify that the president's speech will follow three main lines: the management of the legislature, the measures that the Executive has adopted and finally the "great challenges" that remain to be faced in economic and social matters.

The coalition faces the Debate divided by the increase in defense spending and the arrival of new destroyers at the Rota military base, two commitments that came out of the NATO Summit held in Madrid at the end of June and to which the purples oppose. Days later the Government announced the immediate approval of an extra spending of 1,000 million euros for Defense and the minority partner accused the socialist party of sneaking the measure in without a prior agreement.

Then, in the midst of internal tension, the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, requested the convening of the coalition's monitoring commission, although the meeting does not yet have a date to be held.

The Socialists are aware, therefore, that there will be aspects in which United We Can express a different opinion, as indicated by the aforementioned sources, although they also hope that the purples will show support as part of the Government that they are.

In this regard, other party sources think that United We Can will mark its positions although irreconcilable positions will not be revealed. In addition, they believe that in the days leading up to the debate they will seek to calm down the discrepancies, because the two groups are interested in appearing cohesive and avoiding a high level of internal noise that could weigh down the coalition in the coming months. Along the same lines, they believe that Yolanda Díaz will try to contain the differences and bring the positions between the two parties closer together.

On the other hand, the debate will also serve to test how the relationship with ERC is, one of the main investiture partners with which the Government has not had its best moment, mainly because of the alleged espionage with the 'Pegasus' system on leaders independentists.

In the PSOE, however, they expect "empathy" for all the circumstances that the country has experienced and the government has faced, from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine, although they assume that they will receive criticism from their pro-independence partners.

Since the scandal broke out last April, the Government has tried to regain harmony with this formation. The director of the CNI, Paz Esteban, was dismissed after the ERC claimed political responsibilities. In addition, several meetings have been held between the Central Government and the Generalitat. Pedro Sánchez met with the president, Pere Aragonès, in May and they agreed to close a formal meeting. In addition, Minister Bolaños has met on three occasions with his counterpart, Laura Vilagrà.

The last of these meetings took place this Friday and both concluded that Sánchez and Aragonès will hold a formal meeting on July 15 in La Moncloa. They also agreed on a joint document in which they commit to meeting the dialogue table at least twice this year and moving forward in the "dejudicialization" of the "political conflict," as they have defined it.

With these precedents, it remains to be seen what the ERC's reaction will be this week in the Congress rostrum, since in recent months the independentistas have denied their support for the Government in the most important votes that it has taken to the Lower House. ERC did not support the labor reform --prior to the 'Pegasus' scandal-- nor the anti-crisis decree or the new Democratic Memory law that was approved in committee this week.

Regarding the PP, the PSOE demands political height and responsibility that until now remain "unseen." They also demand that the main opposition party recognize the things that the government has done well, especially the record employment data despite the circumstances of recent years.

On the other hand, Pedro Sánchez announced that he will give explanations about the assault on the Melilla fence on June 24, when around 2,000 migrants tried to access Spanish territory. In this tragic episode, at least 37 people died on Moroccan soil, although the causes of death are yet to be clarified.

In an interview on the SER network on June 29, when asked if he would appear in Congress to account for this event, Sánchez said that he thinks the matter would come up in the Debate on the State of the Nation, while ruling out a specific appearance as demanded by the PP and the parliamentary partners of the Executive.

In that sense, he admitted that governments have to be held accountable, but insisted that the culprits are the mafias that traffic in people. In all his interventions on this matter, Sánchez has praised the work of Morocco to fight against illegal immigration and has underlined that it is a country that also suffers from migratory pressure.

Finally, the Government is facing the debate in an economic context conditioned by high inflation, which shot up to 10.2% in June -the highest price rise since 1985- pushed by the rise in fuel and food . However, the economic perspectives that the president is going to convey are positive.

This follows from the formal request for the debate presented in Congress, in which the Government maintains that the forecast for the 2022 and 2023 financial years is for the Spanish economy "to remain on a growth path higher than that of the major advanced economies", despite high uncertainty due to the geopolitical situation and the "sharp rise" in energy prices.

The thrust of the economy will be supported, according to the Government, by the creation of "quality" jobs, the recovery of tourism and the promotion of the reforms of the recovery plan.

However, in a recent interview Sánchez warned Spaniards to prepare for any scenario in the coming months because the shortage of gas and oil is "a certain risk", in the context of the war, as he stated.