For one reason or another, some still unknown, Pedro Sánchez has gone dispensing in the last year of the hard core who in 2017 helped him regain the leadership of the PSOE, defeating notables and barons, and accompanied him in the adventure of the motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy and in the successive elections that led to the coalition government with United We Can. A year ago, with the remodeling of the Executive, Sánchez dispensed with Carmen Calvo and José Luis Ábalos, who, by rebound, left the party’s organizational secretary, and the guru Iván Redondo. Now, it is not clear if at her own request or by indication of the socialist leader, who has left her position as deputy general secretary of the PSOE has been her lieutenant, Adriana Lastra. Of that group of unconditional only Margarita Robles survive in the Government and Santos Cerdán at the match.
The exclusion of those who have been his most faithful companions seems to be motivated by an operation by Sánchez to rearm and reunify the party ahead of the regional and municipal elections of 2023. Elections that are vital for the PSOE, which needs to come out of them with flying colors if it wants to turn the widespread perception that Feijóo’s PP will win the next general Even the CIS predicted yesterday for the first time the victory of the popular. Although there are still elements that are not clear, it seems that Sánchez has thought that internally reconciling and reinforcing the PSOE required removing from the first row who were more belligerent in the internal battles and, perhaps for this reason, be annoying to those who were more critical or continue to be.
Whatever the ultimate reasons, what seems clear is that, with his proven coldness, Sánchez has changed those loyalties for those of Óscar López and Antonio Hernando, with whom he formed a team in his first babble in politics, at the beginning of the century. Responsible for a year of the Moncloa cabinet, they are the ones who also now seem called to regain control of the party, particularly of the electoral committee that will deal with the internal organization of the elections. It is what some of those who now feel displaced consider Sánchez’s return “to the usual PSOE.”
Only nine months have passed since the last socialist congress, but in view of what is happening looks like it was a flop. Beyond those photos of reconciliation with the old party, with Felipe González, in particular. It is normal for the party to lose prominence while in power, but it has been a while since from the headquarters of Ferraz no encouraging message is issued and that the insignificance of their spokesmen has not even allowed them to sell the Government’s achievements. There are those who attribute this paralysis to Sánchez’s own interest in focusing all attention on his leadership, because that is a problem that the Executive also suffers from after the remodeling of a year ago. This is surely one of the deficiencies that the socialist leader will try to overcome with the appointments that the federal committee approves next Saturday. It is a success that has called urgently the highest body of the party, because it would be pernicious for the country if the uncertainty caused by inflation and the dire energy prospects were also joined by a crisis in the main government party. The PSOE needs to recover political referents that they reinforce Sánchez and once again have the presence he deserves in the public debate.