The Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is in dire straits over the recently uncovered scandal surrounding alleged mass wiretapping by Catalan politicians and activists, which may have been ordered by Spanish authorities, according to a report by Canadian research institute Citizen Lab for political purposes. Although Sánchez has promised to solve the wiretapping case Citizen Lab has dubbed “Catalangate”, his majority in parliament could be in jeopardy.
The case concerns the wiretapping of at least 65 people, including presidents, activists, MPs and Catalan journalists, which in recent years has involved at least 65 people whose phones have been spied on by two Israeli “spywares”, including Pegasus, one from the company NSO manufactured software officially sold only to governments or state intelligence agencies for intercepting terrorists and criminals. In its research, Citizen Lab did not provide “final” conclusions, but argued that there could be “a connection” to the Spanish government as part of a possible espionage operation.
Relations between Catalan separatists and Spanish governments – both right and left – have been strained for many years and have deteriorated significantly since the October 2017 organized referendum on Catalonia’s independence without government authorization.
Most of the wiretapping would have been carried out precisely in 2017, during the referendum period, and would have ended in 2020, when the first suspicions about the alleged use of Pegasus to spy on Catalan politicians surfaced. The president of the Spanish government in 2017 was the conservative Mariano Rajoy, from 2018 the socialist Sánchez took over the office.
In addition to an investigation, the Spanish government has set up a special commission of inquiry and internal investigations are also underway in the national secret service. Minister for the Presidency and Relations with Parliament Félix Bolaños said the Spanish government has “nothing to hide” and will continue to conduct dialogue and negotiations with the Catalan government: Following the Citizen Report Lab revelations, the Catalan government has however suspended dialogue with the Spanish authorities.
– Also read: Governments spying on politicians, journalists and activists
As the Spanish newspaper El Diario noted, the espionage case against the Catalan separatists has ended the Spanish government at “the most difficult moment of its tenure”. The government majority is very tight and often depends on external support from some autonomous groups, including Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC, left), the main Catalan pro-independence party, to approve measures in parliament. After the scandal broke out, however, ERC announced that it would not work with the Spanish government until it had clarified the alleged wiretapping of Catalan politicians.
“It is clear that [la vicenda di] Pegasus has changed everyone’s political agenda,” some ERC officials told País, “and even more according to Robles’ testimonies”. The reference relates to Margarita Robles, the Spanish defense minister, who, while answering some questions about the wiretapping case during a parliamentary session, made some controversial comments, saying, for example, that the separatists “it is now convenient to pass as victims”. , and in a way justify espionage: “What should a state, a government, do if someone is endangering the constitution?” he said.
According to some analysts quoted in the diary, the situation could also endanger the Sanchez government, whose parliamentary majority is weak and shaky.
For example, the Spanish government is currently struggling to obtain sufficient support for the adoption of a decree on the economic support needed to deal with the crisis related to the war in Ukraine and will probably have to make various compromises. In order to get the situation under control, Sánchez canceled a trip to Poland and Moldova, which was due to start on Thursday.
However, the weakness of the government was already a problem for Sánchez before the wiretapping scandal: two months ago, for example, approval of a major labor market reform was only achieved thanks to a vote by an opposition MP.