The President of the Government Pedro Sánchez after a meeting Thursday with the President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelenski in Kiev, Ukraine Borja Puig de la Bellacasa (EFE/Pool Moncloa)
The debate over when negotiation efforts to end a war should be stepped up is open, but it is not filling the streets. The demonstrations are pro-Ukraine and anti-Russian. There are open differences of opinion in Spain’s coalition government over the position of the international community, and although a crisis with consequences does not loom, the no to war is taking shape. Nuances protect against breakage.
“It was a mistake that Spain contributed to the escalation of the war, which did not help the people of Ukraine at all,” said Podemos Secretary General Ione Belarra. PSOE Deputy Secretary General María Jesús Montero interpreted it purely as an election campaign for the next elections. Second Vice President Yolanda Díaz’s mediating role has served for a while to stem the verbal escalation of her group United We Can, but now the seams are unraveling, though not yet bursting. The no to war clouded the atmosphere of the coalition.
The week ended with some statements by Belarra with serious allegations against his government partner. Correct tone, but without leaving anything up to interpretation. “Next, will we send Spanish soldiers to the front?” he asked. This hypothesis is ruled out by NATO, European countries and the United States.
Debate on maintaining military aid is open in Congress, and Defense Chief Margarita Robles is being asked for explanations. The socialist wing was greatly relieved when it confirmed last Thursday that the document registered in Congress did not bear United We Can’s signature.
ERC, EH Bildu, BNG and CUP urge Robles to declare new shipments of war material. Pedro Sánchez surprised almost everyone when he announced this weekend that he will address the war in Congress next March, coinciding with the information he will give on the high-level meeting with Morocco and the development of the last European Council.
Sánchez has no doubts that Spain must be the first aid to Ukraine to the best of its ability. But the debate about pushing for negotiations is moving forward tentatively, although it is not translated into government action at all. Although the relationship between Sánchez and the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, does not exist, the mainstream parties do not discuss Spain’s actions with the rest of the European countries. Various organizations are conducting actions that coincide with the United We Can discourse. The Movement for Peace (MPDL), the Assembly of Cooperation for Peace (ACPP), the Spanish Association for Peace Studies (AIPAZ) and the two majority unions, among others, have signed a manifesto for negotiations to end the war.
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It will arrive, it is not possible to give approximate dates, but for the moment no European president will change his criteria that Ukraine must continue to strengthen militarily against Russia.
Pedro Sánchez, who last week saw with his own eyes the damage Russia is inflicting on the people of Ukraine, responded to Podemos’ criticism: “All members of the government know who is the aggressor and who is the victim.” One serious clash, the other important one Events such as the return of the President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, to the social dialogue covert, with a signature and a photo last Friday with Yolanda Díaz and the heads of CC OO and UGT after a year’s absence .
The agreed goal was the occupational safety strategy 2023-2027. The government and Yolanda Díaz in particular are harvesting 17 agreements signed with the social agents. Her uneasiness about the clashes between PSOE and UP is well known and she doesn’t always stand on the same side of the scale. He supports the postulates on diplomacy in the war with Putin, but he unequivocally supported the President’s visit to Kiev to demonstrate the firmness of the Spanish government’s commitment to Ukraine. The government agreement signed by Pedro Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias explicitly established the former’s responsibility and competence in international and defense matters. On December 30, 2019, no one could have imagined that Putin would attack Ukraine and take Europe to war.
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