There are barely seven months left until new elections to the European Parliament, which appear to be transcendental for the community project in the midst of a struggle between the social democratic and conservative families, while far-right formations are gaining strength. In a global geostrategic scenario, which is also extremely turbulent.
In this context, the meeting that the German chancellor, the social democrat Olaf Scholz, held this Friday afternoon with the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, just after the leader of the PSOE guaranteed himself a parliamentary majority that guarantees his re-election as president of the Government, Next week, it became very relevant.
Sánchez and Scholz exhibited political and personal harmony in the bilateral meeting they held for more than two hours at the Government Subdelegation in Malaga, taking advantage of the fact that both are participating as social democratic leaders in the congress of the European Socialist Party (PES) that will close today in the Andalusian city.
Their meeting, however, had to be protected by a strong police cordon to contain the hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest against the investiture agreements sealed by Sánchez with the Catalan independence movement, especially the future amnesty law for those prosecuted by the process The PSOE headquarters in Malaga was already vandalized by the ultras days ago, and this Friday a protest was also held at its doors.
Scholz and Sánchez, despite the external storm, analyzed in their meeting the progress of the Spanish presidency of the EU Council, and issues related to migration and the review of the community budget until 2027, as highlighted by the Spanish president. “We agree on the urgency of finding peace solutions in the Middle East and on supporting Ukraine,” Sánchez said.
The unexpected resignation of the Prime Minister of Portugal, the socialist António Costa, marred by a scandal of alleged corruption, and the haste of the elections in the neighboring country, fell like a bomb on the European social democratic family, in need of all its strength to face the new electoral combat. To begin with, on the Iberian flank.
In the absence of Costa in Malaga, however, Sánchez will hold a meeting again today with Scholz, which will also be joined by other social democratic European prime ministers, such as the Danish Mette Frederiksen, the Maltese Robert Abela, and the Romanian Marcel Ciolacu.
All of them already posed tonight for the family photo of leaders of the PES congress, and today they will star in various interventions. Most likely, among the new protests that will take place at the doors of the Malaga congress palace where the event is being held.
Sánchez could not arrive in Malaga this Friday as the newly inaugurated president of the Government, according to his initial forecast, due to the delay in the agreement with Junts, which was finally signed on Thursday. But the leader of the PSOE did arrive with parliamentary support already guaranteed for his investiture next week. A circumstance that the social democratic congress will celebrate today, despite the protests in the streets.
