"This goes week by week, and this week I am happy and satisfied." Despite already demanding “ten years of progressive governments” to complete his project, the acceleration of events in Spanish politics, always in the midst of an implacable storm, taught Pedro Sánchez to try to survive the immediate, week by week. And the President of the Government himself, despite the constant heavy artillery fire from the right, considers that this week closed in a very positive manner, after his first official visit to China, the validation of the pension reform in Congress and the express endorsement reiterated by the European Commission while suspending the delivery of 19,000 million euros of European funds to Italy, or the evolution of inflation in Spain.
"Xi does not want war." “We did not come as hostile, but we came out more united”, they assume in the Government after the meeting between Sánchez and the president of China, Xi Jinping, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The president left the huge Tiananmen Square shocked, but also "very satisfied" with an appointment that his team assures that he consolidates his international profile and his leadership within the European Union. By defending Volodímir Zelenski's peace plan before Xi and calling on the president of the Asian colossus to contact the Ukrainian leader directly, the Spanish president set "the bar very high" in the European pressure strategy, which they will now reinforce with their Visits to Beijing are scheduled for both the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell, as well as the Presidents of France and Italy, Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni. "All the indications point to Xi not going to sell weapons to Russia, he is not interested or compensated at all," warn high Spanish diplomatic authorities. "Xi does not want war and he does not want to be perceived in the world as someone who wants war," they say. For the Chinese president, Sánchez is a "credible" interlocutor. Something essential, they warn, to be able to debate "frankly" and begin to tip the Chinese balance in favor of resolving the war in Ukraine.
“High voltage” reforms. Despite the visit to China, Sánchez did not take his eyes off the confirmation in Congress of the government's pension reform, by a large majority of 179 votes in favour. Again, with the refusal of the Popular Party. For the president, approving "high voltage" reforms such as labor and pensions, while preserving "social peace" and without contestation in the streets as in France, is an "undeniable success of the Government." And a "political asset" before the new electoral cycle that, in his opinion, will take its toll on the leader of the main opposition party.
"Feijóo gives a regrettable image." The criticisms issued by the leader of the PP in Brussels against this pension reform that has the endorsement of the European Commission caused "rejection and surprise" in the heart of the community club, as warned by the Government. “It is very unpleasant to go to Brussels to criticize everything, even what is supported by Brussels. Feijóo has given an unfortunate image. And it is not opinion, but information, even among European leaders of their own political family," they say.
"The gifted student". The president celebrated on Friday, before returning to Madrid, two pieces of news that he considers to underpin his government's action. On the one hand, the express support for the pension reform of the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, also of the PP. “It is a reform that goes in the right direction,” she admitted. In the Executive they also highlight that this reform will activate a fourth disbursement of European funds worth 10,000 million euros. The European Commission, on the other hand, suspended the delivery of 19,000 million to Italy. A decision, they say in Moncloa, that "values" their management of the recovery plan, as an "outstanding student" of the EU. In fact, they admit that some other European government has already contacted them to copy them. Sánchez will be able to discuss it face to face with Meloni, with whom he will meet next Wednesday in Rome. In addition, the president highlighted a fact: inflation in Spain was cut in half in March, from 6% to 3.1%. It is thus the second lowest in the euro area, only behind Luxembourg.
"Let's go all out." Without giving his teams a break in Moncloa and Ferraz, Sánchez reconciles an intense international agenda with his deployment in the 28-M electoral campaign. The president warns that he has Catalonia and, singularly, Barcelona in his electoral target. “Time proves the commitment to coexistence in Catalonia is right, it is a winning bet. And I hope that he will support Jaume Collboni ”, he admits. This Sunday, after visiting the tunnel works for the B-40 between Abrera and Viladecavalls, he will close the PSC municipal convention in l'Hospitalet. And on Monday he will star in another rally in Albacete: "Let's go all out," he warns.
