Iran's attack on Israel, although it threatens an escalation of war in the conflict in the Middle East, has not altered Pedro Sánchez's geopolitical strategy of promoting the recognition of the Palestinian State among the largest possible number of European countries. But it has once again highlighted the impossibility of establishing a common position between the Government and the Popular Party, as the main opposition party, in the midst of an electoral context in Spain. Alberto Núñez Feijóo expressed his condemnation of the attack by the Iranian regime, “without nuance or lukewarmness,” and reproached Pedro Sánchez for his delay in doing so. And the leadership of the PSOE, this Monday, called these statements by Feijóo “regrettable.” “If you are not going to help, it is better that you leave and not get in the way,” Ferraz's spokesperson, Esther Peña, demanded of the PP leader.
“Nothing new under the sun,” Peña lamented in response to Feijóo's criticism of Sánchez. “In matters of international politics, if Feijóo is not going to help, it is better for him to withdraw and not get in the way,” she insisted. And he has considered “unprecedented” the positioning of the PP leader at the European and international level. “We are seeing it in all democracies, in this key moment that we are experiencing, all the oppositions have stood behind their governments,” he assured. “Foreign policy must be characterized by dialogue, firmness and seriousness. And the PP has no dialogue, no firmness, no seriousness,” the socialist leader criticized. Foreign policy, in the face of such a complicated crisis, “is too big” for Feijóo, she has stressed.
Peña has pointed out that Sánchez condemned Iran's attack "immediately." And he has invited the PP to close ranks with the Government given its determination to recognize the Palestinian State before next summer. “I hope that reality forces them,” he confided, after criticizing that “they are used to always being in the rearguard, always being behind, they are always late for everything.” Spain, he has assured, is leading a “commitment to peace” in the Middle East. “And I trust that it has an opposition at its height that is capable of getting behind the two-state solution,” he insisted.
The point is that both the PSOE and the PP defend this two-state solution, the Israeli and the Palestinian. The Congress of Deputies already demanded this from the Government, by a large majority, in 2014. But if Sánchez wants to hasten the recognition of the Palestinian State, for which he continues to seek alliances with other European countries, Feijóo is committed to not rushing or giving false steps.
Ferraz's spokesperson has recognized the party's concern about the escalation of war in the region. But she has also highlighted the PSOE's “unwavering” support for Sánchez's foreign policy. “We call for peace, de-escalation and a return to diplomacy by all parties involved in this conflict,” she said. And she has defended the initiative of the President of the Government to “promote the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine”, in her opinion “basic” to achieve peace in the Middle East.
