2023-08-07 08:30:56
In a statement posted by Carles Puigdemont on his personal Twitter account, the former president claims that “the final vote count involves a one-off change in the allocation of seats in the Spanish Parliament, but is relevant to the equation of any investiture” .
He added that “Pedro Sanchez, the current head of government in office and candidate of the Socialist Party for re-election, can only be elected if he obtains a favorable agreement within a broad coalition, also including the seven votes of Junts per Catalunya”.
The former president underlines that “the provisional results had already placed us at the heart of the discussions and conjectures, but with the final figures now in our possession, the situation becomes even more contrasted”.
Puigdemont thinks: “Either JuntsxCat agrees, or the PSOE ends up facilitating the nomination of Feijóo, otherwise we are heading towards new elections.” According to his observations, since the elections of July 23, it is still too early to determine the orientations of the two main Spanish political parties. It evokes the party that won by having lost and the party that lost by having won. In similar circumstances, these parties opted to hold new elections.
With this in mind, he recommends caution and discretion while waiting to see developments. Carles Puigdemont reveals that for the five years and nine months that he has been no longer in Catalonia, he has been the subject of “shameful defamation campaigns”, including “vomiting articles” about him and his family, “files duly disclosed police” implicating him in “delusional conspiracies” or the spying by means of Pegasus of all his entourage. In this context, Puigdemont “allows himself” to give “advice” to “understand things better” and avoid “the barbarities that circulate”.
He also underlined: “I almost never talk about how I live, on a personal level, the experience of exile.” “I tried to complain as little as possible and not to fall into the exploitation, dishonest for me, of easy victimization,” he says. The former president’s statement echoes recently released information regarding his legal situation since fleeing to Belgium. Moreover, the PSOE reportedly told him that he would have to make a choice between supporting a progressive government or allying with the voices of the PP and Vox.
Sanchez stealthily arrives in Morocco
Last minute change in the holiday destination of Pedro Sánchez. The incumbent head of state is now strolling through the alleys of Marrakech, prompting reminders from the opposition about the controversial concessions granted to Rabat.
Spanish state security authorities had meticulously prepared for the arrival of the current president, Pedro Sánchez, in Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, but the plane never made its landing. During this week, Pedro Sánchez was spotted strolling with his family in the Jemaa El Fnaa square, accompanied by a local guide, and he shared meals in catering establishments in Marrakech.
This trip, which the President wants to describe as “strictly private”, has however triggered angry reactions both within the Spanish left and right.
The conservative People’s Party describes the move as a “clear provocation”, while Sánchez’s partners in the government coalition, including the far-left Podemos party, are expressing doubts about the move.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s vacation to Morocco has drawn fierce criticism from various political backgrounds in Spain. The Podemos party joined the critical voices in stressing that this gesture demonstrates “complacency” towards Rabat and, by extension, towards policies having repercussions on the self-determination of Western Sahara. Podemos had previously expressed disagreement with Sánchez’s foreign policy by distancing itself from respect for international legality regarding Western Sahara.
This reconfiguration of “diplomatic relations” and this proximity to Morocco’s position had been strongly criticized by members of the coalition government. In 2022, Mr. Sánchez made a sea change in Spain’s foreign policy by announcing his support for the so-called “Moroccanness” of Western Sahara.
Pegasus and Le conflict?
In May 2022, a notification was sent to all media. An unusual Spanish government press conference that no one expected. Félix Bolaños, the government spokesman, was tasked with delivering a surprising message: a revelation concerning the spying on Pedro Sánchez, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, through the use of Pegasus software.
Pedro Sánchez’s cell phone has been the target of five indistinguishable intrusions so far. The data, information and any photographs that may have been exfiltrated remain in suspense, kept secret.
This case has generated a multitude of conjectures and given rise to various theories from experts. A guess emerges: the cyberintrusions coincided with periods of diplomatic tension between the Spanish and Moroccan governments. Rabat was outraged when he heard the news, and then-foreign minister Arancha González Laya was removed from office. Later, private statements by Ms González Laya were leaked to the Spanish press, in which she admitted that her phone had been hacked.
At the beginning of July, the Audiencia Nacional decided to close the case. The reason ? Lack of cooperation from the Israeli government. Although the hearing sent letters rogatory up to four times to discover the perpetrators of the attack, Israel never responded.
It is important to note that Israel was the last country to recognize Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara and announced the forthcoming establishment of a consulate in the Sahrawi city of Dakhla. While the Pegasus case remains unresolved and who spied on Sánchez remains an enigma, the incumbent president will continue to stay in Marrakesh until Monday.
Spain
From our correspondent Ali Ait Mouhoub
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