"Los demócratas, la gente sensata, moderada, razonable, que no levanta la voz, no insulta, no hiperventila… tienen que elegir la papeleta socialista para evitar que la ola ultra que ya se ha parado en Brasil se pueda producir también en España."
With those words delivered at the Conde Duque center in Madrid, Félix Bolaños set the tone for the presentation of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party’s congressional list ahead of the Nov. 29 election, elmundo.es reported. With Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez campaigning in Bilbao, three high-profile cabinet ministers stepped forward on Nov. 8, 2026, to court voters outside their traditional base, targeting moderates and political independents.
Ministers Appeal to Political Center Without Pedro Sánchez
The Sunday rally marked an electoral event for the PSOE candidates in Madrid without Pedro Sánchez at the helm, who was in Bilbao. Bolaños, the minister of the presidency and justice and occupying the number three spot on the Madrid congressional list, issued a direct appeal to the political center. He warned against the rise of an opposition he characterized as reactionary and intertwined with extremist rhetoric.
Alongside Bolaños, the candidate list features fellow ministers Margarita Robles and Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Both do not hold formal PSOE party cards, a detail they leaned into to broaden their appeal to uncommitted citizens and supporters of other political factions. Defense Minister Robles emphasized a decade of institutional work rooted in empathy and solidarity since returning to the party’s leadership structure in 2017.
Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska echoed that sentiment, framing the upcoming election as a critical juncture for democratic continuity rather than a step backward. The event also featured Óscar López, the minister for digital transformation and civil service who serves as the secretary general of the PSOE in Madrid. López positioned the Socialist ticket as the sole firewall against the right, asserting that the conservative People’s Party (PP) had effectively aligned itself with Vox.
Legal Controversies and the Battle Over Judicialization
Beyond the electoral strategy, Grande-Marlaska used the platform to address ongoing legal scrutiny surrounding members of the prime minister’s family. Without naming the conservative opposition directly, the former magistrate accused political rivals of judicializing politics because they refused to accept electoral defeat.
The defense touched upon cases involving the prime minister’s wife, Begoña Gómez, facing scrutiny over influence peddling, and the prime minister’s brother, who recently received a disqualification ruling for administrative prevarication. Grande-Marlaska asserted that the administration responded transparently and immediately to these developments.
As the campaign moves forward, the Socialist leadership intends to press the message that the Nov. 29 vote represents a stark binary choice between continued progressive governance and an alliance of parties willing to slash public expenditure and state infrastructure.
