Sánchez Clings to Power Despite Scandals

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, knows he is cornered by sexual scandals in his party and corruption, but he still clings to power: 'Of course it is worth governing, even in these circumstances,' he said this morning at a campaign rally in Cáceres to support the PSOE candidate in Extremadura, Miguel Ángel Gallardo. According to all polls, Gallardo is leading the socialists to a disaster in next Sunday's elections. But as for taking responsibility, nothing at all. 'Unfortunately, when a case of corruption occurs in our party, we act decisively and root it out completely,' affirmed the general secretary of the PSOE, 'while on the right, what we see is collusion.' 'I don't quite understand why Mr. Feijóo calls for elections every year if, according to him, he could have been president and didn't want to,' he stated, repeating that reasoning for the umpteenth time. He has labeled the corruption cases as a 'betrayal.' 'What I tell Mr. Argüello is that there is a fourth option: respect the electoral result, even if you don't like it.' But beyond that, what truly seems to have irritated the head of the executive is the interview that Luis Argüello, president of the Episcopal Conference, granted to 'La Vanguardia': 'The president of the Episcopal Conference says that Spain has three options: a motion of no confidence, a vote of confidence, or an early election.' 'It's curious because they never say that when the right is in power. All of them.' As is known, Gallardo will be tried in May for allegedly creating an 'ad hoc' position of coordinator of conservatories at the Provincial Council of Badajoz for the brother of the head of the executive, David Sánchez, who will sit with him on the bench. 'This government is beneficial for the Spanish people: it benefits retirees with pension increases; young people with scholarships; workers with the minimum wage increase; and women who suffer gender-based violence because we defend their rights and do not back down,' he stated. There was interest in how Sánchez would face this rally after another 'horribilis' week for the government, but the truth is that he did not deviate from a script that has so far yielded few results. But he did not stop there: 'The time when bishops interfered in politics ended when democracy in our country ended,' thus denying the members of the Church the right to give their opinion on those issues they consider appropriate. And of course, he also addressed the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to criticize him for calling for an early election. Thus, he admitted that 'mistakes' had been made in the party, referring to the sexual scandals, 'but we must always remember what is important, and that is that all rights and all freedoms for women have come from the hand of women and the Spanish Socialist Workers Party.'