Sánchez gives Montero the keys to the legislature

It would not be true to affirm that the President of the Government and Secretary General of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, has no one to defend him. The Government and his party come out in defense of him on a daily basis, since the personal and political attacks that he receives tend to be daily. Even so, the head of Government has granted more power to María Jesús Montero, with her promotion to the first vice presidency. The Minister of Finance will also act as her number two in both the Executive and the party, where she is deputy general secretary. It will bring together all the negotiation skills with related groups, with those that are most distant and with those that are absolutely at their antipodes, such as the PP. It is up to her to launch the negotiation on regional financing, with the supplement of the reduction of the debt that the communities have contracted with the State. Her ability to negotiate with the most distant positions and exhaustive knowledge of the issues have made Montero the president's most trusted person. The entire Executive depends on her and on the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, according to different government interlocutors.

The demands of the independentists, both from ERC and Junts, will force the Government to make a permanent effort so that the singular treatment of Catalonia does not become a continuous scandal due to complaints from the rest of the autonomous communities. There will be debt relief for everyone, and every effort will be made to make the reform of the outdated regional financing model a reality, without setting a closed time horizon. Will the PP reject the reduction and the implementation of a new distribution of the resources of the autonomous communities? This question from government interlocutors is answered with “they will negotiate and will not reject the undoubted improvements, in addition to the debt relief.” But there are no absolute certainties.

Since the departure of the Government of Carmen Calvo and also of the Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos, in July 2021, the essential figure in any Executive of the president's parapet was not defined. Each minister is focused on his area of ​​​​competence and although the members of the Cabinet have defended the president when he has played, it is not enough. Here the theories about Pedro Sánchez having exposed himself excessively do not coincide. For some he has done what he had to do. Even somewhat late, so that he had to multiply in the last general elections and become the target of attacks and the protagonist. For others, he should be more accompanied, as Felipe González was with Alfonso Guerra and José María Aznar with Francisco Álvarez Cascos for years. In both cases it was not just about showing your face, but about being in all the important decisions and negotiations.

Along with María Jesús Montero, with other delicate tasks, will be Félix Bolaños and the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría, as spokesperson for the Executive. A “trench” government, the PP has baptized. That concept does not fully fit Pedro Sánchez's intention when elevating Montero. The Government is not going to be hiding in the trenches, but in permanent negotiation, say socialist sources. Among other reasons, due to the demands of parliamentary arithmetic. Sánchez cannot allow dissension in the party when the harshness of the legislature will require having the house in peace. María Jesús Montero, once again as deputy secretary, and the essential task of the Secretary of Organization, Santos Cerdán, will guarantee internal stability, according to sources close to the socialist leader. Explaining what and why certain policies are adopted, especially in relation to the independentists, must also be done from the inside.

The second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, at the head of Sumar, enters the permanent negotiation, and very fully. María Jesús Montero is a relevant factor in maintaining fluid channels between the PSOE and Sumar. Both policies have an excellent relationship and so far the disagreements have not undermined personal and political affection. This will be a substantial change given the continuous discussion in which former first vice president Nadia Calviño and Yolanda Díaz coexisted. Montero and Bolaños will negotiate with all groups. Of course with Podemos, whose five votes are essential. But the PSOE is very concerned about the escalation of the dispute between the Sumar Movement and Podemos. “Sumar's stability is our stability,” emphasize interlocutors from the first party on the left.

All the Government's plans to begin negotiations on regional financing collide with the proximity of the Galician elections in February. “There is no autonomous negotiation if the financing of the town councils is not addressed.” This condition of Elías Bendodo, deputy secretary of regional and local policy in the PP, has been welcomed in the Government as a bitter joke: “Again?” They refer to the long list of arguments and excuses for which time and again the negotiation on the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary broke down. Meanwhile, ministers and leaders of the PSOE have come out to defend Pedro Sánchez after several hundred people gathered in front of the party's national headquarters in Ferraz, Madrid, on the last day of the year. There they harassed, beat and hanged a doll that looked like the socialist leader. The PSOE studies legal actions within hate crimes.

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