Socialist deputies believe that the Government has failed to manage the ‘Pegasus case’

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  • In the group in Congress there is an important dose of incomprehension for the steps that the Executive has taken, its strategy and its communication policy

  • Other parliamentarians acknowledge the “surprise“, but they believe that the Executive has managed to manage the crisis with success despite the “complex” situation

The Government of Pedro Sánchez has lived under intense fire in the last three weeks, since the ‘Catalangate’ broke out, mutated, in an unforeseen plot loop, in the ‘Pegasus case’, the espionage on the cell phones of the president and the ministers Defense and Interior. Three weeks under constant pressure that Moncloa now hopes to see subside and that has colonized the political discussion. Three weeks that have awakened, in the bosom of the Socialist Parliamentary Groupthe first line of defense in Congress, the feeling that the scandal has been handled perhaps with clumsiness from the Executive. Some deputies speak ofsurprise& rdquor ;, others of a step “little explained and less understood by the people & rdquor ;, others deplore that it has been “picked up & rdquor; to Margarita Robles and has helped the “victimization of independence & rdquor ;. There are also socialist parliamentarians who consider that the Government had little room for maneuver, and that the management has not been so “deficient”.

But, very broadly, there is an important dose of incomprehension for the steps that the Executive has taken, its strategy and its communication policy. The first big question is why the Government simply accepted the complaint that more than 60 pro-independence officials had been spied on with the ‘software’ pegasus, published in ‘The New Yorker’ and supported by the report of Citizen Laba think tank at the University of Toronto.

“From the beginning it was as if it were true”, points out a deputy, without questioning that it is an unofficial institution, in which Elies Campo Cid also works, which is being investigated in the National High Court for the October 2019 riots, attributed to Tsunami Democràtic. This initial error, he adds, contaminated the entire management because an answer “almost guilty& rdquor ;, assuming that it was the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and that it could have done something wrong, when in addition, “everyone knows the links of independence with Russia & rdquor ;. “It should not have been considered that the facts [el espionaje masivo] they were true & rdquor ;.

“From the beginning it was approached as if it were true & rdquor ;, says a deputy, an “almost blameworthy response” was offered to the Citizen Lab report

The second moment of confusion was the revelation that the mobile phones of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense (later it was discovered that the Interior also) had been attacked, also with Pegasus, and information had been stolen. The Executive argued that it wanted to be transparent, when transparency, sources from the Socialist Group point out, “is not a maxim that operates in matters of National Security & rdquor ;. With the contraindication, points out a deputy and member of the federal executive, that by publicizing the intrusions to the devices of the president and the ministers, “the focus was placed on the state vulnerability”. And the director of the CNI, Paz Esteban, was sentenced from the first minute, finally dismissed this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers and relieved by Esperanza Casteleiro, of the maximum trust of Robles.

Another parliamentarian emphasizes that nothing in this entire process “has been known to explain publicly & rdquor ;: “There has been no communication policy”. “[Félix] Bolaños has not gone well & rdquor; because, furthermore,can’t be at all”. “A good coach does not necessarily have a political vision & rdquor ;. And to this is added that few have understood the dispute between him and Robles over who was responsible for the security of Sánchez’s phone. There are also those who criticize the head of Defense for her “selfishness” and for being a free verse in the Cabinet.

“It has been done wrong”

“Beyond clumsiness or not, there has been a precious space of victimization to independence, in addition to pillorying the Minister of Defense, who is a big game due to the armor that Pedro has always made of her & rdquor ;, says a Catalan deputy. “has been done wrong —concludes another, from Madrid—. We have been very transparent at the beginning and we did not have any information about what had happened and we have generated more doubts than certainties. But I have the feeling that this week we have learned and the issue no longer has any further course & rdquor ;.

“A precious space of victimization has been given to independence, in addition to putting Robles in the pillory,” says a Catalan deputy

However, the crisis has not been completely closed. The meeting between Sánchez and the ‘president’, Pere Aragonès – still without a date, but in principle there would be a window at the end of next week – remains to be held, and that ERC sheathes the saber. The problem is that as time goes on, the campaign of the Andalusian elections is thrown more of June 19. Added reason for the socialist leader to want to quickly settle the clash with his partners.

That is why some Andalusian deputies fear that the ‘Pegasus case’ will become a throwing tool against the PSOE by PP and Vox, a dangerous weapon that adds to the “fiasco of the union of the Andalusian left”. “The crisis is not over, a little explained step has been taken [el cese de la jefa del CNI] and less understood by the people, and neither Marga nor Felix have turned out well& rdquor ;, says a parliamentarian from the south. Another colleague does not believe it because espionage “is not a priority issue”: “In the markets and streets is the candidate going to speak [Juan Espadas] of Pegasus? The matter does not give for much more and there is still no campaign atmosphere & rdquor ;.

Different vision of another parliamentarian: “You have to put things in context. It is a delicate case, it is not easy, and it has been done in the best possible way. Félix and Margarita have each played a role”

Other deputies see the bottle as half full, they believe that they do not have to suffer “wear, necessarily, Bolaños and Robles, and point out that, despite the “complexity”, the Government has managed to band.You have to put things in context.. We are not talking about managing the booth of the biggest party. It is a delicate case, with many variables, and it is not easy, and it has been done, given the circumstances and the limitations imposed by law, in the best possible way. Felix and Margaret they have each played a role, and both are complementary. And the one that gets away with it, once again, is the PP & rdquor ;, observes a PSC parliamentarian, who does not perceive a “deficient” management and who recalls that the Executive is experiencing a difficult legislature, with “unprecedented” obstacles that are being saving.

The “culprits” are not “victims”

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Two more deputies indicate that they do not notice “concern & rdquor; and yes “internal cohesion” in a “very complicated situation & rdquor ;. “It has been managed well, the problem is the disloyalty of others & rdquor ;, sentences a Castilian-Manchego parliamentarian. Its regional president, Emiliano García-Page, was very harsh this week, questioning whether the country’s stability depends on the “less reliable”: “The guilty” of subverting the constitutional order, she said, they cannot be “victims & rdquor ;.

The underlying problem, indicates a deputy, is that “cohesion is not transmitted & rdquor; with United We Can and with the partners, because “that is demobilizing & rdquor;

The doubts that the handling of the ‘Pegasus case’ has raised, however, do not translate in any case into a response to the leader. Absolutely. There could have been a “surprise & rdquor; initial, concedes a parliamentarian, but “immediately & rdquor; the closing of ranks materialized, the “support” to the Executive and its president Sánchez. What does not mean that there are those who highlight that the underlying problem is that “cohesion is not transmitted & rdquor; with United We Can and with the partners, because “this is demobilizer”. And although the relationship with ERC is straightened out, the “tension” cannot be hidden. in moncloa they prefer to look at the results: one more week, no votes lost. Despite everything and despite everyone.



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