The mismanagement that Sánchez avoids explaining by talking about 'climate denial'

Spanish socialism is obsessed with generating political narratives to avoid explaining its poor management of the government.

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An attempt to impose their narrative and avoid criticism from the opposition

The Prime Minister offered yet another example of this obsession today. In a message posted on Twitter at 1:21 PM CET, Pedro Sánchez stated: "Climate denial is the worst fuel for the climate emergency. Today, with more force and arguments than ever, I call for the national agreement that Spain needs most. A State Pact against the Climate Emergency is imperative."

With the statement I've highlighted in bold, Sánchez presents the supposed "climate deniers" as worse than arsonists, thereby shifting the focus away from the main cause of forest fires in Spain, which are intentional acts, as we saw here yesterday. The government bears some responsibility for this, since it oversees the Civil Guard, which is responsible for prosecuting these arsonists. He then calls for a pact with the opposition to submit to this narrative and thus avoid questioning the strategy the government uses under this pretext.

I won't get into a debate about climate change here, because the reality is that this debate doesn't help prevent forest fires or extinguish those already burning. Currently, in the case of Spain, it only serves to allow the government to avoid having to explain what it has done regarding fire prevention and firefighting. Such explanations are far more uncomfortable than the easy, simplistic political narratives to which the socialists are accustomed.

Sánchez's use of European funds contradicts that narrative

Today we have some data on the government's management in this area. The newspaper El Debate reports today that seven out of every ten euros of European funds for fire prevention remain unspent with one month to go before the aid expires. Furthermore, the 105 million euros that the government considers spent include 22 million euros from the contract to modernize the CL-215T and CL-415 amphibious aircraft fleet, a contract that was ultimately canceled, as we saw this morning, since the winning companies lacked the necessary licenses, the capacity to certify the work done, and even the aircraft manuals to begin the process. This gives an idea of ​​how unreliable the data provided by this government is.

Furthermore, this morning El Confidencial reported that the government emptied the emergency fund to pay for ordinary expenses before the fires. The publication notes that this budget item is designed to cover unforeseen expenses, but the government has already spent the €3.965 billion from the Contingency Fund, and a large part of the additional €1 billion from its expansion, so that "up to three out of every four euros have been allocated to matters that have nothing to do with climate emergencies". A spending pattern that does not remotely correspond to Sánchez's messages about the "climate emergency", but rather to that "denialism" which he himself attributes to his political rivals, using scientific terms to disguise a sectarian political discourse and poor management at the head of the government.

Furthermore, this fund has remained frozen since 2023 due to the government's inability to pass a budget, lacking a parliamentary majority—a situation Sánchez has insisted on prolonging by refusing to call early general elections, determined to serve out his term at any cost. This determination, which Sánchez has systematically employed since coming to power eight years ago, prioritizes his personal interests over the public good.

Sánchez's lies when announcing the firefighting resources for this year

Finally, with these messages, Sánchez is trying to avoid having to explain his misleading announcement two months ago, boasting about firefighting resources that were not available, as I pointed out here this morning. Let's remember that on May 21st, the Prime Minister promised 15 amphibious aircraft, the new A400M firefighting kit from Airbus, and 4 new Chinook and 2 Cougar helicopters for this year. It was a lie. Spain has 14 amphibious aircraft, not 15, and only 7 of them are operational this summer, as the government itself acknowledged. The A400M's firefighting kit is not yet available, and the government hasn't even purchased it. The new Chinook and Cougar aircraft with firefighting equipment are nowhere to be seen.

Thus, Sánchez promised the autonomous communities resources that the State did not have and in some cases had not even acquired. He did so at an official government event held at the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base in Madrid. To date, and despite repeated requests from some media outlets for information, the government has not yet offered any explanation as to why Sánchez promised resources it did not possess. Instead, it is now resorting to talk of "climate change denial," using it as a shield to avoid accountability for its mismanagement and to evade criticism of its negligence and lies regarding the fight against forest fires.

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Photo: La Moncloa.