Socialist Pedro S\u00e1nchez took office in Spain on June 2, 2018, and his authoritarian drift began just a few months later.<\/p>\n
Seven years of attacks on judicial independence in Spain<\/big><\/p>\n In November 2018, the S\u00e1nchez government's attacks on judicial independence began<\/a>. Two years later, with a coalition government between the socialists of the PSOE and the communists of Podemos in place, these attacks turned into a full-blown assault<\/a>. Since then, the S\u00e1nchez government's attacks on the separation of powers and the rule of law have not ceased<\/strong>, gradually increasing in intensity in the face of silence from the European institutions.<\/p>\n The scandalous silence of Von der Leyen's European Commission<\/big><\/p>\n In September 2021, when Spain had already been witnessing three years of leftist attacks on judicial independence<\/strong>, I published an article here denouncing the double standards of the European Union<\/a>, which had initiated a full-blown political persecution against the conservative governments of Poland and Hungary, but maintained absolute silence in the face of S\u00e1nchez's attacks on Justice<\/strong>. I then explained the reason for this silence: the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, owes her position to the support of the Socialists<\/a>, and does not seem willing to do anything that might upset her allies.<\/p>\n Seven years later, the European Parliament denounced S\u00e1nchez's abuses<\/big><\/p>\n At the end of May this year, seven years later<\/strong>, the European Parliament denounced S\u00e1nchez's \"attacks\" on the rule of law<\/a>. There is a Spanish saying that says that if the wind blows, it's never too late, but having to wait seven years for such a pronouncement is maddening<\/strong>. However, the complaint, although late, is worthy of praise if we take into account that Von der Leyen still has not issued even the slightest criticism of S\u00e1nchez.<\/strong> This is not surprising, since in 2024 it was already evident that her criticism of Poland was ideologically motivated<\/a>, since as soon as her friend Donald Tusk came to power in that country, European sanctions against Warsaw ceased without any of the rules that theoretically motivated them being repealed.<\/p>\n A Commission document criticizes S\u00e1nchez's amnesty for his partners<\/big><\/p>\n This morning we had some good news that seemed to be a change of trend: A Commission document came to light criticizing S\u00e1nchez's amnesty for his separatist partners.<\/a> It is a document prepared by Commission lawyers in relation to the preliminary ruling initiated by the Spanish Court of Auditors before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)<\/strong> regarding the aforementioned amnesty. In that document, Commission lawyers state that this measure \"appears to be a self-amnesty\" and is contrary to \"the principle of the rule of law.\"<\/strong> This is the Commission's first critical response to the amnesty. It seemed that things were finally changing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Commission has backed down in a few hours and returned to its silence<\/big><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived<\/strong>. This afternoon, the Commission backtracked and criticized the leak of its lawyers' document to the CJEU<\/a>, stating: \"this document was not intended to be public at this point in time.\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho has poured cold water on all those who were already celebrating that Von der Leyen's cabinet finally broke its silence on S\u00e1nchez's government: \"In order not to interrupt the procedures that are underway, we are not going to comment on anything about them.<\/strong>\"<\/em> This is an unsustainable explanation if we take into account that for several years, the Commission vociferously pursued the conservative governments of Poland and Hungary<\/strong> and threatened them with all kinds of reprisals, managing to force a change of government in the Polish case. After those shouts, with S\u00e1nchez the Commission insists on speaking very softly, so much so that it can hardly be heard<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Commission's attitude is what is causing the rise of 'Euroscepticism'<\/big><\/p>\n It seems that the Commission does not realize that Von der Leyen's blatant double standards with conservative governments and with S\u00e1nchez's socialist government<\/strong>, an evidence that at this point is impossible to deny (and even more so after the German obtained the support of the socialists for her re-election in July 2024<\/a>) is causing a great loss of credibility for the European institutions in Spain<\/strong>. Many of us believed that in the face of such a clear attack on the rule of law, the European Union would not be able to remain silent. We were wrong.<\/p>\n In the end, Von der Leyen's political alliances are stronger than her supposed defense of democracy<\/strong>. Then don't come complaining about the rise of the so-called \"Eurosceptics,\" as many media outlets now call those who feel discontent with the current direction of the EU: this \"Euroscepticism\" is being provoked by those who ally themselves with a corrupt socialist party in Brussels<\/strong> and then remain silent about its abuses in Spain, a silence that contrasts starkly with the voices they raised against Poland and Hungary.<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n
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