Pedro Sánchez was wrapped in a large flag of Spain projected at the event where he proclaimed himself as a candidate for Moncloa in June 2015. Then, he wanted to mark distances with the radicalism of an emerging Podemos and dispute the PP’s profile of moderation and institutionality. Last Sunday, the Spanish flag was projected again after Pedro Sanchez at a rally held in Madrid where the organization distributed red and yellow flags among the 9,000 attendees to mix them with the European ones and those of the party. After the pact with Junts and the sovereignist formations, the PSOE wants to reinforce its moderate and institutional profile. Become visible as a systemic party in the face of the “Spain is broken” message repeated by the conservative opposition due to its investiture agreements.
The flag has been incorporated into the party’s corporate image with the motto of ‘Spain advances’ and will continue to accompany Sánchez and the acronym “normally,” according to Ferraz sources. The polls reflect the erosion of the amnesty law even among the voters of the PSOE. According to the GESOP Spanish Political Survey for Prensa Ibérica, two out of every three voters reject the controversial norm and among PSOE voters there is a clear division.
In Moncloa they estimate that the norm will take between four and five months to be approved in Congress, so both the wear and tear and the social tension have no signs of subsiding; prolonging in the context of the European elections, which threaten to be a plebiscite on amnesty. The electoral appointment of the European elections, in which the socialists recognize great difficultieswill be preceded by Basques and perhaps also Galicians.
To mitigate this wear and tear and counteract the accusations of PP and Vox is committed to “showing off the flag”. Convey that the socialists defend the unity of Spain and even turn the opposition’s arguments around, which place them outside the framework of the Constitution. “We do not need motivations or excuses to show off the flag,” Ferraz indicates in reference to the PP, adding that “the only difference is that we use everyone’s flag.” “The constitutional flag, which is the one that represents all Spaniards,” the same sources clarify.
cultural battle
A nuance that they make regarding the flags that have been seen in the protests in front of the party headquarters: “We neither cut out parts, nor are there birds on it, nor insignia inspired by Nazi symbols.” Hence they also insist that the PP is “mimicking” with Vox and that violates the Constitution by block the renewal of the CGPJ.
The resource is to fight the cultural battle to Do not give “everyone’s” flag to the PP, which will continue to fuel protests against the amnesty and the investiture pacts. Sánchez himself claimed at last Sunday’s rally that “I love seeing Spanish flags here because we are also Spain.” His presence was not fortuitous, as they were distributed to the attendees by the organization, and the President of the Government took advantage of it to contrast his idea of Spain with that of the opposition.
A Spain that he defined as an open and tolerant country; feminist and environmentalist; lover of peace and social justice. All this in contrast to leaders like “Trump, Bolsonaro and Milei”, who she included in the same package with Feijóo and Abascal. The PSOE needs reaffirm in the defense of Spain In the face of criticism from the opposition “electoral fraud” or “treason” and reconcile with their most moderate and centralist voters, they say.
Pedagogy and “tranquility”
Amnesty as a means to the end of “four more years of social advances by a progressive government.” Precisely, this is the main argument in the pedagogy phase in which the party is immersed in its territories. The amnesty as a tool to launch its roadmap, in addition to deepening “coexistence.”
Moderation and institutionality, with the flag of Spain as an element of credibility, which seeks to reinforce when confronting the “management against insult”. This Tuesday, the Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, insisted that in the face of broad criticism, “for our part we are not going to lose our calm or go down the path of insult and tension.”
Along the same lines, the appointment of Miguel Tellado as spokesperson for the PP In Congress he has reaffirmed Moncloa’s thesis that the popular ones are moving away from moderation and “opting for the hard line.” “He continues to blend in with Vox,” Moncloa sources pointed out. The Government’s strategy is to lower the ball, call for calm in the face of the “noise” of the opposition and the off-color criticism. “Keep calm and carry on,” Sánchez himself summarized at his rally last Sunday where the new corporate identity was launched with the red-and-white jersey as the protagonist.