The deputy spokesperson for Sumar in Congress and deputy of Compromís, Alberto Ibáñez, accused the PSOE on Wednesday of suffering from "Stockholm syndrome" with the king of Morocco, Mohamed VI, and claims that the president, Pedro Sánchez, "is late" in offering explanations about the crisis triggered by the massive entry of immigrants in Ceuta at the end of July.
In an appearance before the media in the Lower House, Ibáñez described that episode of massive entry as "a case of hybrid attack" against Spanish sovereignty and criticized the Government for avoiding pointing out Rabat's role in what happened. "Unfortunately, today the PSOE still has Stockholm syndrome with the king of Morocco," he pointed out.
The deputy of Sumar praised the actions of the State Security Forces in the crisis of July 30 and compared it to the tragedy at the Melilla fence in 2022, when 23 immigrants died. "They are politically the responsibility of Spain, but now although there have been more than 141 deceased who deserve our respect, it is evident that the Police acted well that day," he indicated.
In this context, Ibáñez demanded that Spain "continue to be a beacon of defense of Human Rights," although he also demanded a "clear" reaction to "said attack."
"Holidays are human," but not in this situation
Asked about Sánchez's management after the crisis, the deputy of Sumar defended that "it is human" for the head of the Executive to enjoy holidays, especially after a political course "particularly difficult and painful" in which he would have been "a victim of family harassment for political reasons, of different 'lawfares' and of the wear from various corruption cases."
However, he clarified that "in life one does not always get what one wants" and considered that, given the "seriousness" of the events, Sánchez "should have agreed on a single command that reported to him specifically" or "have moved his holidays to the end of September or October."
In this line, he insisted that the president "is late" in coming to Congress to account on September 9. According to Ibáñez, Sánchez must address in that appearance several issues that have been "pending": the role of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), the relationship with Morocco, and energy policy with Algeria, among others.
Clash between Robles and Marlaska and request for clarifications
Likewise, Ibáñez has referred to the confrontation of versions between the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, about whether the CNI warned or not about what was going to happen. Robles maintains that the agency fulfilled its duty and issued warnings, while Marlaska insists that there was "no hint" of prior communication about the events.
For the Sumar deputy, "the serious thing is that there is not a single version in the Government" and has suggested that "perhaps there was an inaccurate oral information that something could happen and then this happened and someone says they had already warned." In his opinion, "I think we also have to be aware of how these reports often work and how there are those who take precautions and then nothing happens or then something does happen and assess the risk."
In any case, he considers "very serious" the "divergence" between both members of the Executive and that it remains unclear what data the Spanish intelligence had. "I think this is serious," he reiterated, describing as "embarrassing" that the explanations from Robles and Marlaska occurred practically simultaneously.
Ibáñez has reminded, finally, that his party has already registered in Congress a request for the appearance of the director of the CNI, Esperanza Casteleiro, in order to detail the available information and the role of the agency in this crisis.