The president of the Community of Madrid and leader of the PP of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has raised the tone this weekend against Pedro Sánchez by accusing him of using a "swaggering practice" to "rig the electoral rolls" and promote a supposed "social explosion". The popular leader has also assured that the head of the Executive is "everyone's problem" and has anticipated that the Popular Party will denounce these actions "wherever it has the opportunity".
Ayuso made these statements during the closing of a conference organized by the PP of Madrid, where she focused a good part of her speech on immigration policy, the institutional situation, and the strategy of the central Government.
Clash over immigration and electoral censuses
The Madrid president maintained that the Executive is generating social tension by not having resolved structural problems such as healthcare or housing. In that context, she accused Sánchez of using immigration for political and electoral purposes.
According to Ayuso, in Madrid certain demographic changes could alter parliamentary representation “by up to ten seats,” although she did not detail the calculations on which she bases this statement. The popular leader defended that one thing is “to protect Spaniards” and another different thing is “to create hatred towards foreigners,” and stated that the Government is damaging coexistence.
Attack on PSOE's internal leadership
Ayuso also linked her criticisms to the internal affairs of the PSOE after the dissemination of information about past organic processes of the party. She assured that Sánchez tried to impose himself “against the will of his own organization,” in reference to the videos published this week about the socialist Federal Committee of 2016.
The PP leader used that episode to question the president's political style and assured that his way of acting within the party anticipates how he operates with institutions.
Judicialization and political offensive
During her speech, Ayuso once again lashed out at various State bodies and alluded to alleged "mafioso operations" driven by the government. She also mentioned judicial processes and the role of public radio and television, reinforcing the confrontational line maintained by the PP in recent months.
The Madrid president considers that the Executive is in a phase of political and judicial desgaste, and assured that “liberal democracies have understood it”.
“Restart Spain”
On a national level, Ayuso closed her speech with a message directed at the political future of the PP. She maintained that, when the Popular Party comes to the Government of Spain, it will be necessary to "restart Spain" and "start from scratch".
His words arrive at a moment of growing pressure between the Government and the opposition, with the Andalusian pre-campaign in the background and with both blocs intensifying the political clash around institutions, immigration, and democratic quality.