The deputy secretary of Autonomous and Local Coordination and Electoral Analysis of the Popular Party, Elías Bendodo, has stated that the "disastrous management" of the Ceuta crisis will become "the final straw" for Pedro Sánchez's Executive. He emphasized that if Spain has "a government surrounded by corruption and that abandons Ceuta," it is because the PNV, "its most loyal partner, allows it."
During the closing of the New Generations Euskadi day 'Challenges of Basque youth', held this Saturday in Bilbao, he defended that Basque and Spanish youth have "the mission and historical responsibility" to be "the vanguard against sanchismo, populism, the banality of politics and, above all, against the government that is causing the most harm to our country and our institutions."
Bendodo recalled that the drafters of the 78 Constitution, "strong and rigid, but at the same time, elastic," did not foresee that attacks on the State could come from the Executive itself. In his opinion, "no one thought that and no one expected it, but it is what is happening, it is the government itself that through negligence, inaction or other issues is harming Spain" and constitutes "the government that has caused the most damage in history to our country and to all our institutions."
Looking at the municipal elections in May and, above all, at the general elections, which he hopes will be held "at some point this year or next year," he stressed that "the engine of change must come from Spanish and Basque youth, so that dignity and a sense of State return to the government of our country in the hands of our president Feijóo."
After emphasizing that "what is happening in our country is extremely serious," he pointed out that "the Ceuta crisis is the one that has finally shown the worst side of Pedro Sánchez" and insisted that "the disastrous management of this crisis will be the final straw for this government." "The Spaniards have had enough. We are not willing to swallow more," he warned, reproaching the president of the Government for his "hard face" for "going on vacation for a month when Ceuta was completely plunged into chaos."
The popular leader has accused Sánchez of "failing to protect the Ceutíes and, therefore, the Spaniards" and of "lying to protect himself, because, clearly, the only thing that matters to him is himself." According to him, "the crisis in Ceuta has exposed the weak president, but above all the immoral president we have in Spain."
In relation to the documents regarding the entry of immigrants in Ceuta that have come to light, he considered that "they have been sufficient to see that the government has lied," since "it said it knew nothing and that no one warned," while "the documents show that warnings were given actively and passively" and that the National Intelligence Center "alerted everyone it had to alert, but the Government did not act."
Bendodo has reiterated that "the idea that Sánchez resolved the crisis in 48 hours has been proven to be a lie, because there are still more than 10,000 irregular immigrants in Ceuta roaming freely." He has assured that the PP will continue to denounce the situation and demand that the Executive "act once and for all," and has specified that his party demands that "all those who entered illegally into Spain must legally leave Spain." "All those who violated the border of Ceuta, those who remain there, must return by the way they entered. And that must be facilitated by the government of Spain," he emphasized, lamenting the image that the country projects before the international community "with many responsible parties, Interior, Defense, throwing things at each other in a crisis of this magnitude."
In this line, he stated that "Spanish diplomacy is permanently leaking." In his view, "weakness can be sensed, parliamentary weakness, the corruption surrounding the government, and the last gasps that Pedro Sánchez has left are noticeable, they can be sensed."
He has also wondered if there is any member of Sánchez's Government who, "after throwing things at each other's heads, can guarantee forty-something days after the invasion that this will not happen again today." He insisted that "no one from the government has explained to us why this invasion of the Spanish border in Ceuta has happened and no one from the government has told us if we are in a position to guarantee that this will not happen again."
Bendodo has recalled that there is "European and national legislation that supports the return of immigrants who have entered irregularly," citing the Immigration and Asylum Pact and the return directive, and has emphasized that Morocco "has told the Government to send all the immigrants who entered irregularly, that it is willing to receive them, and to also send the minors, who precisely need to be with their families."
PNV, "the great support of Sánchez"
In the political sphere, Bendodo has pointed out that "the great support" of Sánchez and his "most loyal partner, the one who says yes to everything without reading the papers, without knowing what is asked in return, is the PNV, which has become one of the most prominent accomplices of Pedro Sánchez and this decaying government."
"If we have a government surrounded by corruption and it continues to be a government, it is because the PNV wants it; if we have a government that abandons Ceuta and remains in power, it is because the PNV allows it," he asserted. He added that Pedro Sánchez "could not do what he is doing without the approval of everything, without a word of protest, from the PNV, which is the one that supports him, let no one forget this and let Euskadi not forget it."
The popular leader has pointed out that the PNV, "a historic right-wing party in the Basque Country," has transformed into "a left-wing party" that "self-defines as progressive and supports a corrupt left-wing government." "Why this change of course?" he has questioned, to criticize that the lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, "arm in arm with Pedro Sánchez, is not capable of facing any of the major problems of the Basque Country, such as housing, security, taxes, and education."
When addressing the housing situation in Euskadi, he has pointed out that "the failure of the PNV in housing matters" is "only comparable to the failure of Pedro Sánchez in the same matter at the national level." Furthermore, he has referred to the results of the latest PISA report, corresponding to 2025, which places Euskadi at the bottom of the autonomous communities in Reading Comprehension, only ahead of Ceuta and Melilla, to emphasize that the Basque Country "does not deserve to be seen as the red lantern of education in Spain."
He has recalled that the Basque Country "has had self-government for 40 years" and has raised whether "self-government has worked in educational matters so that the Basque Country, according to the PISA report, is the last autonomous community in Spain." "The Basque Country does not deserve to be at the tail end of the results of the PISA report," he has reiterated, emphasizing that the PISA report "has confirmed the failure of the PNV in educational management" and accusing the jeltzale party of prioritizing ideology "over the quality of education for our youth in the Basque Country."
In his opinion, "the worrying results of the PISA report reconfirm, in case it was not confirmed, that the PNV's project in the Basque Country is exhausted" and that, "without a doubt, a change of government is needed in this land."
"It is the last straw," he has concluded, to assure that "the solution" lies with the president of the Basque PP, Javier de Andrés, who "has clear ideas, projects in mind, and teams in each territory, and what is needed is for the change to happen as soon as possible."