The PP has no intention of easing the pressure on the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, regarding the Pope's visit, and is already preparing its offensive for this Wednesday's control session in the Plenary of Congress, keeping in mind the demanding judicial calendar facing the Executive this June, according to 'popular' sources.
"On Wednesday there is a control session and the PP will not stop talking about a judicial calendar that is extraordinarily tough for the Government. That is how you do opposition," sources from the party have indicated, who also criticized the head of the Executive for using "a Falcon to go to Primavera Sound" in Barcelona "in the middle of the mess" last Saturday.
From the 'Génova' headquarters, they point out that, in addition to the continuous flow of data from the investigation into the "sewer commando" in which former socialist militant Leire Díez appears, there are the trial of Pedro Sánchez's brother for his position in the Diputación de Badajoz and the preliminary hearing for Begoña Gómez, the president's wife, on June 15. The sentence in the 'mask case' could also be made public this month after the trial of former minister José Luis Ábalos, according to the same sources.
Furthermore, the PP is focusing on the summons of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on the 17th and 18th before the judge in the Plus Ultra case. Precisely this Monday, the PP – which leads the popular accusations – has asked the National Court magistrate investigating this case to indict Zapatero's daughters, as well as former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos and former ministerial advisor Koldo García.
The PP supports the Pope's speech in Congress
In statements to the media in Congress, after the meeting of the PP's steering committee chaired by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the party's national spokesperson, Borja Sémper, highlighted that the Pope's visit is being "historic" and that his speech before the Cortes has also been "historic".
Sémper lamented that Spanish politics "in recent times moves in short-term tactics" and needs "a much-improved height." "Today we have had the opportunity to hear a speech of height, a speech of level, and a speech that calls on all of us, singularly and especially politicians," he stressed.
In this context, he has assured that the PP feels "challenged" and shares "from beginning to end" the intervention of Leo XIV. "We take good note and for us it also represents a spur, if possible, stronger to move forward," he remarked.
As he explained, the Pope insisted that "politics must be at the service of citizens and not at the service of a single person or not for particular service." "Absolutely agree," added the PP leader.
Likewise, he highlighted that the Pope has emphasized "hope" and added that, at a "very unpleasant" moment, when "politics is so unedifying" and when everything perceived around "is so dirty and so ugly," "citizens deserve hope" and "to believe that the future will be better than the present."
A message that transcends religion and immigration at the center of the debate
For all these reasons, he affirmed that the PP feels "deeply comforted by the message of His Holiness the Pope," which "resonates with believers and non-believers, with citizens who go to mass and who do not go to mass."
"The Pope's message today transcends religion and invites us all, at least the politicians undoubtedly represented here today, to try to do our job better every day," Sémper told reporters.
Asked if the PP also assumes the Pope's words on euthanasia and abortion, Sémper replied that he was not going to go into "the detail and dissect the message" of the Pontiff and stressed that the PP is interested in his discourse "from beginning to end." In his opinion, "everyone will logically be left with the part that corresponds to them" but "it deserves all respect" and "is inspiring."
Regarding whether the PP feels alluded to by the part of the speech that calls for the reception of immigrants and not discriminating by origin, Sémper insisted that the PP is not going to "dissect" Leo XIV's intervention before Congress, but recalled that the party is "a party of a humanist bent that anchors its way of understanding politics in Christian humanism," as its Statutes state.
"And we want the dignity of the human being, regardless of where they were born, their religion, their sexual orientation, or origin," he stated, emphasizing that immigrant people who come to Spain "looking for a better future deserve to be treated with dignity."
At this point, he has clarified that what the PP has questioned is the Government's "lack of immigration policy" and has defended the "national priority" contemplated in the agreements signed between PP and Vox in Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León. "We believe that at a time like the present, regardless of where a citizen was born, what they have to demonstrate is roots and reciprocity," he emphasized.