Alberto Núñez Feijóo acknowledged in his appearance on Tuesday, after finally reaching an agreement with the PSOE of Pedro Sánchez to renew the General Council of the Judiciary, that he had undergone “all kinds of pressures” in the negotiations to resolve the blockade of the judiciary body that he inherited from his predecessor, Pablo Casado. While the PP headquarters in Génova avoids referring to these “pressures” to the hardline wing of the party, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso and José María Aznar, they do point directly to the media right-wing, who along with the president of the Community of Madrid caused the PP leader to break a similar agreement in the fall of 2022 that he had practically closed with the socialists at that time. Feijóo’s team believes that with this action he “reaffirms” his leadership and places the level of this agreement at the “milestone” of his statesman-like discourse during his failed investiture last September.
Amid fears that the agreement reached on Tuesday in Brussels may not be understood in some sectors and among the party’s grassroots, the PP leadership says they had to inform and explain directly to the regional barons and their entire team some of the issues being negotiated, although not all. Some did not initially understand how Feijóo was willing to sign the agreement with Sánchez, as they have distrusted his word and promises throughout the legislature, but Génova justifies these reservations by stating that the negotiated terms were favorable for their party and not so much for the socialists. Feijóo himself clarified on Wednesday in Congress that he had called Díaz Ayuso, who was on an official trip to Germany, after the signing of the pact. Feijóo wanted to appear before the media on Tuesday at the national headquarters of the PP because he was “pleased” with the outcome and also to convey the image of a statesman, which has been marked by vacillations and sometimes confusing and contradictory positions over the past two and a half years.
In this strategy, the response given in public both by the regional barons and by the harder right-wing sectors was one of closing ranks on Wednesday. Former President José María Aznar applauded Feijóo at FAES, the foundation he presides, stating that “Feijóo has done what he had to do and he has done it very well.” “From reading the agreement, there is no abdication of irrevocable positions by the PP. On the contrary, he has managed to have them incorporated in the commitment to promulgate an Organic Law that makes them mandatory,” added the foundation in a statement published on Wednesday, where they also warned that it is necessary to “make that commitment effective,” which they admit is “balanced.” The focus was initially on Puerta del Sol, from where Díaz Ayuso had been criticizing a possible pact with Sánchez, accusing him of wanting to undermine the independence of institutions and the country’s democracy.
However, the approval of the Madrid leader came just minutes after Félix Bolaños and Esteban González Pons shook hands in Brussels through their closest entourage. While Ayuso remained silent, her spokesperson in the regional government, Miguel Ángel García Martín, described the pact as “positive” for advancing in the “depoliticization” of the judiciary and ending “revolving doors.” Other regional barons, such as the President of the Andalusian Parliament, Juan Manuel Moreno, praised the agreement as “positive.”Feijóo has not moved an inch from his speech during the failed investiture in September. Nor from the negotiations with the PSOE in the fall of 2022. Although internally it is understood that with the “direct participation” included in the agreement, it is not clear that the judges will choose the judges, as the PP has been requesting for months and has not achieved. During his appearance on SER on Wednesday, Minister Bolaños confirmed that the agreement with the PP does not commit the PSOE to promote a new system of choosing judges, stating that it is not binding.
Before this issue is resolved, the parliamentary group unanimously applauded Feijóo on his arrival at the Government control session in the Congress chamber on Wednesday. Some MPs still express their doubts privately. They also applauded the intervention of MP Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, who again questioned Minister Bolaños harshly as if nothing had happened the previous day in Brussels and challenged him to continue considering them “extremists.” Álvarez de Toledo’s intervention was planned days in advance and Feijóo’s team considers it a continuation of a disciplined line, similar to Ayuso and Aznar, which they highlight as another of Feijóo’s merits. Álvarez de Toledo and Ayuso had believed in recent days that Feijóo’s PP would never reach an agreement with Sánchez’s PSOE to “surrender” the Judiciary Council. The MP avoided explaining her position on Wednesday.
