August has been a bad month for Pedro Sánchez. What was supposed to be a period of relative calm, with the courts and the Parliament closed for holidays, has turned into a nightmare due to what happened in Ceuta. The Government avoided the wear and tear of the multiple ongoing judicial actions and the interpellations in the Congress and the Senate in August, but it failed to react promptly to the Ceuta crisis.
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Sánchez has been hardened by all kinds of calamities during his years in government, such as COVID, the La Palma volcano, the power outage, the DANA in Valencia, or the forest fires. In all
he stood out for his quick reaction and, in some cases, innovative
management of aid to those affected. That is why it is striking how in the case of Ceuta, after reacting quickly within
24 hours by going there in person, he disappeared from the public space for the whole month, took 26 days to convene the National Security Council, could not stop the image of a divided Government due to disputes between the Interior and Defense ministries, and left an open highway for the opposition to criticize him.
The problem of what is happening in Ceuta is very serious. Imagine if the nearly 70,000 migrants who decided to return on their own to Morocco had stayed there. It is more than a humanitarian crisis.
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Sánchez’s greatest asset has always been the management of his government. Corruption cases and the lack of parliamentary support that prevent him from presenting a budget are weights that drown him. He can only stay afloat if he provides good economic growth data and a good balance of his ministerial performance. If this fails him, it is easy for the image the Executive transmits to be that of a burnt-out government, one that fails to react promptly, and that sees the farewell hour near. On the other hand, the Sánchez we know is the rebel, the one who grows in adversity and offers unexpected solutions to complex problems. In Ceuta, it seems there was overconfidence and a poor application of solutions. The last political term before the elections is already starting and there is less and less time to rectify.
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