PP and Vox seek to escalate the protest over the situation in Ceuta beyond the autonomous city. This Wednesday, the squares of town halls throughout Spain are called to become the scene of support gatherings, coinciding with Ceuta Day, in an initiative by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces that has the backing of the right-wing parties.
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The president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, wanted yesterday to give a final push to the call with a letter in which he encourages turning the defense of Ceuta into a shared cause. Beyond the call to defend territorial integrity, it cannot be overlooked that this mobilization takes place nine months before municipal elections in which the migration issue will inevitably play a leading role.
Ceuta is the first episode of a political term in which the PP will intensify pressure
Despite Ferraz’s directive not to participate in the demonstrations, town halls governed by the PSOE, its partners, or independent groups have announced their intention to join these gatherings. In Génova, they are aware that the immigration debate is dividing a left that fails to establish a common position, thus leaving a political space they are willing to occupy.
Today it will be seen to what extent they are capable of doing so and, above all, what resonance their call has beyond the autonomous city. Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal will participate in the one held in Madrid. The confusion generated around the authorization by the Government delegation due to a procedural defect could end up playing in favor of the mobilization and give it greater visibility.
Feijóo will return to Ceuta today, in a new gesture with which the PP leader seeks to stage that his party has been “by the side of the people of Ceuta from day one.” The Populars contrast this presence with that of Pedro Sánchez, whom they reproach for not having returned to visit the city and maintain that, as of today, he could not even do so due to the high level of anger regarding the Government’s handling of the crisis.
While closely monitoring how the situation in Ceuta evolves, where thousands of immigrants still remain on the streets of the autonomous city, the PP is already preparing for the new political term.
Pedro Sánchez will appear in Congress tomorrow, and next week the judicial agenda, which had taken a back seat during August, will be reactivated, along with a succession of cases that will again place the PSOE before a politically demanding autumn. On Monday and Tuesday, the heads of the airline Plus Ultra will testify before the National Court, and on Wednesday the PSOE manager will do so in the Leire case.
Ceuta is only the first episode of a particularly complicated political term for the Government in terms of management and the courts. The PP will not ease up and will intensify pressure in Congress and the Senate ahead of elections that are getting closer and closer.
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