Just in the days when Giorgia Meloni was avoiding a meeting with Pedro Sánchez in Rome citing scheduling issues, her party was preparing a confidential dossier against the Spanish Prime Minister. The title is eloquent: “The Spanish Senate censures the Sánchez Government.” The subtitle goes even further: “Yet another blow to the left’s idol.”
In the five pages of the so-called “informative note,” to which La Vanguardia has had access, Brothers of Italy identifies a precise objective: to dismantle the so-called “Sánchez model” that for years the Italian left has contrasted with Giorgia Meloni. The ultra-conservative party, former European ally of Vox before Abascal’s jump to the Patriots group, lists the judicial problems of the PSOE and Sánchez’s circle and reports that “the people have taken to the streets,” referring to the demonstration held in Madrid on May 23.
The dossier was prepared a few days after the Italian president ruled out a meeting with Sánchez
The report, prepared by the party’s Study Office and accompanied by the indication “study document for internal use, not suitable for dissemination,” is intended for leaders and parliamentarians called to intervene in public debate, especially on television and radio talk shows.
Each chapter contributes to the same thesis: Sánchez is not a role model. After reviewing the main judicial cases affecting the PSOE and his closest circle, the news of the motion approved by the Senate appears (perhaps somewhat overrated, considering that in Italy the confidence of both chambers is decisive). From there, the note reaches the question that constitutes its true political core: “Is Spain really as the left portrays it?”
“The image of the Spanish president is already seriously compromised,” the document states
The report also devotes several pages to dismantling another image associated with Sánchez in the Italian political debate: that of a leader reluctant to rearm. The text recalls that, after tensions with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, over defense spending, which erupted during the NATO summit held in The Hague last July, the Spanish government ended up significantly increasing military investment. “After boasting to journalists in his standoff with Trump, Sánchez increased military spending by 50%,” the document states. For Brothers of Italy, this fact would demonstrate the gap between the Spanish president’s public discourse and the decisions adopted by his government.
The response occupies the last pages and is forceful. According to Brothers of Italy, the scandals surrounding Spanish socialism would have shattered the myth of the supposed moral superiority of the left. “How can all this be an example, a path to follow?” reads the text. It adds: “Although judicial proceedings have not yet concluded, it is true that Sánchez’s image is already seriously compromised and for the Italian opposition another myth collapses.” In this context, the cancellation of the meeting that Meloni and Sánchez were scheduled to hold last Tuesday in Rome also takes on another meaning. Officially it was canceled due to scheduling problems, but the political climate between the two governments is far from being the most favorable.
Ayuso visits Leo XIV at the Vatican
This morning, Isabel Díaz Ayuso will be received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV, five days before the Pontiff’s trip to Spain begins. The President of the Community of Madrid will honor the Pope with the region’s International Medal and will also present him with a photographic book. Less than a week ago, it was Pedro Sánchez who crossed the doors of the Apostolic Palace. The coincidence has not gone unnoticed in the Vatican, and some observers have noted how, indirectly, the Leonine walls risk once again becoming the scene of the political polarization that crosses Spain. Sources close to Ayuso emphasize, however, that the request for an audience was submitted long before the meeting between Leo XIV and Sánchez was announced. They also insist that any attempt to drag the Pontiff into the internal Spanish political debate will be avoided.
This Monday Isabel Díaz Ayuso will arrive in Rome to hold a private audience with the Pope. The President of the Community of Madrid has recently praised Meloni in an interview granted to Corriere della Sera: “I have a very high regard for the Italian president. She is a voice more necessary than ever in Europe and we are very impressed by the stability she has brought to Italy.” A meeting with her would undoubtedly be much easier to organize.
