The PSOE enters a radioactive crater

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is inside a radioactive crater whose depth is unknown. Maps are always very important. So are maps of scandals.

Everything indicates that the Moncloa's map is flawed, since the judicial police have not reported their investigations to the executive branch. They are not required to do so, according to the Criminal Procedure Law. The aforementioned law establishes that the judicial police are under the authority of the judges, the courts, and the prosecutor's office. In specific cases, such as those that may affect state security, the judicial police may report to the executive branch.

The audio recordings made by Koldo García, decrypted by the UCO, convey an explosive sordidness.

Everything indicates that the Spanish government was unaware of the depth of the report prepared over months by the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard, whose most substantive conclusion—the direct involvement of Santos Cerdán in the alleged collection of illegal kickbacks—was leaked last Wednesday to some media outlets. The PSOE's immediate reaction was a categorical defense of its organizing secretary's innocence. With a more precise map, the Socialist Party would surely not have taken that step. Most likely, they knew nothing about the audio recordings recorded by Koldo García on encrypted devices that the UCO has managed to open. It is reasonable to assume that the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo , was also unaware of the Civil Guard's investigations when he decided to toughen his language last week and call for a demonstration against the "mafia" in Madrid's Plaza de España, a rally that failed to achieve the desired level of success.

The level of information provided by the Executive Branch regarding judicial police investigations has been the subject of numerous tense episodes in Spain, especially at times when the Civil Guard and the National Police have investigated the ruling party due to alleged illegal actions or behavior. A major case in this regard is pending trial.

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In May 2026, the Kitchen trial will begin in Madrid against eleven people accused of having used police means to obstruct the investigations into the Gürtel case carried out by the Economic and Tax Crime Unit (UDEF) of the Police, acting as judicial police. Former Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz , and former Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez , head the list of defendants and face a request for 15 years in prison. Among the accused is the ineffable Commissioner Manuel Villarejo . The UCO has not suffered similar interference, but the character Leire Díez acquires a special phosphorescence in light of what is becoming known.

The government is visibly disoriented. The PSOE is in shock. Yesterday, some of the audio recordings stored by Koldo García began to emerge, and their release conveys a sordidness that undermines the message of regeneration with which Sánchez won the Socialist primary elections in May 2017 and the vote of no confidence in May 2018. Santos Cerdán and José Luis Ábalos were among his main collaborators at both events. Radiation is intense at the bottom of the crater. At the time of going to press, Cerdán had not yet resigned his seat as a deputy last night. Sánchez announced on Thursday that this resignation will take place.

The PP also now rules out a motion of censure, but sectors of the party want it.

The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños , ruled out yesterday that the government would submit to a vote of no confidence. They do not yet have sufficient groundwork to take that step. Negotiating a vote of no confidence with at least seven parliamentary allies could prove very costly, and it is possible that some of those allies may not want to give Pedro Sánchez a vote of no confidence at this time. For some, it would be easier to vote against a vote of no confidence against Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The PP leadership also currently rules out presenting such a motion, although some sectors of the party are interested in it.

Without a vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence, Parliament would be postponed in favor of the media battle. Negotiating the 2026 budget could be a solution. But the maps are not yet ready. The legislative session has been turned upside down, and there is still no precise map of the radioactive crater.