The complex electoral horizon of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero -this week the two former heads of Plus Ultra have confirmed before the judge that they paid a 1% commission to what they call the “Zapatero group”- does not diminish Pedro Sánchez’s intention to count on the former Prime Minister as a draw for the next general election campaign. At least, that is the intention he publicly expresses. “Of course I will count on José Luis as I always have”-. The one considered the “moral beacon” of the left was not present in the Castilla y León regional elections campaign in February this year, coinciding with reports of his activities but was brought back in the Andalusian one.
Zapatero’s judicial situation is one of the hardest blows the socialists have received in recent times, and that is saying something, because they keep piling up. Sánchez went on vacation dismissing questions about the former socialist leader saying: “I am not his spokesperson” and focusing on the fact that the Government’s administrative action in the rescue of Plus Ultra is “absolutely impeccable”. Now, with the progress of the judicial investigation, he shields himself, in an interview on TVE, in the “trajectory” and “legacy” of the latter as sufficient argument to “respect his presumption of innocence”. “I believe in José Luis’s presumption of innocence and trust that everything can be clarified”.
When will that election campaign in which he says he will count on Zapatero be? He offers no clues. Or yes. “2027 is the year of the elections”. But if some time ago Sánchez spoke of July or summer, that specification no longer occurs. He has made it clear that there will be no ‘super Sunday’ election, that is, he will not coincide the general elections with the municipal and regional ones in May. A request that candidates from his own party and also the PNV had made.
As the polls appear on the horizon, the buzz usually begins. Names like Carlos Cuerpo, Óscar Puente or even Félix Bolaños have come up, especially behind the scenes, although the Minister of Transport in his latest interventions has not ruled himself out for the future. Sánchez, who has already expressed on several occasions his intention to run again as a candidate, reiterates that in his roadmap he does not consider stepping aside. “I want to be the candidate, I feel motivated,” he has said, also in an attempt to close debates within the PSOE.
Regarding the fact that names like Cuerpo or Puente have been mentioned, the head of the Executive has tried to downplay and devalue it, with a message that this debate is not relevant now: “There are very good, very capable people within the organization, but, in principle, I feel motivated and have both internal support and to renew a progressive coalition government”.
