With the first rays of the sun on November 22, 2023, the ministers turn the corner to head up the steps of La Moncloa, at the debut of the new government of Pedro Sánchez. Everyone poses with their brown briefcase. Not everyone. Margarita Robles, who repeats as Minister of Defense, forgot hers. The confidence of someone who does not see her portfolio at risk, knowing she enjoys the full trust of the one in charge. In the family photo, she is the only one wearing a coat. “She goes her own way, looking out and defending only her own,” summarizes a member of the Executive about her trajectory over these eight years.
The Ceuta crisis is straining the seams of the Government. Clashes and division. Divergent versions. On one side, Robles, defending that the CNI did its job and warned. On the other, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, stating first that there were no reports and later that there were, but none alerted to the magnitude of the massive entry. Version supported by La Moncloa.
The Government is risking a lot because of this crisis. The clash between two state ministries such as Defense and Interior has undermined the image and credibility of the Executive. “The disagreement has not helped” in managing the crisis, notes someone who knows the governmental intricacies well. The culmination, at least for now, has been an unprecedented situation, such as La Moncloa attacking and pointing at the CNI for its work. “There is no noise between Interior and Defense. Their versions are complementary,” they say from the presidential complex. However, Ceuta reveals not only the distance between Marlaska and Robles but also how the Defense minister has become isolated. If Pedro Sánchez’s appearance in Congress showed his loneliness regarding the other parties, the Ceuta crisis reflects Robles’ loneliness regarding her colleagues. And not only because she was the one who showed the least enthusiasm in applauding the measures and announcements of the head of the Executive.
“We cannot step on each other,” says a prominent socialist official, referring to the fact that Robles’ position in recent weeks has contradicted the approach put forward by La Moncloa. “Each one is the owner of their words and silences,” they say from the Defense minister’s circle, regarding the Government’s strategy and narrative. “Margarita has always had a characteristic that can also be said of me: we are a bit loose verses,” was the definition given of her this Thursday by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, in an interview on RNE. “She doesn’t mind going against Marlaska or making anyone look bad. She looks out for herself,” says another member of the Executive.
Some members of the Government explain that during their trips to Ceuta they took walks through the streets of this autonomous city without cameras present, while when Robles did so, she was recorded speaking, they say, with the interest that she be seen and that what she did and said be disseminated. Robles was the first to apologize to the people of Ceuta within the Government for the management of the crisis, in her appearance in Congress. Cabinet colleagues also reproach her for “not being a team player” and, as an example, say she always has “something” to avoid staying for an entire control session.
The tension in the Government with Robles, in any case, does not endanger her continuity in it. All sources consulted confirm that Sánchez does not consider dismissing her and that she also does not have leaving on her agenda. Both profess a relationship of loyalty for a decade. “All good with her. She is Margarita,” they say in the Executive, although many reflect that this time she has not only been a “loose verse,” but has put the position and credibility of the Prime Minister himself in check. From the minister’s team they point out, as a sign that they do not contemplate any drastic decision, that she has an agenda for the “coming months,” with important international appointments, and that, moreover, she has a personal commitment to Sánchez and causes such as Ukraine; while the head of the Executive is aware, among other things, that besides being a minister liked by the centrist electorate, she keeps the military happy.
The publication of the reports, warnings, and alerts prepared by the National Police, the Civil Guard, military intelligence, or the CNI has not eased tensions or discomfort. While Robles this Thursday preferred not to add fuel to the fire of division and pointed out that the Government “works united” and that “there is no need to look for disagreements where there are none”; Marlaska insisted on defending his version of the facts, and therefore the one validated by La Moncloa. “I have said it from the beginning, in all my statements and appearances and other Government representatives, there was no alert regarding any massive irregular entry in the terms that occurred on July 30 and 31.”
“It is a mistake to continue with this,” they say from Robles’ circle. “They are upset because the declassification gives the CNI reason,” they add. At La Moncloa they were convinced that the publication of the reports, around 40, would serve to close the debate about their action and management, because they assumed it would be interpreted that there was no warning of the massive entry of thousands of people. But the widespread interpretation was the opposite, with headlines in the vast majority of media focusing on the fact that the CNI warned. Hence even Sánchez himself, in a tweet at 10:00 p.m., sought to personally redirect the narrative insisting that no one foresaw the extent of the assault and emphasizing pointing at the CNI.
