Accompanied by Pilar Alegría and Teresa Ladrero, Sánchez said he had arrived “shocked” by the “clarity” and “cruelty” with which, in his view, the right had shown its hand after taking the polls at face value. He criticized the leader of the PP and Vox over their proposal to abolish personal income tax, which would mean losing 85 billion euros in revenue. “If these people reach government, they will sign the welfare state’s death certificate,” he warned, pledging “four more years of progressive government, social advances and zero cuts.”
HE DEFENDS THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC PENSION SYSTEM
The prime minister defended the strength of the public pension system, citing indexation in line with the CPI, the European Commission’s validation of the reform and the backing of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF). He said the pension reserve fund, which Rajoy left at 5 billion euros in 2018, would exceed 20 billion euros by the end of the legislative term, linking that goal to the regularization of migrants, nearly one million of whom, he said, already work and pay social security contributions.
He also recalled the PP’s cuts after the 2011 crisis and explained that the pattern is always the same: social mobilization, “the usual people saying no” and a response at the ballot box.
HOUSING WILL BE “THE CAUSE” OF THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE TERM
Sánchez also brought housing to the forefront as “the cause” of the next legislative term, recalled Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who was evicted, and defended the view that the government’s measures benefit small property owners and tenants over vulture funds. He criticized Feijóo’s “false claims” about postal voting and Vox’s appeal to the Supreme Court against the grandchildren’s law: “the grandchildren of Republican exiles have the same right to vote as the grandchildren of the Franco regime.” He also reaffirmed the “no” to the 5% target for military spending and the “yes” to the State of Palestine.
In the final stretch, the Socialist leader looked toward 2030 and set out his goals: 80% renewable electricity, a single-digit unemployment rate, a four-point reduction in the school dropout rate and genuine parity between men and women. He called for “a broad progressive majority” after years of coalition government and accused the right of trying to “demobilize people first and then make cuts.”
