The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has intervened to set the crisis unleashed within the coalition: after the strong pressure of Yolanda Díaz and especially from the United Left, the Interior Ministry will terminate the contract for the purchase of weapons to Israeli companies formalized just a few days ago. “After having exhausted all the negotiating channels, the presidency of the Government, the Second Vice Presidency and the competent ministries have decided to unilaterally terminate the Buying Contract for ammunition to the Israeli company IMI Systems,” sources from both parts of the government have reported.
Sanchez had asked the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to look for a formula to rescind that operation, formalized just a few days ago, in full Holy Week vacation. The chief of the Executive and the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, have been in conversations since Wednesday due to the pressure that the United Left has exercised since the contract was made public.
“The government agreements must be fulfilled that has been dedicated to the United Left: you cannot buy material from a state that massacrates the Palestinian people. We celebrate the rectification and we will continue vigilant in compliance with the agreements,” said the leader of IU, Antonio Maíllo, after the rectification.
From the PP, however, its maximum leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has criticized the government’s turn that, in his opinion, “must fulfill the contract” and explain “how much is the termination of that contract” and “who is going to pay it.” The opposition leader argues that “to leave without effect a contract is typical of a country of other latitudes” and has described Israel as a “democratic country” with which Spain must comply.
The coalition government already sought this morning the formula of terminating that Israeli ammunition purchase By value of more than five million euros, carried out by the Interior Ministry despite the fact that the department itself said in October that it had initiated the procedures for its termination. This Wednesday, he justified the formalization of the operation in a report of the State Advocacy that assured that if the operation was canceled, the money would also have to be paid without receiving the committed material.
Despite those initial reluctance, in the last hours, in which there have been continuous conversations between Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz, the situation has changed radically. “The Board of Investment of Double Use Material will deny this company the importation of this material to our country for reasons of general interest and, then, the Interior Ministry will terminate the contract. The State Advocacy and the competent ministries are already studying possible legal reactions and claims,” government sources have transferred to announce the termination of the contract.
“The parties of the progressive coalition government are firmly committed to the Palestinian cause and peace in the Middle East. For this, since October 7, 2023, Spain neither buy nor sell armament to Israeli companies. Nor will it do so in the future. The purchase processes that remain open began before that date and, those that are armament, are not going to be executed,” those sources say. Information from Eldiario.es reveals Thursday that at the public procurement platform at least nine other acquisitions already awarded to Israeli companies, waiting to be formalized.
This agreement within the Government arrives after the crisis unleashed by the pressures of adding and especially the United Left, which yesterday loaded very hard against Interior, requested the resignation of Marlaska if that contract was not terminated and came to open the door at an exit from the Executive. “We do not rule out any scenario,” said their leaders in the last hours.
“This contract is a flagrant violation of international legality, government agreements, when we are attending a real genocide in Gaza. I have been conversation with Minister Marlaska since yesterday and with the presidency of the Government and we are working for the annulment of this contract,” said Diaz in statements to the media this Thursday, shortly before reaching an agreement with the socialist party. “There is no crisis in government,” he reassured.
Sánchez’s intervention has thus served to prevent the conflict within the government from climbing. Adsar had shown a strong discrepancy on Tuesday after its coalition partner decided to promote a plan to increase military expenditure by 10,500 million euros. And on Wednesday the tension shot definitively after knowing the formalization of that contract.
Diaz’s parliamentary group requested the appearance of Marlaska to explain the details and the minister of IU, Sira Rego, sent a letter to the minister to claim an audit on contracts with Israeli companies. But the tension climbed after the statements of the leader of IU, Antonio Maíllo, in which he accused the socialists of opening a crisis in the government with their “irresponsible” attitude. The spokesman of the party in Congress, Enrique Santiago, said minutes after all the scenarios were open, including the government’s departure if Sanchez did not rectify.
This Thursday, Maíllo again claimed a rectification to the PSOE. “I am going to focus all the efforts on which the government rectifies, we are not talking about disagreements about matters with different opinions,” he said in an interview in Antena 3. “We are very loyal to this government but about compliance with the agreements we have endowed,” he reiterated. “With Israel’s genocide you don’t play, we will not go through that hoop,” he added. “I want this government to enjoy good health and exhaust the legislature and continue making reforms for workers. But we have to do it from coherence and from the decency to comply with what is agreed. We are not going to happen there,” he insisted.
Although Yolanda Díaz and Ernest Urtasun discarded in the last hours an exit from the government, the vice president has tried to mediate to seek a solution to the crisis within the government, before the United Left pressure, very angry with this “unilateral” decision, as Maíllo described it, not negotiated, and together with the millionaire increase in military spending that has been used especially to the organization.
Source: www.eldiario.es
