Pedro Sánchez reiterates his confidence in the innocence of the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, whom he has recognized for the “very positive” work he has carried out over the years. In line with what the Government has expressed since Thursday, the president has regretted the Supreme Court ruling by not sharing “the guidance” of it, but has said that he abides by it. He has also pointed out to the Constitutional Court: “There are other jurisdictional instances in which I understand that some of the aspects that may be controversial will have to be resolved once the content of this ruling is known.”
“We regret this ruling, we respect and abide by it,” Sánchez summarized in a press conference after participating in the G20 meeting in South Africa. “We respect the rulings of the Supreme Court. You will never have heard me say, like other parties, that we are going to control the second chamber through the back door,” he said about the words of former PP spokesperson, Ignacio Cosidó.
“But in a democratic society we can express our disagreement about the orientation of this sentence,” added the president, who recalled that “accredited journalists with extensive experience in judicial information” stated that the attorney general “was not the origin of the leaks” about the tax fraud of Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s partner, Alberto González Amador.
Rule out pardon for now
The president considers, therefore, that the ruling may be appealed to higher authorities, that is, to the Constitutional Court once the content of the ruling is known. Sánchez has ruled out, at least for now, granting a pardon to García Ortiz. “Talking about other issues, I don’t think they make any sense right now,” he responded to questions from journalists about the possibility of a government pardon.
As the Government did from the first moment to make it clear that it abides by the ruling, Sánchez has assured that the “substitution and appointment procedure” for the new attorney general has already been opened. However, government sources see it as “very unlikely” that it will occur at the Council of Ministers this Tuesday. The president did not want to give any details about García Ortiz’s replacement, not even if he has already been contacted. “When they have the name, they will see what the profile is,” he said before assuring that it will be a person “with a long history from a legal point of view.”
This Sunday were Sánchez’s first express references to the sentence advanced on Thursday by the Supreme Court. However, that same day he made veiled allusions at an event in which he spoke of the need to protect democracy from “abuse of power”: “Today I would like to vindicate our firm desire to neutralize that threat, to defend popular sovereignty and democracy against those who believe they have the prerogative to protect or muzzle it.”
Questioned about those words, Sánchez has limited himself to reiterating that “as President of the Government” he abides by the sentence even if he does not share it and will implement the replacement of García Ortiz, as well as his respect for the independence of the Judiciary. “There have been others who have talked about controlling the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court through the back door,” he repeated in the face of criticism from the right for saying during the trial sessions that he trusted the innocence of the attorney general and that no evidence had been presented against him.
Demand that Ukraine and the EU be in peace negotiations
The President of the Government has also spoken about the new Donald Trump plan for Ukraine, which has been one of the main issues that the G20 leaders have addressed on the margins of the meeting. Although he “welcomed the efforts of the US administration to achieve peace”, he recalled that Ukraine and Europe must be represented in any negotiations.
“This peace proposal has to be reviewed in depth, especially so that Ukrainians and Europeans can feel represented and can build that just and lasting peace that Ukrainians logically deserve and need, and, of course, Europe also needs,” he stated.
Appeal to comply with international law in Venezuela
Sánchez, who is now traveling to Angola to participate in an EU-African Union summit, has appealed for respect for international law in the face of increased US military pressure on Venezuela.
The president recalled that Spain, like other countries in the international community, has not recognized the results of the elections in that country or Nicolás Maduro as president. “But that does not prevent international law from being respected and channels of dialogue being found that can resolve this crisis in a peaceful manner,” he expressed.
Source: www.eldiario.es
