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PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Spain’s Prime Minister to star in his own documentary series

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will be the protagonist of a new documentary series which will look at the inner workings of the Spanish government and offer a glimpse into the daily and personal life of the head of government. 

Published: 10 March 2022 11:17 CET
Spain's Prime Minister to star in his own documentary series
Spain's Prime minister Pedro Sánchez, seen here talking with soldiers in Latvia during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has not yet commented on his participation in the documentary. (Photo by Toms Norde / AFP)

Titled La Moncloa, in reference to the Spanish equivalent of the White House or 10 Downing Street, the four-part docuseries is reportedly in the middle of shooting, with filmmakers following Sánchez and his team of staff as they carry out their daily routine in government.

According to the two production studios behind the project, Secuoya Studios and The Pool, the documentary will “show two facets, the institutional side and the human side”.

It reportedly won’t consist of “purely political or ideological arguments” but rather be “an observational story, which will focus on the more personal and everyday aspects” of life for those in the Spanish government.

A release date for the docuseries has not yet been announced, nor the streaming platform or TV channel on which it will air, but the producers have advanced that the narrative and visual proposal will transit between documentary and factual cinema.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is currently focusing on the war in Ukraine, has not offered any comment on his participation in the project so far.

The documentary will be directed by Curro Sánchez Varela, the son of famed Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucía, who has extensive experience directing short films, commercials and music videos.

His 2015 documentary about his father – La Búsqueda – won him Spain’s Goya Award for Best Documentary.

“We’re living through strange times, so having the possibility of having such transparent, free and honest access into the day-to-day of the Presidency of Spain’s Government makes us appreciate more than ever the fact that we’re living in a democratic country, in which its citizens are guaranteed their freedoms,” Varela is quoted as saying by radio station Onda Cero.

Sánchez and his wife María Begoña Gómez Fernández outside 10 Downing Street in London in 2019. (Photo by Niklas HALLE’N / AFP)

Even though Sánchez will be one of the main protagonists of the series, Varela says the project is also about “honouring and giving prestige to the team of workers who, in many cases, have been working for more than four decades at the service of different prime ministers in La Moncloa.

Sánchez, who was born in Madrid in 1952, is the head of Spain’s socialist PSOE party and has been Prime Minister since 2018. He is married and has two daughters.

Referred to as ‘Mr Handsome’ in the British and US press, Pedro Sánchez has won admirers around the world for his good looks, which may help the documentary series get some attention overseas.

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POLITICS

Time running out for left-wing Spanish parties to agree electoral pact

The Spanish left is negotiating an electoral pact for the upcoming general election, but the parties are divided and time is running out. Failure to reach an agreement would likely give the government to the right and far-right.

Published: 8 June 2023 15:22 CEST
Time running out for left-wing Spanish parties to agree electoral pact

Time is running out for Spain’s left-wing parties currently locked in tense negotiations to form an electoral pact before the deadline – the night of Friday, June 9th – when any agreement must be registered. If they don’t, the left-wing vote will likely be split in July’s general election and the Spanish right will return to government.

The negotiations, which are descending into a series of bitter briefings and counter-briefings in the press, involve all the parties and groups to the left of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ruling Socialists party (PSOE).

They are primarily between Sumar, the electoral platform of Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, and various other smaller, more regional leftist groups. Many of these groups have already agreed to run under the Sumar banner, but the main sticking point in negotiations seems to be between Sumar and the Podemos leadership, the junior coalition partner currently in government with PSOE.

It is unclear if Podemos leaders are willing to take a step aside and let someone else lead the Spanish left.

READ ALSO: What’s going on with the Spanish left?

Podemos suffered devastating electoral losses in last week’s regional elections, losing a large chunk of its deputies and even failing to gain representation in key battleground regions such as Madrid and Valencia.

Podemos ministers are among the most unpopular politicians in Spain, and the party’s brand has become increasingly toxic in recent months following legislation by Equality Minister Irene Montero that accidentally reduced (and even released) the sentences of hundreds of convicted sexual convicts. Some of the smaller parties incorporating into Sumar feel uncomfortable with the Podemos leadership playing a visible role in the election campaign. 

Several regional Podemos figures have resigned or stated publicly that they believe Podemos should join forces with Sumar, but the national leadership seem (so far) reluctant to do so. As of Thursday afternoon, Ione Belarra (current Minister for Social Rights and Agenda 2030) announced she would consult party members.

The consequences 

If the two factions fail to reach an agreement before Friday night, the split left vote could have drastic consequences for July 23rd’s general election – a difference of as much as 12 or 15 seats.

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy Yolanda Díaz is trying to unite the left under the Sumar brand. Photo: Josep LAGO / AFP

Like in the local and regional elections, several smaller left-wing parties each running separately will likely split the left-wing vote and hand seats to the right – namely Spain’s far-right party Vox. This was most glaringly made clear in Huesca, where 4 different left-wing parties gained almost 20 percent of the vote between them, but as none of the candidates gained the minimum five percent threshold for representation, didn’t win a single seat.

READ ALSO: Five key takeaways from Spain’s regional and local elections

With an agreement

Though polling suggests (as do the regional results) that the PP is very likely to win the most votes in the upcoming election, it is unclear if a right-wing coalition (between centre-right PP and far-right Vox) will win an overall majority or not. With the result likely to be incredibly tight, a difference of 10,11, or 12 (or more) seats could tip the balance and prevent a right-wing majority in the Spanish Congress. 

According to projections from El País, a unified Sumar (including Podemos) would win 14.7 percent of the vote and 41 seats. This will leave the PP and Vox with around 179 seats between them, very slightly over the minimum necessary for a majority (176), but barely so.

Given the unpredictability of election campaigns and leaving room for the margin of polling predictions, a united left-wing ticket would leave a right-wing majority (and perhaps even government) in the air.

Without an agreement

If Podemos and Sumar can’t come to an agreement, however, the left vote would be split. El País forecasts that Díaz’s Sumar would win 10.4 percent of the votes and 26 seats, and Podemos would be all but wiped off the electoral map, taking just 4.3 percent of the vote and a measly three seats, meaning that the difference in left-wing seats with or without a deal would be around 12 seats (41 with a deal versus 29 without).

Without an agreement, the split left vote would gift seats to the Spanish right and likely ensure a governable majority. 

The main players

In the last few days, several smaller regional left-wing parties have joined Sumar and will head into the elections on a united front. The deadlock in negotiations centres around Podemos, and whether their national leadership is willing to take a lesser role in the left-wing campaign.

Podemos

Podemos was born from the 15M anti-austerity movement and entered government as the junior coalition partner in 2019.

The party was led by former leader Pablo Iglesias, the controversial former Deputy Prime Minister who quit politics all together after unsuccessfully running for the Madrid Presidency in 2021.

He is married to Irene Montero, and despite retiring from politics and beginning a media career, it is widely accepted in Spanish political circles that the decision-making power rests with them rather than nominal leader Ione Belarra.

The recent regional elections were disastrous for Podemos, for many the confirmation of their increasing unpopularity. The mistakes made over the Solo sí es sí sexual consent law and generally perceived radical positions on gender, abortion and other sociocultural issues, have made the Podemos brand toxic. 

Sumar

Sumar is the newest party in Spanish politics and is actually more of a coalition group that seeks to keep 15 different left-wing parties under one banner. So far, Sumar has managed to incorporate most of the various factions on the Spanish left.

It was launched by Spain’s Deputy Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz.

Sumar will likely campaign on Díaz’s personal popularity, present a different face to the Spanish far-left, a unifying message, and highlight the economic successes of the Sánchez government and Díaz’s role in them. Under the PSOE-Podemos coalition, Spain has achieved record employment levels and one of the lowest inflation rates in Europe.

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