Discouragement is spreading in the PSOE as Sánchez is entrenched in a 'zombie' term.

To the usual critics of Sanchismo, such as Page, Lambán, and González, new socialist voices are joining, expressing their "shame and indignation" and urging "a clean break" and a change of direction in the face of an "unsustainable" situation.

Concern about the drift and decomposition of Pedro Sánchez's PSOE has been around for a long time and has grown in crescendo as the scandals and corruption cases affecting the party, the president's family circle, and even key institutions such as the Attorney General's Office have multiplied. But the real political coup de grace, which seems to have opened the eyes of many Sánchez supporters, has been the devastating report by the UCO ( Central University of Catalonia) describing an alleged criminal organization within the PSOE leadership, in which the party's former number three, Santos Cerdán , is said to be one of the main links, along with the defendants Koldo García and José Luis Ábalos.

The involvement of Cerdán, until the day before yesterday a man of Sánchez's utmost confidence, has unleashed a tsunami in the PSOE and in national politics, causing a huge crater in the morale of the socialist ranks , including many of those who have been defending their leader tooth and nail and who today, at best, feel disappointed with the man who came to power in 2018 waving the flag of the fight against corruption.

Although internal criticism had so far come from declared critics of Sánchez, such as the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page , or the former president of Aragon, Javier Lambán , both of whom advocated days ago for early elections to prevent the serious deterioration of national politics from ending up undermining the PSOE's chances in the territories, discouragement has ended up spreading within the party in the face of a Sánchez entrenched in a zombie legislature , without Budgets (nor any prospect of having one), in which parliamentary defeats are counted by the dozens and victories are almost always paid for at a very high price. An unsustainable situation over time, no matter how much Sánchez, who until now has limited himself to asking for "forgiveness" from the citizens for having trusted Cerdán, has decided to dig in his heels and assure that there will be no elections until 2027 .

Among those now raising their voices against this entrenchment is the socialist senator Luis Tudanca , who until February was the head of the PSOE of Castilla y León, and for whom " sometimes, everything is exactly what it seems . And there is only one solution: first the country, then the party and, finally, oneself ", he wrote on his X account, adding that "the PSOE deserves the utmost respect and the utmost decency from all those who are working for the common good and public service. Shame", he concluded. A scenario in which "the only ways out are general elections or a motion of censure", Lambán stressed yesterday.

Also very critical yesterday was the mayor of Mérida and general secretary of the PSOE in that city, Antonio Rodríguez Osuna , who, although he did not propose early elections, said that if he were in Sánchez's place " I would call an extraordinary congress and would not present myself as a candidate ", showing his "shame and indignation" at the known facts, and emphasizing that the socialists "do not deserve this".

Meanwhile, the mayor of León , also a socialist, José Antonio Diez , warned that the party's situation "is unsustainable" and urged "cutting the cord now" and "making decisions" because although "the Government has done very good things (...), these things are unacceptable and unacceptable in a democratic country and in a party that advocates zero tolerance for corruption."

And Susana Díaz , defeated by Sánchez in the 2017 Socialist primaries, warned that waiting until 2027 to call elections would be "a death by pinching" for the PSOE . Without forgetting that historical leaders such as Felipe González and Alfonso Guerra , relegated by the Sánchez regime, are demanding that the polls be called now. Last Thursday, in the midst of the Cerdán case, González recalled that "( Eduardo) Madina was my candidate, and what's more, he continues to be so in my heart and in my mind," referring to the PSOE primaries held in 2014 in which Sánchez beat Madina, who these days has defended the need for a "dignified and exemplary" socialism .

While many PSOE members and officials are already seeing the end of the cycle , members of the Government are trying to turn Cerdán's dismissal and the future reshuffle of the PSOE leadership promised by Sánchez ahead of the Federal Committee on July 4 into a firewall. Yesterday, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños , ruled out that Sánchez will submit to a vote of confidence , as Sumar had threatened to request. The platform led by Yolanda Díaz has been lukewarm. While it has admitted that confidence in the PSOE is "broken," calling on Sánchez to "reset" the legislature, it has defended that the PSOE has acted decisively after Cerdán's involvement in the corruption plot became known.

Podemos has been less sympathetic, hoping to turn its estrangement from the PSOE and Sumar into electoral fuel. For the party, the " execrable corruption scheme" extends beyond Koldo, Ábalos, and Cerdán and is now the "PSOE case."

The political earthquake has also placed the government's parliamentary allies in a difficult position, struggling to justify their support for Sánchez to their constituents. Hence, unwilling to kill the political goose that lays the golden eggs by forcing early elections, they have demanded more explanations and a firm grip on corruption: the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), ERC (Republican Nationalist Party), BNG (Bolivarian Nationalist Party), Compromís (Committee on the Left), Junts (Junts), and even Bildu (Bildu), which is demanding that the PSOE act with "absolute honesty in the face of the reality we are witnessing these days."