Please some and others

Today, in the Congress of Deputies, the government will attempt to counter the image of chaos fostered by the People's Party (PP) and Vox parties following the crisis surrounding the blackout and the possible sabotage of the Seville-Madrid high-speed line, which left thousands of commuters stranded on trains. An image of "mismanagement" that opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo blamed yesterday before the business leaders of the Cercle d'Economia as a symptom of the executive's "misgovernance" and "decay."

Sánchez faces a complicated session. This is nothing new in this term. Slim majorities make plenary sessions a battleground for the government, and each vote becomes an ordeal until the majority approves the investiture. But this time, he has the added challenge: the president will have to explain plans to increase investment in defense and security, explain the power outage that left the entire peninsula in the dark, and defend the tariff decree that will be voted on tomorrow.

The opposition is looking for those responsible for the electrical chaos and will not give Sánchez any respite.

The president will once again balance between the parties to satisfy both sides. After the Council of Ministers yesterday approved the reduction in working hours, championed by Sumar, he will explain the need to increase defense spending, trying above all not to anger his coalition partners who oppose the plan and want it debated in Congress. The termination of the contract to purchase ammunition from an Israeli company already went in that direction, to bring stability to the government and prevent Sumar from putting obstacles in the way of the compromise reached with NATO.

And there's also a need to strike a balance with the tariff plan. The government is seeking to appease business leaders who are demanding aid to curb the impact of the Trump administration's planned taxes on the industry, while also being wary of the consequences of implementing the reduction in working hours. Podemos has already announced its possible abstention, so the anti-crisis decree could be passed, despite the People's Party's rejection.

It will be more complicated to explain the blackout crisis. The opposition wants to pinpoint who is responsible for the electrical chaos. They point the finger directly at the government, and the answer will take time and the investigation into the causes will progress. Until these are clarified, there will be no respite for Sánchez. Feijóo has already prepared his question for today: "Do you think Spain deserves the agony of your mismanagement?"