The Government disconnects its loudspeakers as the PP intensifies its offensive.

Besieged by a succession of alleged corruption scandals that impacted the government and the PSOE, even Pedro Sánchez himself admitted with some relief that "July was better than June," as he managed to survive a very turbulent end to the political year.

In Moncloa, they were hoping to make it to August alive, and once they do, according to their analysis, they hope the summer break will serve to "calm down" a climate of enormous political tension that is translating into bitter social polarization.

So, Sánchez and the executive's strategy is to enter a complete shutdown mode, without an agenda or publicity, during this month of August. But all the political and media space left free by the government, in the midst of the heatwave, is quickly sought by the Popular Party. The Socialists are stepping back from the confrontational ring in August, but the Popular Party remains on the canvas. And they persevere in punching left and right, even if it's in the air.

The PP's general secretary, Miguel Tellado, already warned of this last Wednesday at a press conference held at the Génova headquarters. "Pedro Sánchez may spend a month in a sun lounger, but the PP will not stop denouncing the government's misdeeds," he emphasized.

The Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Socialist Félix Bolaños, responded ironically from the beach to the torrent of parliamentary appearances that the PP leaders are demanding every day in August. "It took me a few days out of Madrid to unleash the furor over the summer debate within the PP," Bolaños replied.

Tellado warns that Génova will persist in its complaints even if Sánchez spends "a month on the sun lounger."

"Have a good summer, everyone," said Pedro Sánchez after his final public appearance in Palma de Mallorca on July 29, following his traditional audience with the King in Marivent. "Vacations are overrated," joked Alberto Núñez Feijóo after his closing appearance of the political year on July 31. In response to the uproar, however, the PP leader warned last Sunday at the Festa do Albariño in Cambados, Pontevedra: "To anyone who can't tell a joke, I would say, have an Albariño and rest." He also offered "a lot of encouragement to those who have to work in August."

The Prime Minister arrived with his family last Saturday, August 2nd, at La Mareta, the National Heritage residence on the island of Lanzarote, where he usually unwinds during the summer and other short vacation periods. And the entire government went into disconnection mode.

The succession of scandals, which reached its climax on June 12th with the revelation of the devastating report by the UCO (Union of the Autonomous University of Catalonia) on the former PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) organization secretary, Santos Cerdán, ended up being "torturous," according to the Moncloa administration, which also overshadowed any political initiative from the government. "We've been like this for a month, we're fed up," they lamented. And the goal was set to reach August, to open a broad parenthesis that would reduce the range of political confrontation. The Council of Ministers is not scheduled to meet again until August 26th.

After Sánchez's departure, Vice Presidents María Jesús Montero and Yolanda Díaz, and Ministers José Manuel Albares, Elma Saiz, and Mónica García, continued to give interviews to various media outlets. But the government's agenda began to languish, almost disappearing. However, the Jumilla controversy forced the mobilization of the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, and the Secretary of State for Migration, Pilar Cancela, to put the screws on the PP.

This week, however, a succession of appearances by PP leaders—Miguel Tellado, Juan Bravo, Alma Ezcurra, Elías Bendodo, and others—were called to keep alive the flame of their offensive against alleged corruption cases in the Executive and the PSOE. This included the government contract awarded to the Chinese multinational Huawei, and to take advantage of Santos Cerdán's first interview from prison , which La Vanguardia published on Tuesday.

"I left Madrid for a few days and the furor over the summer debate in the PP started to explode," Bolaños quips.

"We're not going to make any assessments," Moncloa and Ferraz agreed. Their goal is to try to defuse the climate of political confrontation and regain momentum and initiative. September will come when they can get back to the fight.