Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez seems to feel free to talk to the press—but only when 40,000 meters above ground or outside of Spain.
In the last three months, the Spanish premier has only given one press conference on Spanish soil, the traditional big end-of-the-year press conference. Sánchez however, notably changed the format of the customarily unlimited press conference inaugurated by one of his predecessors almost twenty years ago. The two previous PMs had respected the journalists by not leaving even one question hanging. However, on December 28, 2023, Sánchez permitted only six questions. He has yet to hold another press conference in his own country. Additionally, none of the questions he entertained were about the most pressing issue of the day: the amnesty for Catalan separatists.
Sánchez’s eschewing the press has coincided with his increasing weakness as premier and mounting criticism of his legislative initiatives. These range from the still-pending amnesty law to a rape law that freed hundreds of convicted sexual assailants from prison. The Spanish newspaper El Debate notes that Sánchez now seems to have simply made a habit of making significant announcements when outside of Spain—sometimes on foreign ground and sometimes in flight.
On Tuesday, he chose to announce, while on a plane to Jordan, the major foreign policy change that Spain would officially recognize the state of Palestine. In that same setting, with a limited number of journalists, Sánchez also launched a challenge to center-right opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to agree to the socialists’ terms for the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ).
As El Debate notes, Sánchez has a clear strategy of engaging with the press only on a small and selective scale, whether during trips abroad or in interviews with friendly media outlets. It is only when far from home or in an environment he can more easily control that he dares divulge anything to the public, a move that shows his obvious lack of transparency and fear of criticism.
