Gabriel Rufián: 'You can't bring down the government with what's currently on the table'

Gabriel Rufián hasn't disappointed and has shown his unconditional support disguised as a demand for President Pedro Sánchez's government. ERC's spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies devoted most of his speech to attacking PP and Vox. He ended by saying that "you can't bring down a government with what we have on the table."

The President appeared today to provide explanations about the Santos Cerdán case and to present a national plan against corruption. His intention was to secure the support of his partners at a delicate moment in the legislative term. His preferred partners, both ERC and Junts, haven't failed.

Rufián, concerned about the right and the far right

Despite the corruption scandals looming over PSOE and the President's circle, Rufián targeted PP and Vox. He only spent a few seconds clarifying his position on the government: "If things stay here, with three clever people who split four kickbacks, you have to stay," he said, addressing President Pedro Sánchez. "Because you can't bring down a government with what we have on the table."

He then added, "If this escalates, if it forces us to choose between professional corrupts[pointing at PP]and cheap corrupts[pointing at PSOE], we're going to force you to let the people decide."

What worries Rufián, and he expressed it this way, is that "there will come a point when you no longer stop the right and the far right." He's worried "that your staying means that when the right and the far right come in, they do so forever."

Junts also shows support for Sánchez

Míriam Nogueras hasn't surprised either, repeating Junts's mantra that their bloc is neither the left nor the right but Catalonia. She essentially said that the problem isn't corruption but the fiscal deficit and mistreatment of Catalonia. All to end up saying the same as Rufián: that they'll support Sánchez until the end.

Her speech also focused on her internal rivalry with ERC. "Some here want us to believe that we have to stop the right," she said, referring to Gabriel Rufián. "But the reality is the only ones who've made deals with the right are PSOE, and their partners[pointing at Rufián]haven't been scandalized."

Like Rufián, Nogueras also wanted to disguise her unconditional support as vigilance and demand. "You're in overtime," she warned Sánchez, "and overtime doesn't last the whole legislative term."