PSOE prepares for the worst with Pedro Sánchez holed up in his bunker

Yesterday's appearance mainly served President Pedro Sánchez to send an unequivocal internal message: nobody is giving up here. Although pressure to call early elections had increased in recent weeks, Sánchez ruled it out. Not even the Santos Cerdán scandal has been enough (so far) to convince him.

However, everything could change in the coming days. If there's one thing people in Madrid's political circles are sure of, it's that this has only been the tip of the iceberg, and next week new, even worse, audio recordings will emerge. In Ferraz, the directive to prepare for the worst is spreading, with President Pedro Sánchez holed up in his bunker.

Despite his insistence on completing the term, people in PSOE see it as very difficult to endure this situation until 2027. The main fear is that the general elections will affect the municipal and regional ones. That's why pressure is mounting for the President to end the agony and call elections.

Sánchez breaks with Ferraz

President Pedro Sánchez already did it in 2023 and it worked out well for him, but this time he doesn't want to tempt fate. Moreover, the polls are clearly unfavorable for the governing coalition. So now he has adopted a more conservative strategy focused on surviving at all costs to buy time.

If more dirt comes out in the coming days, Sánchez would consider proposing a vote of confidence to strengthen the government alliance. But at no point is he considering surrendering. This deepens the distance between President Pedro Sánchez and the rest of the party, and even his own government.

President Pedro Sánchez has always based his power on personalism, relying on the party and the government only occasionally and strategically. In recent hours, this has become much more pronounced. President Pedro Sánchez has entrenched himself in his inner circle, made up of trusted people outside the organic and institutional structures.

The appearance of the UCO report showed for the first time the rupture between Moncloa and Ferraz. Sánchez reproached the lack of unity in the face of doubts raised by heavyweights like María Jesús Montero and Félix Bolaños. Internal sources say that yesterday the thin thread still connecting PSOE's leadership to President Pedro Sánchez was broken.

The president is alone

The President is willing to weather the crisis with his trusted inner circle, turning his back on the party's pressures. He is aware that the current situation benefits the factions that have long dreamed of sidelining him. The "old PSOE" has already presented Eduardo Madina as its candidate to displace Sánchez and start a new era.

This faction's plan is to make a U-turn in PSOE's strategy: abandon the extremes and the separatists to forge the Grand Coalition with PP and regroup in the shadow of a minority Feijóo government.

Sánchez is more alone than ever, and the unwavering support of his strategic partners is his last card to survive. Will it be enough? In PSOE and in the government, they believe it won't, and that he'll have to make more drastic decisions to overcome the crisis. But President Pedro Sánchez has long since turned a deaf ear, and from now on he enters an even more dizzying terrain.

Many assumed yesterday that Sánchez had saved the match point and that he'll complete the term. At this hour, nothing is certain. The coming days will be key, although it seems increasingly difficult for Sánchez to handle all this on his own.