They already anticipated it with Eurovision. What happened in the Vuelta ciclismo a España has led the Government to openly launch itself into asking for the exclusion of Israel from international competitions, as has already been done with Russia."Sports organisations must consider whether it is ethical for Israel to continue participating in international competitions," said Pedro Sánchez in a meeting with Socialist deputies, senators and MEPs.
In mid-May, the Prime Minister already called for Israel to be excluded from Eurovision. His goal is to exclude it from all international competitions. The government's position is that there can't be a double standard. In other words, if Russia was excluded from official competitions after the invasion of Ukraine,"why isn't Israel expelled after the invasion of Gaza?" is the question Sánchez is now emphatically asking, after Spain has taken center stage following the protests over the"genocide," as the government now openly calls it, being committed against the Palestinians. In fact, the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has already stated that Spain should not participate in Eurovision if Israel is not expelled.
The perception within the Executive is that the images from Madrid, and from the rest of the places where the Vuelta has passed and where there have been protests, should mark a turning point with respect to Israel's ban on international competitions."This popular outcry cannot be ignored by those who have to make the decisions. I am referring to international organizations. In the face of the genocide that is being experienced, a response of absolute indifference cannot be conveyed. We must act with the same yardstick," said Pilar Alegría, Government spokesperson and Minister of Education and Sports, after attending the Grape Harvest Festival of the Campo de Borja Designation of Origin.
Sánchez, who wanted to officially start the political year with his supporters with this meeting in Congress, has shown his rejection of violence,"of course, as we have always done" and has defended that this Sunday, with the cancellation of the final stage of the Vuelta and the impossibility of even holding the protocolary acts of the podium,"their safety - that of the cyclists - was put before any other issue", while, once again, he has shown"immense respect and profound admiration for a Spanish civil society that mobilizes against injustice and defends its ideas peacefully".
The vast majority of people who protested on Sunday, marking the finish of the Vuelta a España in Madrid, did so peacefully, although there were some episodes of unrest, led by a minority. In fact, two people were arrested and 22 police officers were injured following the protests. However, the government states that during the three weeks of the cycling competition, there has been a"popular outcry" from citizens who "peacefully demonstrated against the genocide in Gaza."
"I think it's unfair and unrealistic to try to confuse or taint the gesture of solidarity shown by thousands of people in the face of the violent attitude of four, five, or ten. We have to know how to differentiate," Alegría reflected.
The Prime Minister has maintained the same firm position on Israel and Palestine from the outset. Spain recognized the Palestinian state in May 2024, a step that other countries such as France and the United Kingdom are now willing to take. Spain, along with Ireland, was the two countries in the European Union that took the lead in calling for the suspension of the EU Association Agreement with Israel, something that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has now said they will implement.
The government has distanced itself from the incidents that occurred during the final stage of the Vuelta, but emphasizes that there is a majority sentiment in Spanish society against the"genocide" in Gaza. And that the Vuelta has found a window to express this sentiment. Sánchez defends Spain's right to"have its own voice" and to "disagree" with its European and global partners on certain issues, such as the position on Palestine compared to other countries like Germany or the United States, or the issue of investment in defense.
"In such a complex world, we stand out because we demand what is right, which is common sense, to be on the side of the victims, of those attacked and not of the aggressors. I ask you to continue doing so with our heads held high because Spain is today the one who saves the honor of Europe," he told his public officials, making his own the words of former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, in a recent interview:"It is Spain that saves the honor of Europe, not France."
Sumar: maximum pressure with Eurovision
In Sumar they claim that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that stopped the Vuelta were a "success" and an expression of "dignity" and "humanity" in the face of "barbarism", and they point out that they are already an"example for Europe and the whole world", because they show that Spain"does not look the other way when human rights are trampled on".
With the cycling event over, the government's minority partner is now putting all the pressure on preventing Israel from participating in the next Eurovision Song Contest, or if not excluding the country from the competition, at least preventing Spain from participating. The coordinator of the Sumar Movement, Lara Hernández, has warned that from within the government and from the parliamentary group they are going to"push" to make this measure a "reality." And, in fact, she has announced that they are studying the situation to present an initiative in Congress along those lines, although she has not yet revealed under what conditions.
Meanwhile, Sumar has launched a signature collection campaign to pressure the government and, ultimately, the RTVE Board of Directors to make this decision."The State of Israel should not participate in any cultural event," Hernández stressed at a press conference."If Israel goes to Eurovision, Spain should not be present. We will not be complicit in the continued whitewashing of a genocide broadcast live in the 21st century," he added. The Sumar Movement estimates that it has collected more than 5,000 signatures in the first few hours.
Podemos enthusiastically celebrates yesterday's demonstrations in Madrid to stop the Vuelta a España (the Spanish Nationalist Revolution) and emphasizes that they were a"great example to the entire world" of "struggle" and "commitment" to the goal of stopping Israel's "genocide" in Palestine. Furthermore, they demand that the cycling race continue along these paths, calling for a"total boycott" of this country in "all areas" such as "sports," "politics," "culture," and academia.
This is a task Podemos is first engaging the government in, once again demanding the severance of diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, as well as a"real and effective" embargo on arms sales. These are two conditions it has imposed on it in order to negotiate the General State Budget with the executive branch.
In a press conference, Podemos spokesperson Pablo Fernández emphasized the"terrible hypocrisy" displayed by the government. While Pedro Sánchez was encouraging protests in La Vuelta against the participation of an Israeli team, the Ministry of the Interior was sending"thousands of police officers and civil guards" to "repress," "coerce," and "intimidate" the protesters,"using tanks." He therefore described the flurry of reactions from government ministers celebrating these protests as "vomiting." The PSOE and Pedro Sánchez are pro-Palestinian but asymptomatic. They are Schrödinger's pro-Palestinian supporters; it's an insurmountable contradiction. The hypocrisy of the Spanish government is truly lamentable and nauseating.
Along these critical lines, Podemos demands that the government move from"empty headlines" and "loud talk" to "once and for all" listening to the Spanish people and taking "efficient and effective" measures."Last Monday, Pedro Sánchez appeared at a press conference to announce that he was going to impose an arms embargo, and a week later, we don't even know if that arms embargo is going to be real and effective. It's a joke. I think the government is making fun of the people; it's fooling the citizens. Let's hope it stops making fun of and fooling around and breaks off diplomatic, commercial, cultural, and sports relations with the terrorist state of Israel and declares an arms embargo on the genocidal state."
Page calls the clash over Gaza and the boycott of La Vuelta a "mud escalation"
Marisa Cruz
The president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, the most critical socialist voice of Pedro Sánchez's government, has described as"sad" the "impressive escalation of mud" that the main parties are throwing at each other over a "bloody atrocity" like what is happening in Gaza. And he lamented that the boycott of the Vuelta ciclismo is one more element that fuels this confrontation."What cannot be is that in Spain, everything that happens, even when we talk about human lives, turns into pure mud."
Page maintains that those who work in regional administrations are trying every day to "maintain morale" because, he added,"what we already expect from national politics is approaching zero." In his opinion, this climate of confrontation, clashes, and polarization is leading Spanish society to a state of"enormous weariness," something from which "parties that don't just put obstacles in the way of coexistence, but rather represent the complete breakdown of our model of coexistence" benefit."It's extremely sad," he stated.
The regional president also referred to the head-on clash between the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, and Junts over their failed attempt to get the reduction of the working day through Congress. In this regard, Page stated that he fully agreed with Díaz that to start talking"with people of the far-right ilk like Junts, we must be very clear about the country's limits and have a clear determination not to sell out Spain."
She was referring to the general accusations Díaz leveled against the pro-independence party for voting against processing her proposal. The vice president, in an interview on Onda Cero, stated that Junts had raised issues unrelated to the subject matter during the negotiations, adopting an attitude resembling blackmail.
Page has thus launched a depth charge against the concessions made by Pedro Sánchez's government, which he did not mention, to the independence movement and specifically to Puigdemont's party."I would like to hear," he added,"what things Junts has demanded from the vice president of the government in the negotiations for the reduction of the working day and which she has denied because it would mean selling out Spain. I would like this to be known lest it be raised again and I would like to know how much of the emphasis she places on saying that she is not selling out Spain means saying that it is for sale, if not to her, then to others."
