Pedro Sánchez: EU hero or Spanish problem?

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has once again made international headlines – and not in a good way , this time. As a Spaniard outside Spain, I often bump into people who praise his foreign policy and economic track record. As I argued in a recent analysis , many international observers see him as a hero in Europe, willing to defend multilateralism, social policies, peace, and a more ethical foreign policy.

Then you open the Spanish newspapers, listen to televised debates or speak with friends and relatives back home, and the reality feels entirely different: Exhaustion and polarisation define pretty well the political climate in Spain. Economic growth figures, diplomatic visibility with Gaza and the war in Iran, and speeches on the global stage about international law and human rights have caught the eye of an international community that is struggling daily with a world in polycrisis mode, dominated by an aggressive rhetoric of leaders such as America’s Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Sánchez represents the opposite. But many Spaniards experience politics differently. Daily scandals and political games have been poisoning the public debate for years. Corruption allegations, agreements with Catalan separatist parties, or confrontations with the judiciary are just some examples that have dominated daily headlines in Spain, partly increasing what we call “ crispación política ” (a perpetual political hyper-tension and polarisation that makes Spanish families ‘ban’ political debates at Christmas dinner). At the same time, and despite optimistic macroeconomic headlines in Spain, there are structural problems with no easy fixes. To name a few, Spain still has a youth unemployment rate near 25 percent (the worst in Europe). And while the latest labour reform aimed to break down with precarious contracts, many still rely on underpaid and seasonal roles. At the same time, housing prices surged over 12 percent last year, pushing the average rent in cities like Madrid or Malaga higher than ever. For a population where many earn close to the minimum wage of roughly €1,200, paying rent or staying afloat as prices keep rising becomes a daily struggle. To many abroad, these complexities are not really understood.

Key points

• Then you open the Spanish newspapers, listen to televised debates or speak with friends and relatives back home, and the reality feels entirely different: Exhaustion and polarisation define pretty…
• Economic growth figures, diplomatic visibility with Gaza and the war in Iran, and speeches on the global stage about international law and human rights have caught the eye of an international commu…
• Sánchez represents the opposite.
• But many Spaniards experience politics differently.
• Daily scandals and political games have been poisoning the public debate for years.