Sánchez is left without parapets

After the total power outage this Monday, he cannot shift the responsibility for a national emergency that he was supposed to manage onto anyone.

The Prime Minister likes to repeat that he's had to deal with unprecedented situations: a global pandemic, the eruption of the La Palma volcano, Storm Filomena, the inflationary spiral following the invasion of Ukraine, the floods in Valencia... He repeated this tirade yesterday as an authoritative argument regarding his administration's ability to overcome crises. The truth is that he has emerged from almost all of these difficult situations as a kind of savior, showering those affected with money (even if it takes months or even years for them to receive the promised aid) and shifting the blame onto others, be it climate change, China, Putin, or Amazon.

But Monday's historic blackout could be different because all signs point to him. Now he can't shift responsibility for a crisis that was clearly his exclusive responsibility, even though he didn't appear publicly until six hours after the entire country suddenly lost power. This national emergency should have been managed by his government, without being able to use co-governance as a cover-up as he did with the pandemic crisis. Which doesn't mean he won't try.

In fact, he devoted part of his appearance after the Council of Ministers to what is known in football as "passing the buck" and using what happened to impose his ideological framework. That's why he refers to Redeia, which manages the entire national electricity grid as a monopoly, has the state as its main shareholder, and appointed a former PSOE minister to its head, as a private operator . That's why he used fallacious arguments to attack nuclear energy, which was operating at half its generating capacity at the time of the collapse due to the legally imposed priority for renewables.

That's why he claims our electricity system is European, lest he be blamed for the imbalances in the national energy mix, on which he and Teresa Ribera imposed their environmentalist dogmas. That's why he insisted on keeping open the possibility of sabotage or a cyberattack as the cause of the blackout, even though Redeia itself and even the European Commission had already ruled it out, announcing a commission of inquiry into what happened, which seems to be the most effective way to delay taking responsibility for this crisis as long as possible.

On the same day that marked six months since the floods that devastated the outskirts of Valencia, during which his government once again flagrantly derelict its duties, Sánchez resumed the velvety tone of voice he reserves for his most committed interventions , also resorting to motivational messages such as "we will emerge better" from the pandemic and praising the civic behavior of citizens during this crisis, as in previous ones. Something that, at this point in his term, all Spaniards interpret as a clear sign that he is not telling the truth.

When a leader loses all respect from his constituents and is ridiculed with every decision he makes, and especially with those he doesn't make (just take a look at social media to see this) , there's no doubt he can no longer lead the country. Because even with the blackout, the press archives are turning against him. A video of the president himself speaking in the Senate two years ago, while wearing an Agenda 2030 pin on his lapel, categorically denying the possibility of a total collapse like the one that occurred this Monday, has spread like wildfire. Sánchez is a seasoned escape artist, but his past always catches up with him.