Pedro Sánchez calls Feijóo to account for the PP's meeting with Koldo García and vindicates Puente's resignation in his interview on La Séptima: "He has dignified politics"

Pedro Sánchez arrived this Monday at La Séptima with a question about the polls and a piece of news that had been demanding a response from Génova for hours. Cuca Gamarra had acknowledged the meeting between the PP's lawyer and Koldo García, which her party had denied last week. Before Javier Ruiz, the President of the Government asked Alberto Núñez Feijóo to clarify what role the PP played in that meeting. And when the journalist asked him about corruption in the PSOE, he responded with one of the phrases of the night. "Corruption disgusts me."

"We are heading towards a progressive majority," Sánchez replied when Ruiz asked him if Spain was heading towards a government of PP and Vox. La Séptima's poll places both parties at 177 seats, one above the absolute majority, while the 40dB. poll published this morning draws a wider margin for the right. Sánchez cited Lula's comeback in Brazil as an example and predicted a "historic mobilization" that would surpass the 2023 turnout. "Now the most important thing is to stop the involution," he said, warning of what, in his opinion, the country is risking in pensions, labor rights, and equality.

The interview coincided with the agreement for the Television Academy to organize a face-to-face debate between Sánchez and Feijóo and a four-way debate that would also include Santiago Abascal and Ada Colau. The dates still need to be finalized. When speaking about the space to the left of the PSOE, Sánchez praised Gabriel Rufián as an orator and explained that he always found it difficult for ERC to join a progressive project at the state level.

Koldo, Okdiario's payments, and Vox's insults

The meeting that Cuca Gamarra acknowledged this Monday is the one that Ester Muñoz, the PP's spokesperson in Congress, had denied last week. The popular party maintains that its lawyer, Alberto Durán, never offered Koldo García one million euros and the payment of his defense in exchange for information against the Government, as the former advisor claims in the audios broadcast by Cadena SER. Sánchez urged the PP leader to clarify the contradiction. "Mr. Feijóo will have to explain what the Popular Party did in relation to this matter."

In the Audiencia Nacional there are two invoices for 242,000 euros paid by Dos Mil Palabras, the publisher of Okdiario, to the law firm that defended García. Sánchez has attributed to Eduardo Inda the intention to defame him, his wife, and the Government. The digital newspaper maintains that its contract with García was to exploit the rights of a book and a docuseries. The invoices prove the payment to the law firm. The alleged offer of a million and the purpose that Sánchez attributes to the disbursement remain to be clarified.

Sánchez has also lashed out at the "flat-earth programs" in which, as he recalled, Inda advised the right to avoid talking about pensions before the elections. He has questioned the public funding of what he has called "pseudo-media" and has defended that readers should be able to know who is behind each masthead and how much public money it receives. Regarding the cases affecting the PSOE, he has placed among his main mistakes having trusted José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán. "Corruption disgusts me," he stated.

The conversation became more personal when Ruiz asked him if he would leave politics if he lost the elections. "I have been written off as retired during many elections," he replied. Sánchez linked the insults he hears at Vox events with the "dehumanization" of the opponent and ended up turning the chant "Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch" around. He said he wants to work so that on November 29, those who shout it at him end up saying "Pedro Sánchez, what a son of a bitch."

In response to questions from Chema Garrido, director of ElPlural, Sánchez defended that he supported the members of his Government who felt judicially persecuted and apologized if any considered that support insufficient. He also assured that José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero never spoke to him about Plus Ultra and defended the processing of the loan to the airline. Regarding his greeting with Javier Milei at the Ibero-American Summit, he was more blunt. "Friendly, absolutely not." Faced with the equation between socialism and fascism made by the Argentine president, Sánchez vindicated Ernest Lluch and his role in the extension of public healthcare.

The general strike on November 11 and housing decrees

"What is absurd is to question the right of workers to strike." This is how Sánchez responded to Feijóo, who called the call absurd if it is proposed as a strike against the opposition. The president expressed his respect for the right to support Wednesday's general strike and highlighted that the protest brings together demands on housing, wages, and the cost of living. The mobilization originated from tenant unions and organizations such as CGT and CNT, and has the support of CCOO and UGT.

"We have to do much more, without a doubt," Sánchez admitted when Ruiz asked him about housing prices. He accused the autonomous communities governed by PP and Vox of blocking the application of the state law and cited Barcelona as an example of rent containment. Faced with Feijóo's proposal to build more, the president defended expanding the supply of protected housing and regulating seasonal rentals, room rentals, and tourist accommodations.

The first test arrives this Thursday, one day after the strike. The Permanent Deputation will vote on the two decrees that the Government approved again after its parliamentary defeat in October, in the midst of mobilization over the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal. The support of the PNV allows us to foresee that the text protecting vulnerable people without housing alternatives from evictions will go ahead and provides for loans of up to 50,000 euros for a first home. The second, which contemplates compensating the tenant if the owner terminates the contract in certain cases, goes to a vote without a majority.

"There will be extraordinary councils," Sánchez confirmed. The president said he wanted to exhaust the legislature in 2027 and that the early election had left social measures pending. In response to questions from Jesús Maraña, he announced that Tuesday's Council of Ministers would approve a childcare support measure for single-parent families, without detailing its amount or requirements. Regarding the possible pardon of former Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz, he indicated that the file is still in progress and that the Government has not yet made a decision.

The regrettable accident in Urda and Óscar Puente's resignation

"The responsibility is always mine," Sánchez replied when Ruiz asked him who should assume it after the Urda accident, in which 69 people died. The president said that Óscar Puente communicated his irrevocable resignation by message while he was in the Cortes. The decision surprised him, but he defended that the minister did the right thing by giving explanations, rendering accounts, and resigning. In his opinion, Puente "has dignified politics" with that gesture.

Ruiz asked him if maintenance has kept pace with the increase in rail traffic. Sánchez admitted that, in view of what happened, he cannot maintain that the investment has been sufficient. He estimated maintenance spending at the beginning of his time in government at around 700 million euros and has now placed it above 1,000 million. Among the planned measures, he cited a new audit of the Madrid-Seville line, double validation of manual decisions when the system fails, and more drills for controllers. The Adif and Adif Alta Velocidad agreements for 2026-2030 contemplate some 19,000 million euros for the entire network, mainly for conservation and maintenance.

The president also defended the creation of a victim advocate to guide families in processing compensation and facilitate access to psychological support. Carlos Cuerpo has already conveyed this proposal to the Adamuz victims' association, which calls for a state pact for railway safety. The vice president and Minister Milagros Tolón will represent the Government this Tuesday at the funeral in Toledo Cathedral. Sánchez explained that he attends civil tributes and assured that he would attend if one is held.

In the journalists' turn, Sánchez left open the possibility of suspending TikTok if the seriousness of the facts justifies it, after Maldita.es documented more than a thousand videos with child sexual abuse material on the platform. The Ministry of Youth and Childhood has already sent a letter to the Prosecutor's Office and TikTok has asked the foundation to provide it with the complete investigation to locate and remove the material.

The last question returned to Santiago Abascal, interviewed that same night by David Broncano. The presenter of 'La Revuelta' explained that the Vox team asked to manage public attendance and that the program agreed. Sánchez described what happened as a "declaration of intentions" about what, in his opinion, would happen with RTVE if PP and Vox govern together. He bid farewell by advocating for "a plural public television with all voices represented there."