Alberto Núñez Feijóo has taken advantage of the controversy this Friday over the presence of Moroccan ships in waters near Ceuta to once again attack Pedro Sánchez's Government. From Toledo, the president of the PP has demanded a "serene and firm" response and has assured that Morocco's actions "far exceed what is admissible".
The popular leader has demanded the deployment of the Navy in the area, summoning the Moroccan ambassador and recalling the Spanish ambassador in Rabat for consultations. "Spain has no master", he proclaimed. His statements raise political pressure on the Executive and place national sovereignty at the center of his discourse a few weeks before the general elections.
However, the controversy is also surrounded by different versions of the latest incidents. The entry of Moroccan ships into Spanish waters at the end of July is documented, but the Civil Guard has assured that it has no record of the alleged incursion of a patrol boat on Thursday, after the visit of the Kings to Ceuta. The Government has also questioned whether this new episode has occurred.
Fiscal promises for the countryside, awaiting concretization
Feijóo also presented at an event of the Association of Families and Women of the Rural Environment (Afammer) a package of measures to attract population and economic activity to towns. Among his main announcements is the "zero tax" for those under 40 who buy their first home in rural municipalities, through tax exemptions whose application would depend on their regulatory development.
The leader of the PP has also promised a self-employed quota of 50 euros per month for the first three years for new entrepreneurs under 40 and a 50% reduction in personal income tax during the first two years of activity. These are proposals with which he seeks to present himself as an economic alternative to the Government, although their conditions, scope and financing will still have to be specified.
The package also includes incentives to facilitate the transfer of family businesses, measures to support livestock farms and an agricultural tax law. The challenge will be to determine how these initiatives would be applied and what impact they would have on young people and small municipalities. For now, the event has served to present the PP's commitments, not to implement the measures.
The PP's pre-campaign mixes sovereignty and economy
Feijóo's two announcements coincide with the intensification of the electoral pre-campaign. On the one hand, the popular leader demands a tougher response from the Executive towards Morocco; on the other, he promises tax cuts for rural areas. Both messages seek to distance himself from Sánchez and reinforce the image of the PP as a government alternative.
The strategy also leaves an open political question: to what extent do the demands regarding Ceuta respond to a concrete diplomatic proposal and to what extent do they become an instrument of confrontation with the Executive. Feijóo has called for significant measures, but the public debate also requires distinguishing between confirmed incidents and those about which authorities maintain different versions.
In rural areas, tax promises must be measured by their specificity and viability. Depopulation, access to housing, and difficulties in starting a business are not resolved solely with announcements: it will be necessary to know the requirements, the resources allocated, and the municipalities that could benefit. Meanwhile, Feijóo has used the day to place these issues at the center of his electoral discourse.
