The Government accuses Feijóo of "major irresponsibility" for his criticism of the 'grandchildren's law': "He seems to already smell an electoral defeat"

The controversy surrounding the so-called 'grandchildren's law' escalated again this Tuesday after statements by the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who linked the granting of Spanish nationality to descendants of exiles with an alleged strategy of "manufacturing" and expanding the electoral census.

The Government has responded harshly to these statements. The Executive's spokesperson and Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, has described the criticisms as "a major irresponsibility" and has accused the popular leader of projecting a "frustrated and desperate" image. She even went so far as to claim that Feijóo "seems to already smell an electoral defeat." Saiz has defended that the measure has no electoral purpose, but rather is part of a process of recognizing rights and "is based on the principles of reparation and justice for Spaniards who fled" from Spain. 

The response comes after Feijóo assured in an interview with 'esRadio' that the Executive intends to incorporate around 2.5 million new voters through the naturalization of descendants of Spaniards abroad, a practice he defined as "electoral engineering."

On Tuesday morning, the leader of the Popular Party reiterated that the so-called 'grandchildren's law' would be "manufacturing new voters," although he clarified that his words do not allude to an alleged "electoral fraud."

More than two million applications underway

The Executive maintains that the dimension of the process responds to an administrative mechanism that has been in operation for years. According to government data, around 2.5 million descendants of exiled Spaniards have initiated the procedures to obtain nationality. Of these, consular offices have already approved 545,000 files, while 306,500 people have been registered in the consular Civil Registry, which would allow them to access the right to vote in general elections. The Government clarifies, however, that the process remains open and that the figures continue to evolve.

Sources from the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory have also reprimanded the PP leader for his statements, accusing him of "profound irresponsibility" for "trivializing and mishandling" an issue linked to historical memory.