José Luis Ábalos reproached Pedro Sánchez this Friday for the criticisms he dedicated to him the day before in La Revuelta —a program presented by David Broncano— and reminded him that his political loyalty, he maintains, was decisive for him to reach La Moncloa.
The former Minister of Transport, who is serving a 24-year sentence for corruption in Soto del Real, conveyed the message through the X account En el nombre de Ábalos, reported by Europa Press. The response came after Sánchez cited his case as one of the errors that have caused him the most disappointment during his two legislatures.
Ábalos accuses Sánchez of joining the "lynching"
Ábalos assured that listening to the president “in an entertainment tone” causes him “deep disappointment” and reproached him for assuming “hoaxes and lynchings” about his person, his family, and his privacy. “If we talk about disappointments, the list is long and shared,” he wrote.
The reply does not modify the underlying clash: Sánchez said on TVE that he had no indications of irregular behavior while Ábalos was by his side, although he later cited him as an example of the corruption that has hit the PSOE. The president stated that his case caused him “disappointment” and maintained that he was “frozen” when he discovered a different side to one of his collaborators.
Loyalty, presumption of innocence, and the memory of the Government
Ábalos also lashed out at what he considers unequal treatment in public debate. He stated that the presumption of innocence of “others” is defended “with vehemence,” in reference to David Sánchez and Begoña Gómez, while his, he said, has been “systematically violated.”
The former minister also vindicated his role in the Government and in the PSOE. He maintained that he promoted measures that now give “political dividends” to Sánchez, such as the first housing decree and against evictions, and assured that he was a key piece in the motion of no confidence and in the agreements with ERC.
Ábalos concluded that he wore himself out “to exhaustion” for the socialist party and defended that no one erase his dedication from political memory. “The loyalty that they despise today was the same that allowed them to get here,” he concluded, while the exchange between the two remains open in the political and media arena.