Pedro Sanchez, the new star of the global left. A double game by the Spanish Prime Minister

Sanchez willingly shares his thoughts and gets many opportunities to do so. He often complains about the “erosion of world order”in which great powers “weaken the rules of the game and rewrite them to their advantage.” When Israel and the US attacked Iran, he warned: “This is how great human catastrophes begin” and banned NATO ally the United States from using Spanish airspace.

The Spaniard has already fallen out of favor with Trump because rejected NATO's 5% spending target. Madrid does not want to spend more than about 2 percent on defense. GDP. Trump became angry, but the decision was well received in Spain; The ambivalent attitude towards the army is a legacy of the Franco dictatorship, which ended with the general's death in 1975.

— There is also strong anti-Americanism. Many Spaniards have not forgotten that Washington supported Franco, says political scientist Jose Ignacio Torreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Affairs. Sanchez skillfully exploits these moods.

Decisive diplomacy is the solution to internal problems

In Israel's opinion, the Spanish government incites hatred against Jews – for example by boycotting Eurovision, in which Israel is taking part. The organization monitoring anti-Semitism noted sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Spain since October 7, 2023 Jews are exposed to the “politics of hatred,” complained the chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities. The majority of Spaniards who side with the Palestinians support the government's actions, although observers also see it as a political calculation.

Sanchez can only implement the most important projects by decree, and he does not even have an adopted budget. The politician, whose autobiography is titled “Handbook of Spiritual Fortitude”, has surprised his opponents more than once. He managed to overthrow the conservative People's Party government in 2018 with the support of Catalan separatists, which proves his political flexibility.

Before the 2027 parliamentary elections, Sanchez is trying to take advantage of the Spanish conservatives' flirtation with the far-right Vox party. He plans to present himself as a barrier against the right wing taking power. — Sanchez hopes that voters will choose him as the lesser of two evils, says expert Torreblanca.

Currently, however, he would have no chance of winning this fight – in the polls he is slightly losing to the conservatives, who, with the support of right-wingers, could defeat the left-wing alliance. In this situation, it is more convenient to oppose the US president, who is also becoming increasingly controversial in his country.

Sanchez, however, could boast a series of successes. Spain is the engine of economic growth in the euro zone. To maintain this trend, Madrid is now offering hundreds of thousands of migrants – many of them working as seasonal workers or in tourism – legalization of their stay.

Far from the USA, getting closer to China

Thanks to a guest article in the New York Times Sanchez made sure the whole world knew about his policies. “Imagine that you are the head of government and you are faced with a dilemma,” he wrote. While others pursue illegal migrants and “deport” them, his government has chosen a different path.

Whether it's about migration, fighting the right-wing or condemning the US-Israeli war actions – the threads of the global left center around Sanchez. This is appreciated especially in the so-called countries. Global South.

When it comes to influence in these regions of the world, China must also be present. Sanchez visited this country very often. He last met with President Xi Jinping in mid-April. According to him, the two countries could “jointly seek solutions to trade conflicts, geopolitical problems and wars,” Sanchez said in Beijing.

In reality, relationships are unequal. Madrid wants to compensate for the trade deficit by cooperating with China. Other European countries are also moving away from the so-called derisking, reducing risk by limiting contacts with Beijing, but none of them does it as openly as Spain.

“Cooperation with China will contribute to stability, peace and prosperity in the world,” Sanchez emphasizes. The socialist, who often condemns human rights violations, decided to turn a blind eye to it in the case of China.