In his first press conference after the conviction of the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, wanted to use the utmost caution to avoid an open war with the Supreme Court, but very clearly expressed his discomfort with a sentence that he “regrets” and also underlined that “other jurisdictional bodies”, i.e. the Constitutional Court or the European Justice, “in which aspects of this sentence that could be controversial could be resolved”. That is, the Constitutional Court will be able to correct the Supreme Court, the only way out of this situation on which the Government is working.
Sánchez launched a series of very subtle messages to criticize the ruling without starting a war with the Supreme Court. He also made a very clear reference to Manuel Marchena, factotum of the Supreme Court and key man in this ruling. The president said the government “respects the rulings of the Supreme Court,” unlike the PP. “You didn’t hear me say we’ll check the second room through the back door,” he said. It is a direct reference to Marchena, because it was in 2018, when Sánchez had agreed with Pablo Casado that this Supreme Court judge would be the new president of the CGPJ, when the PP spokesperson in the Senate, Ignacio Cosidó, wrote this idea in a chat with all the senators. The PP then said that it will control the room thanks to Marchena, with a conservative profile. And now he is the one who was decisive in this sentence. Subtly, Sánchez thus underlined the political profile of the sentence.
“We respect the sentences, we respect them, but in a democratic society we can express our disagreement. I believe in the innocence of Álvaro García Ortiz, and I believe that in the testimonies of highly experienced journalists it has been stated that it was not the public prosecutor who was the origin of the leaks. We regret this sentence,” he concluded.
Sánchez confirmed that the procedure to elect a new attorney general is already underway. Some sources in the Executive believe that this could also happen on Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, although for this reason García Ortiz would have to resign first, and this is not certain.
He was also not very clear regarding his profile, although executive sources indicate that he will clearly be progressive and a person with a strong profile to deal with a very delicate situation. “We have started the procedure to replace the Attorney General. The government has always proposed people like García, with vast experience, with important knowledge of the matter. We recognize the work that Álvaro García has done, it has been very positive”, he concluded.
