The dismissal of Paz Esteban, director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), announced by the government this Tuesday, has provoked all sorts of political reactions. The allies of the executive branch point to this, though they consider it insufficient, but the right-wing opposition parties see it as a kind of attack on the state.
The speaker of the ERC in the Congress of Deputies, Gabriel Rufian, assured that the above-mentioned resignation of Estban “as a Democrat” seems “logical” to him. However, he believes that “the main mistake is to think that [el esclarecimiento del escándalo del espionaje a través de Pegasus] It is based on the ERC against the government or from independence petitions. ”
“As a Democrat, it seems logical to me that in a country where the government itself acknowledges that the cell phones of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and possibly other members of the government were illegally spied on, it seems logical to me. That the head of intelligence takes responsibility. “It seems logical to me,” Rufiani insisted at a news conference in the lower house.
However, he believed that the government should take more measures to clarify everything that happened in espionage, given that the decisions were insufficient. “I think it would also be good to keep some documents secret, which also apply to set up a commission of inquiry and be transparent,” he said. In addition, he wanted to put members of the Council of Ministers “on the ground” and wondered if all of them “looked at” the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and thought that “he knew or did not know.” Does not know “cases of espionage.
Rufian, whose party demanded Robles’s resignation last week and last week, now confines himself to saying “there are unstable political situations.” “This is not a demand for heads, it is just a matter of raising the reality as Democrats. “There was a gap, the relinquishment of functions, which makes the situation of some high-ranking government officials unstable,” he said.
But an ERC spokesman recalled that “Ms. Robles is also the most conservative, most cunning, most mahogany part of the PSOE.” For this reason, he found it “quite difficult” for the prime minister to oust the minister. “What reassures me the most is that I will not be a spy,” he told the press when asked about the possibility of resigning.
Vilata: “All information is needed”
“It is true that we demanded responsibility, but we also demanded transparency, light and stenographs and maximum guarantees that this will not happen again. If they ask me if that is enough, I would say no. We are waiting for official confirmations. “There should be responsibility, yes, but we need all the information, investigation, confidentiality of information and a guarantee that it will not happen again and it does not really happen now,” he said. This was reported by ERC spokeswoman Marta Villata Arthur Bridge.
Social Rights Minister and Podemos leader Ione Bellara insisted that “taking responsibility is a key issue for democratic health”. However, he said that “in order to restore public confidence, it is also necessary to guarantee that such a thing will not happen again.” According to the top head of Podemos, who in recent weeks has offered to resign in the Ministries of Interior and Defense, “democratic regeneration in the state is still waiting.”
CUP MP Mireya Wehim, in turn, called the dismissal of the CNI director “insufficient”. Vehí has raised questions about whether the government controls the CNI, whether intelligence services or other bodies are investigating the executive branch. “If it weren’t so serious, it would be a bad spy movie,” he said. His conclusion is that dismissal of the CNI director is not enough for them and he thinks that Paz Esteban is just a “scapegoat” because Robles is a “political leader” and president. The government, by law, is informed about the activities of the intelligence services. “Assignment is imposed and what happens to those who issue it?” He was surprised. Let them show their faces. ”
One of the MPs Pegasus spying on, PDeCAT representative in Congress, Ferran Bell, considered that Sanchez or Robles’s spying already meant “significant failure.” “We want to clarify what the government’s motivation is for this measure, which from the beginning does not seem to be enough,” he said of Esteban’s dismissal.
Feio and Abascal, against Sanchez
The right-wingers also responded quickly and critically to the government and specifically the president. Alberto Nunez Feio called the decision “grotesque” and considered it a “payment for independence”. The PP leader said in a Twitter post that his decision “weakens Sanchez once again to save the state.” “This is a real insult to our country. “It is unjustified,” he concluded.
For his part, Vox president Santiago Abascal attacked the chief executive: “Sanchez has decided to criminalize those who protect us and pardon and associate with those who will attack.”
The leader of the far right believed that “the mechanisms of the state should protect us from terrorists, coup plotters and criminals who attack our sovereignty, rights and freedoms” and declared: “Autocracy in the service of his person.”
Source: El Diario
