Not in 2019, not in 2023. Not Pablo Iglesias, not Yolanda Díaz. Neither United We Can, nor Add. Western Sahara does not find its place in the programmatic agreements for the progressive coalition governments. The word ‘Sahara’ does not appear in the initialing in 2019, nor in this Tuesday’s. The discrepancies between PSOE and the left on this matter are evident and have been highlighted in recent years, but the PSOE ends up imposing its position: foreign policy is the responsibility of the President of the Government and is developed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Thus, silence is imposed on what the solution to the Moroccan occupation of the former Spanish colony should be like. The PSOE strives not to antagonize its southern neighbor, Morocco. The Alawite monarchy considers Western Sahara as an issue inherent to itself, which has so far paralyzed the application of International Law and UN resolutions that recognize the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
In March 2022, Pedro Sánchez materialized a change in the historic Spanish position on Western Sahara. The Spanish State is, from a legal perspective, the administrative power of this territory considered “non-autonomous” by the UN, pending decolonization. Until then, Spain had always defended active neutrality in the conflict, calling for “a just and lasting solution” that was “mutually acceptable between the parties”, based on the UN’s own literature.
On March 18, 2022, the Moroccan Executive leaked a cSánchez’s art to Mohamed VI in which the Spanish leader assured that “the Moroccan autonomy initiative, presented in 2007, is the most serious, realistic and credible basis to resolve this dispute.” The President of the Government took sides with the position defended by one of the parties, autonomy in Morocco, ignoring the proposal of the other party, the Polisario Front, based on Sahrawi right to self-determination. This strained the coalition government last term, which knew how to make a virtue of necessity and prioritize common issues over differences.
Again The government agreement ignores the Western Sahara dispute. Although Sumar defends the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, the PSOE prioritizes, above all, a good relationship with the Moroccan regime. Sources close to the PSOE-Sumar negotiation recognize that not mentioning the issue makes it easier for both parties to later show their disagreements during the legislature regarding this controversial issue.
Recognition of the Palestinian State within the framework of the EU
The PSOE also imposes its position on a hot topic: the Palestinian tragedy. Israeli bombs fall on the Gaza Strip and socialists and Sumar pledge to work “to promote diplomatic channels that allow progress towards peace in the Middle East and between Israel and Palestine, within the framework of United Nations resolutions and guaranteeing respect for international law.”
“We will support the recognition of the Palestinian State in accordance with the resolution of the Congress of Deputies of November 18, 2014,” reads the text of the pact between Sánchez and Díaz. A resolution through which the Executive was urged, from the Carrera de San Jerónimo, to “establish full diplomatic relations with Palestine and to promote, in coordination with the EU, the recognition of the sovereign, contiguous, democratic and independent Palestinian State that coexists in peace and security with the State of Israel”.
The difference with Sumar in this aspect lies in the fact that Díaz’s party has demanded in recent weeks the recognition of the Palestinian State by Spain unilaterally, regardless of whether the EU agrees to do so as a whole, a task that seems almost impossible due to the determination of some EU Member States not to antagonize Israel. Once again, the Government’s minority partner fails to translate its proposal on international matters into the coalition agreement.
Ukraine and strategic autonomy of the EU
They contrast the nuances of support for the recognition of the Palestinian State and, above all, the lack of initiative against the Moroccan occupation of the Sahara with support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia in the PSOE-Sumar pact. “We will defend comprehensive support and solidarity with Ukraine in response to the unjustified Russian aggression and the strengthening of the diplomatic channel to achieve a just and lasting peace aligned with the aspirations of the Ukrainian people and with the principles of the resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States,” reads the agreed text.
In European matters, the commitment to the “strategic autonomy” of the EU At the international level, one of the priority lines of work of Spain’s rotating presidency of the European Council. “We will promote the Open Strategic Autonomy of the EU and greater coordination between its Member States in matters of security, to combat threats such as international terrorism, cyberattacks, disinformation, and growing war conflicts in our neighborhood,” the agreement states. Tuesday.
