Socialist International falls under Pedro Sánchez's rule

Three years from now, in 2027, the 27th conclave of the organisation will take place, and Pedro Sánchez will (or should, at least) be held accountable.

The election of the Spanish president to head the Socialist International was a mere formality. It is not known what happened, whether or not there were prior negotiations, but Pedro Sánchez stood alone, so there was no need for a vote. So we will never know who supported him and who did not, out of the 132 members of the Socialist International.

What balance sheet is the Spanish Prime Minister likely to present to his partners? According to current information and forecasts, it will be very weak, if not critical.

The Socialist International is playing for its future in Europe, where it was born. However active and popular its current members are in Latin America, Africa and Asia, it is in Europe that its survival is at stake. 

And in Europe, since Pedro Sánchez has been president of the organisation, things are not going well at all. They were bad before, but now the prognosis is worse. 

Let's look at a few examples. In a few European countries, socialists/social democrats govern. In Albania, it is the Socialist Party, a member of the SI, but it is dealing with a president who, although also a socialist, is a retired military officer; in Slovakia, the social democrat Robert Fico has repeated his mandate; in Malta, the Labour Party's Robert Abela governs; in Portugal, the social democrat Luis Montenegro heads the government; in Romania, the social democrat Marcel Ciolacu governs. In other words, four small countries with hardly any impact on the European economy, while Portugal is in the middle of the European Union table, but with a per capita income 14 times lower than Spain's. Only four influential European countries are in the middle of the table.

Only four influential European countries are governed by a social democratic leader: Germany, with Olaf Scholz; Great Britain, with Keir Starmer; Denmark with Mette Frederiksen; and Spain with Pedro Sánchez. However, the most notorious fact that shows the plummeting of European social democracy is provided by Germany, which was the cradle of the movement in the 19th century. The current German leader, Olaf Scholz, will be subject to a motion of censure on 16 December, and as he does not have sufficient parliamentary support, general elections are already scheduled for February 2025. And the polls are catastrophic for the Social Democrats, who will get 16%, compared to 33% for the Christian Democrats and 17% for Alternative for Germany.

The only European country where the Social Democrats have managed to win recently is Britain, where the Conservatives suffered their worst ever defeat with 121 seats to Labour's 412. 

However, it is difficult for Pedro Sánchez to boast of a share of this triumph, not only because the UK has broken bridges with the EU after Brexit, but also because of the traditionally lukewarm, if not frosty relations between Madrid and London over the intractable conflict over Gibraltar. 

In reality, most of the European members of the Socialist International are in opposition in their respective countries, numbering 26, including 21 EU members and five EU candidates: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, San Marino and Sweden.

Pedro Sánchez solemnly proclaimed before the Socialist International, which he now chairs, that ‘we are the last defence against the right and the far right’, ‘the guiding light’, ‘the hope of Europe’, and a long litany of self-praise. As on other occasions, reality has been stubborn, and the balance sheet of his administration frustrating for his followers.