One month after his election as President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez continues to be in the spotlight, both from the media and the opposition, due to his negotiations and pacts.
ReputationUP analyzed the online reputation and image of Pedro Sánchez after his inauguration on November 16th.
The period chosen for the study is the one that covers December 5 to 11.
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The four points of the investiture
With a total of 179 votes in Congress, more than the 176 required, Pedro Sánchez secured his position thanks to the support of the “investiture bloc”, a diverse coalition of leftist, nationalist and pro-independence parties.
This support comes after agreements that have generated widespread controversy.
His re-election is the result of weeks of intense negotiations and pacts, marked by street protests.
A key element of his mandate is the amnesty law and a persistent problem in Spanish politics: the Catalan independence movement.
The resilience of Pedro Sánchez
At the end of September, after the political campaign and after winning the elections, the leader of the Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, ran for the investiture, where he only had the support of Vox.
Two months later, Pedro Sánchez emerged victorious once again, in a scenario that had previously been considered unlikely.
His political career, which began at the age of 21 as a simple activist and rose to become a deputy in Congress, reflects remarkable resilience.
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He overcame internal obstacles in his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), to win the primaries.
In May 2018, he ousted Mariano Rajoy from the PP through a vote of no confidence, taking over the leadership of the Spanish government.
This year, Sánchez called for early general elections after the PSOE’s disappointing results in regional elections in May.
Although he did not win a majority, he managed to form the strongest coalition in parliament.
However, the wear and tear of protracted negotiations has taken a toll on his digital reputation.
The pacts for the investiture
To ensure his re-election as president, Pedro Sánchez had to seek the support of parties other than the PSOE to bridge the gap between the 122 seats he won in the elections and the 176 needed for an absolute majority.
This was achieved through months of intense negotiations and controversial pacts in Spain.
One of the key agreements was with Sumar, a conglomerate of leftist movements led by Yolanda Díaz, the current vice-president of the government and previously second vice-president in Sánchez’s term.
With Sumar, the PSOE’s main ally in Congress, agreements were reached on labor and wages, including the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours.
Sánchez also reached agreements with parties such as the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) and the Canary Islands Coalition (CC), as well as with the Basque Nationalist Party and Bildu, focusing on issues ranging from the extension of labor rights to debt cancellation and the transfer of competencies.
The most controversial pacts, however, were with the Catalan independence parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Junts per Catalunya.
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The agreement with the ERC includes the cancellation of 15,000 million euros of Catalan public debt.
On the other hand, the pact with Junts per Catalunya includes a controversial amnesty law that benefits those convicted in the Catalan independence process of 2017.
The amnesty law
The question of the Catalan independence movement and its relationship with the central government of Spain has been a relevant issue in Spanish politics for more than a decade, generating considerable mistrust and tension.
The culmination of this situation was the 2017 self-determination referendum in Catalonia, which was declared illegal and suspended by the Constitutional Court, resulting in the conviction of numerous Catalan political leaders and citizens.
The referendum, which took place on October 1 of that year, was marked by violent clashes and the intervention of state security forces.
The Catalan government at the time, led by Carles Puigdemont, unilaterally proclaimed the independence of Catalonia based on the results of the réndum, prompting Puigdemont to flee to Brussels to avoid imprisonment.
Recently, the Socialist parliamentary group presented an amnesty bill in Congress to annul certain crimes committed between 2012 and 2023 related to the Catalan independence movement.
For their part, the PP and Vox have announced that they will challenge the law before the Constitutional Court and the European Union’s judicial system.
The controversial amnesty has led to a harsh verbal confrontation between the government and the opposition.
The last words of Santiago Abascal, in an interview with Clarín, were even condemned by Núñez Feijóo:
“There will be a moment when the people will want to hang him (Pedro Sánchez) by his feet.”
Protests in the streets
The investiture of Pedro Sánchez took place in a context of high security in Congress and after days of intense protests in front of the PSOE headquarters, especially in Ferraz.
These demonstrations, which lasted almost two weeks and in some cases led to clashes, reached their peak on the weekend before the inauguration, when hundreds of thousands of people gathered in different cities, led by the PP.
During his speech, Sánchez addressed the controversy surrounding his mandate, acknowledging the division of opinion among citizens, especially in relation to the amnesty law:
“It is a measure requested by a very important part of Catalan society […] that may or may not be shared by citizens whose feelings I understand. But the circumstances are what they are and we have to make a virtue of necessity.”
December survey
A recent poll by Sigma Dos for El Mundo shows that almost two million socialists regret having voted for Pedro Sánchez.
If the elections had been held on December 11, 22.4% of socialist voters would have voted for another party, and 73.5% would have supported Pedro Sánchez again.
On the other hand, 89.3% of PP voters would repeat their vote, followed by 83.7% of Sumar and 80.8% of Vox.
The analysis
After a tough period of negotiations and taking office, the figure of Pedro Sánchez is in the media spotlight, even a month after his inauguration.
For this analysis, the ReputationUP Study Center focused on the period from December 5th to 11th.
The following parameters were studied:
- Results;
- Sentiment;
- Trends.
ReputationUP uses prestigious reputation monitoring software that analyzes everything said on the network in real time, combining Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Results
The number of results refers to the interactions in a given time period, in this case from December 5th to December 11th.
Interactions include mentions, likes, comments, tags, etc.
In these seven days, Pedro Sánchez received 244K online mentions, an average of 34.9K per day.
Sentiment
The sentiment is the percentage of positive or negative sentiment generated by users on online platforms regarding Pedro Sánchez.
The positive sentiment analysis for Pedro Sánchez is only 4.9% compared to 33.7% negative.
The net sentiment (net percentage, measured on a scale from -100 to 100) is -29%. A very negative number that reflects serious reputational damage.
Trends
To better study online reputation, RepUP monitoring tool analyzes network trends related to Pedro Sánchez:
- New dictator;
- Great act of corruption;
- Amnesty Law;
- Fragmentation scenario.
Most of the keywords associated with Pedro Sánchez are negative.
Conclusions
Through the study, the feeling that exists around the President of the Government of Spain has been perceived.
From this analysis, carried out between December 5th and 11th, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- Pedro Sánchez has received 244K online mentions;
- The daily average of mentions is 34.9K;
- The positive sentiment is 4.9% compared to 33.7% negative;
- Pedro Sánchez net sentiment is -29%;
- Most of the keywords associated with his name are negative.
Although the agreements have ensured the investiture, it remains to be seen the political cost that Sánchez will have to pay and the difficulties he may face during his mandate.
Junts and ERC spokespersons have already warned Sánchez about the conditionality of their support, pointing out that the stability of his government will depend on his adherence to the agreements.
Sánchez faces not only the usual opposition of the PP and Vox in Congress, but also the uncertainty of the support of the Independents, whose continuity will be evaluated day by day.
In addition, in the streets there is still discontent among those who reject the agreements reached.
The figure of the President of the Government will be at constant reputational risk throughout his term.
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