Almost 40 days after Ceuta, the three stages of crisis management – alert, response and reconstruction – are being reorganized. In the “alert”, Pedro Sánchez has announced the order to publish and declassify a dossier with all the situation and alert reports prepared between July 1 and August 1 by the CNI, the Police and military intelligence. Reducing any type of future or past pressure, such as the leak of the CENIF report that indicated signs of Moroccan permissiveness. Success in an aggressive and unprecedented measure of transparency to demonstrate that the Government does not want to hide anything.
In the “response” there is also an evident change of tone in his speech, which will surely increase, towards greater determination against Morocco, as can be sensed in his appearance in Congress with expressive darts such as “this Government is not afraid of confronting other foreign powers.” Even abandoning the all-out defense of the uncomfortable neighbor by introducing suspicion about his behavior: "We know that on July 30, the gendarmerie allowed the crossing of the border. And that they later controlled it." Moncloa cannot lightly confirm intellectual authorship, but it should never rule it out. Here he also corrected, balanced, got it right.
And in the “reconstruction”, in addition to continuing to put all the necessary means to return Ceuta to Ceuta – a herculean task –, it is right to abandon the status quo by beginning to write a new model for the two autonomous cities at an international level. Exercising a position of strength in community institutions to Europeanize the border. Ruling unequivocally that cooperation with Morocco “has to be different” after what happened, as well as announcing that it will try to achieve the permanent presence of Frontex, along with a specific Interpol mission, and the legal consideration of Ceuta and Melilla as outermost regions of the EU.
The State is recovering ground. At this point it would be an absolute success if King Felipe VI went to Ceuta before the High Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly from September 21 to 25. This would send an unequivocal message of maximum institutional firmness. Spain would go to the UN with a position of unbeatable symbolic strength and showing the entire world that sovereignty over autonomous cities is an unquestionable State consensus, supported by the Head of State. The presence of the King would also represent historic support for the Ceuta population and its local institutions just before the president exposes the border crisis to world leaders, reinforcing the idea that Ceuta “is Spain and Europe on the border.” That is an ideal and natural moment for the president to speak with the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and establish permanent contact about this crisis.
We have been debating for almost 40 days about “who is responsible?” We will continue doing it, but the question is also different: “Who takes advantage?” The Spanish are aware of the mistakes that have been made. The Government lacked reflexes, self-criticism and empathy. Not anymore. And it's the opposition's turn. Spain, a fascinating country, deserves a state response to match. And it is absolutely unserious to appeal to the “betrayal” of article 102 of the Constitution or to a pirouette by the Supreme Court against the prime minister in the face of an attack on the territorial integrity of the country in which we must be “all together.” This is a moment of no return. Make no mistake. The Spanish understand loyalty to the State. This is how the PSOE behaved, although it was very painful and without sharing the response, when it practiced a state opposition, during the process and after 1-O (the above signatory was there), before a Government that miserably erred in its analysis and that needed its support. This exemplary attitude, which the PP forgets (José María Aznar is wrong in his thesis of “toughness” with Ceuta), decisively influenced Sánchez to arrive at La Moncloa only 9 months later.
Next week
The alternative
When short-handed bargaining or ideological debate is prioritized over State unity, the consequences are profound for the alternative. Border security in Spain has always been treated as a consensus that transcends acronyms. The failure of this agreement weakens the country's position vis-à-vis the outside world (Morocco, the EU and potential aggressors), which may perceive the internal division as a vulnerability, continue to pressure with new hybrid attacks or obtain concessions. The opposition must know that the Spanish take note.
The hawk's eye
Who can stop, stop
Fluid cooperation between all administrations is essential to manage logistical, humanitarian and national security emergencies such as that of Ceuta. When the relationship is strained by political or personal dynamics, decision-making and coordination become slower and more complex. In cities like Ceuta, with a very plural demographic composition, raising the levels of institutional tension is precisely what causes the conflict to move to the streets, undermining coexistence. Whoever can stop, let him stop.
