Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas criticised the Spanish government's handling of a migrant crisis in the enclave, accusing the administration of making up reality. The criticism came as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his cabinet remained on summer holiday during the emergency.
The crisis follows an influx of migrants 17 days ago. Migrants in the territory are currently stripped of basic necessities and minimum conditions of hygiene, with infectious diseases threatening the population of Ceuta. Vivas described the government's approach as negligent and said a parade of ministers visiting the enclave was useless, acting only as a makeup operation.
There are calls for the judiciary and European institutions to act on the disaster. Vivas specifically targeted Health Minister Mónica García, who visited Ceuta 17 days after the arrivals began. He described her behaviour as incorrect, saying she had travelled there to give lessons in humanity.
García offered no words of encouragement and did not visit the doctors and health workers risking their lives in the devastated area. Sánchez held a teleconference about the situation, but remained bathing in luxury in the volcanic coves of Lanzarote with his wife Begoña, who is under investigation.
His ministers have also not interrupted their summer rest. Vice President Yolanda Díaz is on the Galician beaches of Baiona, Agriculture Minister Luis Planas is on the Cadiz coast, and Minister Félix Bolaños is cycling and enjoying gastronomy in Mojácar on the Almería coast. Spokesman Óscar Puente is playing golf in Alicante.
Minister Diana Morant staged a gathering funded by public money to watch an eclipse in Yebes, Guadalajara. The situation is unfolding with a locked-down Congress. Congress President Francina Armengol, the third authority of the state, is spending the summer in the Balearic Islands.
Following the example of Carmen Calvo, who once said that public money belongs to nobody, the current administration has been accused of using public funds as if they were their own.
International posts and opposition scrutiny
Three ministers are reportedly securing international posts with lucrative salaries. Díaz is heading to a senior role at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Planas to the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, and García to the World Health Organization in New York.
A veteran diplomat familiar with international institutions claimed the roles are three bought posts. The opposition Partido Popular, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, suspects an alleged misuse of public funds, pointing to the constant flow of money to these organisations and the ministers' recent trips, suggesting a possible barter.
The PP is expected to investigate the matter deeply, although parliamentary arithmetic suggests no support from the partners of the government bloc. Feijóo will convene his party's National Executive Committee on the 24th to plan the start of the new political year.
Feijóo has been urged to remain alert to the reactions of a wounded Sánchez and prepare an independent forensic audit to investigate financial movements and suspected fraud in public accounts. The audit is said to be needed outside of state institutions such as the Constitutional Court of Cándido Conde-Pumpido, due to corruption cases surrounding the prime minister and the PSOE.
Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that Moroccan secret services hold information regarding saunas owned by Sánchez's father-in-law and their visitors.
Legal and political developments
In other political news, the Madrid prosecutor's office declined to investigate an alleged obstruction in the case against Sánchez's brother. The Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard has also collected messages from the prime minister's former chief of staff as part of the PSOE sewers case.
Protective measures have been put in place for the Cross of the Fallen monument in Cáceres. The government has officially announced that military service will begin in September for people born in 2008.
Society and climate
On consumer habits, Mercadona president Juan Roig commented on the trend of paying 1,000 euros for a mobile phone, saying he believes it is much more valuable to produce a good litre of milk. A domestic advice guide detailed the uses of spraying vinegar in a kitchen sink.
In science and history, engineer Isaac Moreno Gallo addressed the claim that man would have reached the Moon in the year 1000 if the Roman Empire had not fallen, noting that the statement is untrue and was not said by Carl Sagan. Labour lawyer Ignacio Solsona also warned that workers with 20 years of contributions will only receive 61.4 percent of their regulatory base upon retirement.
In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz's former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero said few players can go five days without training and perform at the same level.
On domestic maintenance, air conditioning expert Carlos Llull warned that cleaning the units involves more than just the filters.
The State Meteorological Agency has issued a special warning that polar air will drop temperatures and bring severe storms. Meteorologists are monitoring signs of a possible freezing winter, transitioning from extreme heat to polar cold.
The agency also explained that an isolated high-level depression is moving to the western peninsula, giving way to heat. Ourense reached a maximum of 42 degrees on Tuesday.
Internationally, China warned of an El Niño weather pattern with extreme intensity, surpassing the historic episodes of 1997 and 2015.
