Josep Borrell is getting criticisms from all sides to the point that his appointment as foreign minister of the European Union is threatened, not by the opposition from other parties, but because he is being challenged by his own party PSOE´s partners in Europe.
After episodes which came to light this weekend such as the harsh reproaches from Swiss media for suspicion of espionage, which has been echoed by the country's bestselling newspaper and also Swiss public television, now it is the members of the European socialist parties themselves who are frowning at the possibility of Borrell getting the job.
As Voz Populi advances today, Borrell could be deprived of his position precisely because of European social democracy, and not specifically because of his crusade against Catalan nationalism -he is now getting a new offensive ready through the agitation and propaganda office that his España Global has become- but because it is considered that Spanish acting PM Pedro Sánchez has failed to negotiate the distribution of charges correctly.
Borrell has to wait for the European Parliament to ratify his position in autumn but, at this point, neither he nor Pedro Sánchez's acting executive are clear whether it will finally be formalised, especially once his murky affair with the use of privileged information for selling Abengoa shares has become known among the circles of power of the European Union.
Approval pending
Although the position has been agreed by an agreement of the 27, now it is pending to receive the approval of the European Parliament, which at this point can not be taken for granted. Borrell accumulates merits for his rejection and, according to the aforementioned newspaper, he could be a victim of a known action by the European Parliament, which in fact often annuls some of the appointments agreed by member governments as a sign of the balance and independence of the Chamber. If European parliamentarians look for a victim, Borrell is an obvious target.
In this situation, that Borrell is a name in the eye of many European media, and not precisely a positive one, does not predict a favorable resolution to the interests of Spain's acting Government, which hoped to place their foreign minister in Europe.
The socialists, the main enemies
The paradox in all this is that it is actually the European socialists who would be willing to frame Borrell, precisely as an expression of their discomfort over Sánchez's closed negotiation with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, who represent, respectively, the European conservative and liberal families.
It must be noted, for instance, that although at least eight socialist EU delegations were against the appointment of the liberal Ursula von der Leyen as president of the Commission, the slogan was to vote for her. European socialists believe that Sanchez did not take full advantage of the negotiation and was satisfied with the appointment of Borrell, a fact that could be better interpreted in terms of a Spanish rather than a socialist quota. There are therefore reasons for anger.
The situation does not appear to be at all positive for Borrell, but what is more pungent of it all is that it were precisely his partners, the socialists, who would reject his nomination. October will reveal the outcome of this issue, in any case.