German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine, considered the most important in the country, has criticised the disarray that surrounds the Pedro Sánchez government's handling of the coronavirus crisis in Spain, accusing the PSOE-Podemos coalition of having no real plan for the lifting of lockdown measures and of continuously creating confusion.
"The Spanish government still doesn't have a real plan," headlines the Allgemeine, adding that it is acting in response to initiatives already set in motion by the autonomous communities and amid the growing irritation of the public. "The four phases of transition that Sánchez announced on Tuesday should be completed by the end of June. But instead of providing relief, the Spanish government has created confusion," notes the newspaper.
Von Samstag an dürfen in Spanien auch Erwachsene wieder spazieren gehen, am Montag die Frisöre wieder öffnen. Doch viele Punkte des Exit-Plans schaffen Verwirrung, berichtet Hans-Christian Rößler https://t.co/Yr2KwcyNVG
— Frankfurter Allgemeine gesamt (@FAZ_NET) April 29, 2020
"From Saturday, adults in Spain will be able to go for a walk again, and hairdressers will be open on Monday. But many aspects of the deconfinement plan are confusing," says the German daily
"The 17 regions in particular have increased the pressure on the Madrid government to finally explain when it planned to relax the strict restrictions it adopted. Many Spaniards have become impatient, while even Italy has already presented a plan to come out of lockdown. And Pedro Sánchez has had to decide on a de-escalation strategy earlier than he planned to."
The newspaper attributes the fact that Spain has not set precise dates for the process, unlike most European countries, to this improvisation. The newspaper predicts that there will be communities that "will move faster" and will end up forming "a patchwork of new liberties." The paper gives the examples of the Canary Islands and Formentera, where there are few infections.