Spain’s centre-right leader compares Sánchez to former dictator Franco  

Partido Popular (PP/EPP) leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, on Wednesday, compared Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to the late dictator Francisco Franco over a controversial media transparency plan presented on Tuesday (17 September).

With the Plan for Democratic Regeneration, the coalition government of the Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) and the left-wing platform Sumar want to reinforce transparency, independence and pluralism in the media while protecting and strengthening democracy, Spanish public television RTVE reported.

“Censorship and persecution of anyone who dares to criticise him: We haven't seen anything like this since (Francisco) Franco,” Núñez Feijóo stated, referring to the dictator who ruled Spain with an iron fist between 1939 and 1975.

Among other measures, the plan aims to improve media transparency in structure and financing, along with reforming offences related to freedom of expression, such as libel, slander and the right to rectification.

Sánchez said on Tuesday that the proposed plan aligns with the European Parliament's Media Freedom Act.

However, the right-wing camp and the hard-right Vox party, the third largest force in the Spanish parliament, believe the proposal will curb media freedom rather than protect it.

In a heated debate in parliament on Wednesday, Núñez Feijóo accused the Spanish PM of adopting an authoritarian attitude, adding that the government's plan is “an offensive against judges, journalists and the media,” Euractiv´s partner EFE reported.

For his part, Sánchez defended the plan and attacked the PP and VOX for what he describes as a persistent "negative attitude to everything the government does."  Meanwhile, Sánchez's parliamentary partners, including the separatist Catalan and Basque separatist formations, welcomed the plan but called for greater ambition.

The proposal will face a tough parliamentary vote, with no official date set for its approval.

The initiative is part of his "road map" for democratic regeneration following five days of reflection in April. During this time, he considered whether it was worth continuing to lead the government amid what he described as a campaign of harassment targeting him, his wife, Begoña Gómez, and their family.

[Edited by Martina Monti]