Rebound in the case of espionage by the Pegasus software, developed by an Israeli company: after the information that 56 Catalan separatist leaders were spied on by this system, which caused an unprecedented crisis between Madrid and Barcelona, the government in turn denounces that the mobile phones of the head of government Pedro Sanchez and the Minister of Defense Margarita Robles would also have been infected. As a result, the intelligence services, the CNI, are singled out and its director Paz Esteban appears this Thursday, May 5 before the Parliament’s Secrets Committee. And the noose is tightening on Pedro Sanchez.
With our correspondent in Madrid, Francois Musseau
The Pegasus case has become more confusing than ever. And the political crisis grows every time more. At first, the Sanchez government was accused of spying on Catalan separatist leaders. From now on, he is criticized for not having the capacity to ensure national security. And its intelligence services to find themselves on the front line of these accusations.
A feeling of confusion that Juanma Varela, baker, summarizes well: “ It’s a mess. Who is spying on who? Does the government spy on the separatist leaders, or the separatists the government? In the end, it’s always the same thing. They all have the program, and everyone wants to take advantage of it. And who suffers? As always, the people. Because, finally, the most spied on are us. »
► To read also: Pedro Sanchez and the Spanish Minister of Defense targets of illegal tapping
Who is behind this scandal?
People don’t really know what to make of this case anymore. Who is behind this spy scandal? The government ? The Morocco ? Another state? Gabriel Sanchez, a computer scientist, analyzes it this way: It is an endemic problem of crisis of confidence between the various authorities. Because if they really did not have these internal organizational problems to know who is spying on whom, there would be no need to open a commission of inquiry to shed light on the responsibilities of each. »
Still, the pressure is growing on Pedro Sanchez. He managed to avoid a commission of inquiry. He will find it difficult not to explain himself to Parliament.