Spanish politics has taken a fascinating turn towards the international stage since the reappointment of Sánchez as PM until 2027, with the resolution of that phase of Spanish politics coinciding in time with the Israel-Gaza conflict globally. Sánchez took a strong European, humanitarian position at the Rafah crossing with Belgian’s De Croo and on the other side, Vox’s Abascal has been doing all sorts of foreign trips and engagements on the alt-right end, from the surprise appearance of Tucker Carlson in Madrid to the Buenos Aires journey for Milei or this week’s Italian jaunt for Meloni. On the far-left, Podemos leader Belarra has been the loudest voice demanding a ceasefire and seeing Netanyahu hauled before the ICC for crimes against humanity.
Last night, suddenly, the US Department of Defense announced that Spain was now part of a new international naval coalition to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden, against the Houthis in Yemen, which in the broader context would essentially make Spain a combattant on the Israeli side. That didn’t seem to be the direction Spanish foreign policy was moving towards on the issue at all, but the US statement on Monday night was quite clear: “The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen”, it read: “threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law […] Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden…”.
Latest reports show 12 global shipping companies have stopped passage of their vessels through the Gulf of Aden because of the threat.
The leader of the opposition, Feijóo (PP), if not the Prime Minister or any of the government accounts, wrote on Twitter that Sánchez had indeed committed Spanish troops to the new mission and that he thought it was the right thing do to, although the government should be informing parliament about it. Then there were first reports, quoting the usual unnamed ministry sources, in EFE, El País and ABC, that Spain would not be doing anything of the sort by itself. The MoD sent an email confirming that “Spain is subject to the decisions of the European Union and NATO and, therefore, will not participate unilaterally in this area”, and later reports said the Chief of the Spanish Defence Staff, Admiral López Calderón, had told the US as much in a video call during the morning.
Sending troops into harm’s way is a grave matter for any government. The soldiers and sailors themsleves, firstly, and their families, as well as Spanish citizens generally, deserve clarity on any such decision. Parliament must be informed and opposition parties heard. There is normally some pretty heated public debate about the matter in the media. I’m not seeing any of that today.
How did the Spain get included in the new US coalition list in the first place? Were the PM, the Foreign Secretary or the Defence Minister consulted prior to the American announcemnt? If they were, what happened to change the country’s public international position so quickly overnight, from active participation to “let’s see what Europe and NATO say first”? Is the new Spanish position related to the strongly-humanitarian or less-favourable-to-Netanyahu statements made by Sánchez at the Rafah crossing? Which is to say, is it a rejection of any military role, or a military role now, or a military role like this, or does it go beyond military affairs to represent a broader expression of a Spanish foreign policy position from Europe that does not fit so much with the current hardline Israel-US-UK axis? Might it even fit within the evolution of ideological anti-Americanism on the Spanish left?
We don’t know because there haven’t been any further statements, beyond the mostly semi-anonymous MoD stuff, much less proper clarification by government ministers or the PM, and I’m not even seeing questions or attacks from the opposition.
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Comment: US-Spain clash on Yemen mission