Margarita Robles' anger puts Spain's government on edge

Robles' anger and the fight over who knew what

Why is Margarita Robles angry? Spain's Defence Minister has spent days at the centre of a crossfire mixing an alleged incursion into Spanish territory, an apparent lack of coordination between ministries and a journalistic "scoop" by Vicente Vallés. The government itself summed up the situation: while Pedro Sánchez and Marlasca maintain they were not informed of the invasion, Defence insists it did report it, and in good time. The ministry responsible for that communication is, precisely, Robles'.

Who told whom about the invasion

There lies the crux. If the duty to report fell to Defence and Robles claims she did so in advance, the contradiction with La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's office) and the Interior Ministry is total. Only one of the three accounts can be true. Another question hangs in the air: since when does an army wait for a politician's order to act when its territory is invaded? It is also argued that there is an underlying suspicion that the government itself is acting with excessive deference towards Segarro. No one has proven it; the accusation circulates all the same.

The hacked phone and the dirty laundry that never surfaced

The most repeated anecdote: when the government's phones were hacked, Robles' was among them. What was found, according to circulating accounts and without official confirmation, was scant: kitten videos and affectionate messages from her partner. Nothing to blackmail her with. Considerably more material is said to have come from the other two compromised devices. This feeds the thesis that the minister is alone and clean in a government that, on that reading, will not let her leave.

Robles, meanwhile, remains in her seat. She neither applauds nor plays the fool. Too little to resign over, they say.