PSOE's Fallen Figures: Ventoso's Critique in El Debate

Luis Ventoso publishes an ironic review of PSOE and government figures in El Debate, arguing that polls, courts, or wear have displaced them, with the November 29 campaign as backdrop.

The article by **Luis Ventoso** in **El Debate**, dated **November 7, 2026**, starts from a simple idea stretched to its limit: in democracy, no position is permanent, and time, public opinion, and justice eventually place everyone where they belong. The text compares this outcome with autocracies, where leaders perpetuate themselves, and applies it to a list of names from the PSOE and Sánchez's government circle. It is not a poll analysis or management balance: it is a review of trajectories, with the **November 29** campaign in the background.

## From Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría to María Jesús Montero

The article begins by recalling **Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría**, presenting her as someone who believed she was the smartest in class but ended up absorbed by Catalan politics involving **Junqueras** and **Puigdemont**. From there it jumps to a more recent case: **María Jesús Montero**, who presented herself as "the most powerful woman in democracy" and, according to the text, after being beaten in the polls, is remembered for holding two paychecks, one in Andalusia and another in the Senate. The piece insists on this idea of falling from height: the position does not protect the occupant when the political cycle turns.

The pantheon described by Ventoso is, in his words, more crowded than **Doña Manolita** at Christmas. The image serves to chain names: **Pilar Alegría**, attributed with contemptuous rallies as spokesperson and poor results when competing as lead candidate, and placed languishing in Aragon. The common thread is not legal or economic, but public wear: people who occupied the stage and, according to the author, have stopped occupying it.

## Officials who fell via judicial route

The bulk of the text deals with names that, according to Ventoso, have fallen through judicial channels or scandal. It mentions **García Ortiz**, called "the errand boy in the Prosecutor's Office," linking his fate to his boss if the latter loses the **November 29** election. Also appearing are **Puente**, described as the government's dialectical scourge and, in his view, incompetent; the president's brother, convicted for a family nepotism appointment; **Ábalos**, placed studying degrees via UNED from prison; and **Koldo**, with a trajectory going from prostitution work to Sabiniano's Peugeot and then to Renfe board member.

The list continues with a Madrid government delegate he calls a hooligan, with **Montse Mínguez**—PSOE spokesperson who denounced vulture funds while her partner was, according to the text, a hawk fund—and with **Pablo Iglesias**, attributed a record of laziness in a vice-presidency and a second life as a talk show guest and bar owner without much success. Of **Irene Montero**, he says she went from cashier to minister via a finger-pointing by her partner, and predicts the end of the political journey for **Belarra**, attributing to her the invention of the "16 family models."

## End of cycle and the November 29 campaign

The piece closes the circle with **José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero**, described as a jeweled mascot of sanchismo and a political outcast during the campaign, and with the prime minister himself. Ventoso argues that Sánchez faces the final stretch aware of this, citing as evidence that he considered attending the funeral for train victims in Toledo Cathedral but dismissed it antiestéticaring a volley of reproaches. These are statements of intent attributed to the author by the text, not documented facts.

The article anticipates campaign moves: a Sánchez demanding explanations about **Koldo** from the PP and a repeated discourse on pensions and rights. Against that, it lists what he considers unforgivable: **Ceuta**, the trains, eight years of management, and a corrosion of corruption reaching, as he writes, even his former driver. The conclusion he handles is that no recent politician has generated such repulsion, and that one cannot escape it with strikes against the opposition or payments in overtime. That assessment is the author's opinion, not electoral data.

## Key Points

- **Luis Ventoso** signs the article in **El Debate** on **November 7, 2026**.
- The text places the electoral date at **November 29** and links **García Ortiz**'s fate to his boss's.
- Mentions two paychecks for **María Jesús Montero**, one in Andalusia and another in the Senate.
- Cites the funeral for train victims in **Toledo** Cathedral as an avoided episode.
- Alludes to **Ceuta** and trains among issues that, in his judgment, will not be forgiven.