The crisis in Ceuta has put Pedro Sánchez’s government on the defensive, just as Spain’s political actors return from the summer break. Weeks after the crisis began, the situation remains unresolved. Of the estimated 80,000 migrants who entered Ceuta in late July, 5,482 remain.

Fierce debate has raged over the government’s handling of the crisis, with protests across the country, a deepening culture war, and violent attacks on migrants in Ceuta – some allegedly carried out by Spanish soldiers.

Within Spain, the crisis has barely left the headlines for the last seven weeks. While a permanent solution has yet to emerge, one thing is clear: the government has missed a vital chance to frame the issue of migration on its own terms.

This year’s mass regularisation saw Sánchez taking the initiative. In doing so, he cast himself – and by extension Spain – as a champion of human rights, one who pushes back against Europe’s prevailing anti-migrant sentiment, placing the economy and inclusion at the centre of the debate.

After Ceuta, that momentum has been reversed. As Spain approaches an election year, the crisis has given the conservative People’s Party (PP) and, above all, the far-right Vox more room to set the agenda.

Setting the political agenda is one of the main advantages of being in government. Ruling parties can choose which issues to prioritise, and define the terms on which they are discussed.

Back in January, some saw the mass migrant regularisation as bold, while others saw it as opportunistic. Either way, it gave the PSOE, Sánchez’s Socialist Party, the upper hand. By placing the economy and the inclusion of migrants at the centre of the discussion, the government was shaping the debate through a policy of its........

© The Conversation