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Spain moves a step closer to ending political deadlock

Spain's corruption-hit ruling Popular Party (PP) agreed Wednesday to negotiate with Ciudadanos to try and form a government, just days after the centrist grouping set a series of anti-graft demands as a condition to start talks.

Published: 17 August 2016 16:51 CEST
Spain moves a step closer to ending political deadlock
Rajoy has been authorized by his party to negotiate with Ciudadanos. Photo: AFP

The move is a first, tentative step towards unblocking the eight-month-long political paralysis that has gripped Spain as squabbling parties remain unable to reach any kind of agreement on a government following two inconclusive general elections.

But it still does not give acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative party enough support to push a minority government through the necessary parliamentary vote of confidence as others refuse as yet to back it, raising the possibility of yet more elections.

The PP's executive committee “authorised me and party leaders to negotiate with Ciudadanos”, Rajoy told reporters.

The committee's green light implies that it accepted the six conditions set by Ciudadanos last week, but Rajoy refused to be drawn into this, saying these had not been brought up during the two-hour-long committee meeting.

The conditions include anti-corruption measures such as creating a parliamentary commission to investigate one of the PP's most high-profile scandals.

The case centres around former PP treasurer Luis Barcenas, who on top of alleged embezzlement also reportedly ran a slush fund for the party and says Rajoy knew about it, although the acting prime minister denies this.   

Corruption was a big issue in campaigns before elections in December and again in June but this did not stop the PP from coming first each time, though without an absolute majority.

The party won 137 parliamentary seats out of 350 in June's elections, and Rajoy has since been trying to garner support from his rivals to form a coalition or minority government, which he will have to push through a vote of confidence.

In order to do so, he needs a simple majority.    

But even if Ciudadanos, which gained 32 seats in June elections, accepts to back the PP after negotiations, Rajoy will still not have a majority to push his government plans through.

He also needs the support of the Socialists, his traditional rivals, but they refuse to back him.

“We will vote against” a Rajoy-led government, Socialist party chief Pedro Sanchez told reporters.    

“There can only be regeneration if Rajoy is no longer prime minister.”

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POLITICS

What will Spain’s PM do next after resignation threat?

Sánchez's shock threat of resignation after a dubious corruption probe into his wife has kicked off a period of political uncertainty. What card will the Spanish PM play next according to the experts, or is he truly planning to step down?

Published: 26 April 2024 09:59 CEST
What will Spain's PM do next after resignation threat?

Pedro Sánchez, in office since 2018, wrote in a four-page letter posted on social media on Wednesday that he would suspend public duties while he “reflects” on whether he wants to continue leading the government.

The Socialist leader denounced “the seriousness of the attacks” against him and his wife, saying it was part of a campaign of “harassment” waged by the right and far right who “do not accept the election results”.

READ ALSO: Who is Begoña Gómez? Spanish PM’s partner thrust into spotlight

Sánchez, an expert in political survival who has made a career out of taking political gambles, said he would announce his decision on Monday.

Some analysts said he could decide to stay on, with this move aimed at rallying support and regaining the initiative in the face of the right-wing opposition at a time of extreme polarisation in Spanish politics.

“Sánchez is a political animal,” said Oriol Bartomeus, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, adding “he has decided to go on the attack” to try to “change the rules of the debate”.

Paloma Román, a political scientist at Madrid’s Complutense University, said Sánchez had “slammed his fist on the table” as part of a “strategy aimed at putting the spotlight where he wants it”.

Sánchez could file a confidence motion in parliament to show that he and his minority government are still supported by a majority of lawmakers in parliament.

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont, whose JxCat party is an unpredictable ally of the government, has urged Sánchez to pick this option.

READ ALSO: What happens and who takes over if Spain’s Prime Minister resigns?

For the confidence motion to succeed, Sánchez would just need the backing of a simple majority in the assembly and most of the parties which prop up his minority government have already shown their unconditional support.

Catalan separatist party ERC said it would vote in favour of a confidence motion while hard-left party Podemos, which has clashed with Sánchez in the past, blasted attacks by “the political, media and judicial right” on the prime minister and the left in general.

While the conservative opposition has accused Sánchez of playing the victim to rally support, analysts said the possibility that he will resign cannot be completely ruled out.

“Sánchez’s closest advisers and the leadership of the Socialist party will probably spend the coming days trying to convince him to stay,” said Teneo analyst Antonio Barroso.

“The fact that the prime minister allegedly did not consult any of his advisers when drafting the letter suggests personal reasons might be his main motivation. This makes Sánchez’s decision particularly hard to predict.”

If Sánchez does step down, the Socialist party could propose that parliament appoint someone else as head of the government, with Budget Minister María Jesús Montero, who also serves as deputy prime minister, touted as a likely contender.

But Barroso said it “would probably be hard for Montero to cobble together a majority” in Spain’s highly fractured parliament.

Sánchez could instead resign and call snap elections but he would not be able to do so before May 29 since a year must pass between consecutive dissolutions of parliament.

With the Socialists trailing the main opposition conservative Popular Party in opinion polls, this is a risky strategy, although analysts said Sánchez may bet that leftist voters will be galvanised by the controversy sparked by his resignation.

READ ALSO: Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption probe against PM’s wife

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