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King to make last minute push to avoid third vote in Spain

Spain's king will wait until late October before holding more talks with party leaders to resolve the political deadlock and avoid a third round of elections, the parliamentary speaker said Tuesday.

Published: 12 October 2016 09:09 CEST

King to make last minute push to avoid third vote in Spain

Will the King have more luck this time round? Photo: AFP

Felipe VI will meet parliamentary faction leaders on October 24th and 25th, less than a week before an October 31st deadline to form a government, speaker Ana Pastor announced.

After the talks, the king will decide “whether he can put forward a prime ministerial candidate who has sufficient support,” she said.

If there is no government after the deadline, the king will be forced to call new elections under a constitutional timeframe.

Spain has been without a fully-functioning executive for close to 10 months as rivals have failed to agree on a government following two elections in which none of the main parties won an absolute majority.

Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party won both elections but without enough seats to rule alone, and it needs other groupings to either vote for its minority government or abstain in a parliamentary vote of confidence.

Rajoy attempted to get through the vote last month but failed – blocked by lawmakers from the Socialist party and the far-left Unidos Podemos coalition.

But since then, the Socialist party has been ripped apart by divisions over what strategy to take going forward, and its leader Pedro Sanchez, a staunch critic of Rajoy, was forced out on October 1st.

Under interim management, the party is now trying to decide whether it should continue to veto a Rajoy-led minority government, or let it rule by abstaining in the vote of confidence.

The party is expected to call a special meeting on the issue around October 23rd, which could explain why the king has decided to wait until the end of the month to hold talks.

If the Socialists with their 85 parliamentary seats decided to abstain, Rajoy may be tempted to try and get a minority government through again, safe in the knowledge that this time round, he would have enough support in the vote of confidence.

This would see Spain's political paralysis finally unblocked, thereby avoiding a third round of elections.

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'Pedro stay!': Thousands of Spanish PM's supporters take to the streets

The 52-year-old, who has been in office since 2018, stunned Spain on Wednesday when he put his resignation on the line after a Madrid court opened a preliminary investigation into suspected influence peddling and corruption against his spouse Begona Gomez.

Sanchez said he would suspend all public duties until he announces his decision on Monday. The normally hyperactive premier has since remained out of sight and silent.

“I need to stop and think whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour,” he wrote in a four-page letter posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Supporters on Saturday held up placards saying “Spain needs you”, “Pedro don’t abandon us’, and shouted slogans such as “Pedro leader”.

“I hope that Sanchez will say on Monday that he will stay,” said Sara Domínguez, a consultant in her 30’s, adding that his government had “taken good steps for women, the LGBT community and minorities”.

Jose María Diez, a 44-year-old government official who came from Valladolid in northern Spain to express his support, said there was a real possibility that the far-right could take power if Sanchez quit.

“This will mean a step backwards for our rights and liberties,” he warned.

Inside the party headquarters, there were similar passionate appeals.

‘Pedro stay’

“Pedro stay. We are together and together we can … take the country forward, Spain can’t step back,” said Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero, the government number two.

“Today all democrats, all progressives, are summoned to Madrid against a pack whose only aim is to overthrow a democratic and legitimate government,” said Felix Bolanos, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations.

At one point, Socialist leaders took to the streets to thank those gathered. “They won’t succeed,” government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria told the crowd.

The court opened the investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint from anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said on Wednesday its complaint was based on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it focused on links Gomez had to Spanish tourism group Globalia when carrier Air Europa was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout.

The airline sought the bailout after it was badly hit by plunging paseenger numbers during the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gomez was running IE Africa Centre, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, which had signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020.

Spain’s public prosecutors office on Thursday requested the dismissal of the investigation, which Sanchez said was part of a campaign of “harassment” against him and his wife waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right”.

If Sanchez decides to remain in office, he could choose to file a confidence motion in parliament to show that he and his minority government are still supported by a majority of lawmakers.

If he resigns, an early election could be called from July — a year after the last one — with or without Sanchez at the helm of the Socialist party.

The right-wing opposition has accused the prime minister of being irresponsible for putting the country on hold while he mulls his decision.

“It’s very clear to us that this is all a tactic… We know Pedro Sanchez and things with him always turn out like a soap opera,” Cuca Gamarra, the number two of the main opposition conservative Popular Party, said on Friday.

“He is making us all wait and the country is at a standstill,” she added.

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