Should Pedro Sánchez call elections? Junts moves a piece so that it is voted on in Congress
Presents an amendment to a PP motion on the "extreme weakness" of the Spanish government
MadridPedro Sánchez's partners are increasingly uncomfortable with the alleged corruption cases affecting the Spanish government, and this Tuesday Junts has made a move: while they have been calling for elections for weeks, they have now registered a text for the Congress of Deputies to vote on. In other words, they want the Spanish chamber to vote on whether or not to politically maintain confidence in Sánchez. Although the result would not be binding, it would be politically relevant, as it will imply that all partners and the opposition will express their views on their support for the PSOE and Sumar government.
The route that Junts has chosen to try to get a vote in the chamber's plenary session this week is through a motion from the PP on the "extreme weakness" of the Spanish government. They have presented an amendment to the text that says the following:
"To urge the President of the Spanish Government to propose the dissolution of the Courts and to call general elections, in accordance with the prerogative conferred upon him by current legislation, taking into account the political nature, without legal binding, of the present initiative".
The PP has stated that they had not discussed it with Junts and that they found out that Carles Puigdemont's party had presented this amendment when they had already registered it. Furthermore, the popular spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, stated at a press conference that they had also decided to add their own amendment to their motion which also calls for an early election. The PP does not clarify which of the two they will accept to incorporate into the final text, but Muñoz highlighted that "in either case, a vote of confidence will be held this week". "It will not be just any vote. If [Sánchez] loses it, he will have to call elections because Congress will say so", stated Muñoz, although the Spanish president will not be formally obliged to do so, no matter how much one of the amendments is approved.
The vote, which will force the PNB, EH Bildu, and also Esquerra, among others, to take a stance, will take place on Thursday, while its parliamentary debate will likely be this Wednesday. The popular spokesperson opined that it is "common sense" for both Junts and PNB and Coalición Canaria, who have stated that the legislature is over, to allow the motion to be approved. For their part, the spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, said that she does not share Junts' proposal, but that she "respects it". "We have a transformative agenda ahead of us", she remarked, to assure that the plurinational majority still has pending issues to approve during this term, which Moncloa wants to extend until 2027. In fact, sources from Moncloa take for granted that even if the initiative is approved, they will continue to govern: they consider that the European next generation funds "cannot be paralyzed by elections" and they are convinced that they will continue to move forward with parliamentary initiatives equally.
The positioning of the left-wing partners
And what do the left-wing partners say for now? ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufián said that they may "agree to hold on," but he asked the Spanish government for what reason: "Do we stop housing speculation, do we create a fairer tax system... the people deserve a left that is not shameful," he said. Later, via X, he lashed out at Junts for taking advantage of a PP motion to take advantage of the amendment: "I understand that Junts and PP agree on an amendment, which Vox will vote for, to end the government, so Junts and PP will also agree on a no-confidence vote to end the government," he tweeted, even though Junts currently rejects holding a no-confidence vote to oust Pedro Sánchez. Sources from Esquerra clarify that in the coming hours they will announce their voting intention.
Who has been clearer than Rufián about her group's position has been Mertxe Aizpurua of EH Bildu. "We do not think general elections are appropriate now, at this moment asking for elections is favoring the right and we are not here by mandate of the Basque citizenry," she asserted, implying that they will vote against the initiative.