Spanish government in post-state of alarm tangle after PP pressure

MadridPedro Sánchez decided not to extend the state of alarm in good measure due to the proximity of elections in Madrid. He did not want the issue to capitalise headlines in the lead up to the vote. The measure would be lifted and that was that. But not even this managed to avoid the PSOE's electoral thrashing last Tuesday, with the loss of more than a third of its votes and being overtaken by Más País. Since then the government has tried to look the other way and not get mired in the judicial chaos arising from the lack of a legal framework for health restrictions.

But two days after the end of the state of alarm, and as a result of the controversial parties during the early hours of Sunday, the Spanish government has seen fit to make a move. However, the response is coming into direct conflict with the opposition in Parliament and with some regions. The result: a mess about the possible legal changes that the Ministry of Justice is planning, while the Spanish president intends to break his silence of more than a week now - he has not yet assessed the socialist slump of May 4 before the media - by offering statements from Greece, where he is on an official trip.

The only anti-covid plan that the Spanish government put forward last week is for the Supreme Court to have the last word on restrictions put in place by regional governments, to try to reach a consensus on measures throughout the state and avoid the judicial chaos which has taken over since Friday. The courts have endorsed the curfews in the Balearic Islands and Valencia but not in the Basque Country nor the Canary Islands. But neither the Supreme Court nor the Prosecutor's Office are too sure about it: the public ministry has opposed the curfew both in Euskadi and also in Navarre, while an internal report of the high court points out that it should not do politicians' work.

In this context, the Minister of Justice, Juan Carlos Campo, suggested in an article in ElPaís making "additional legal changes" if "the need arises after the Supreme Court's rulings", that is, if the court vetoes regions' restrictions. In addition, he assures that the government would support the request for regional states of alarm to apply new restrictions.

However, a few hours later and seeing the controversy - because the PP resubmitted its "legal plan b" to the state of alarm to the Spanish government so that the communities can declare curfews and lockdowns - Campo has clarified that they were not preparing any legal reform to restrict fundamental rights beyond the state of alarm, and has insisted autonomous governments may seek to apply a curfew. As he explained in statements to La Sexta after the article in ElPaís, without a state of alarm nighttime mobility cannot be restricted. Nevertheless, the courts have backed curfews in the Balearic Islands and Valencia.

Casado takes pride in the polls

The situation is a new headache for Sanchez, who is trying to manage the bad results in Madrid with the rise of Pablo Casado in the polls, not only in those by traditionally conservative media. After months of assuring that they were tied with the PSOE, the leader of the PP has remarked Monday that they are now "first force at state level" and Spaniards have to know that there is an alternative that can "win" and form a "government" if elections are called. "When Spaniards are called to the polls, they can have the peace of mind that there is another alternative," he said during an event on Europe Day.

In this sense, the third vice president of the Spanish government and new face of Unidas Podemos in the executive, Yolanda Diaz, has claimed the coalition is "stronger" than ever and that they will exhaust the legislature until 2023 because "now begin the most important reforms".