The Spanish government approves 'in extremis' the housing decree laws, but without yet having the support of its partners

MadridAfter hours of very intense negotiation, the PSOE and Sumar have reached an agreement in extremis within the Council of Ministers to approve a package of housing measures. "The effort was worth it," proclaimed the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, in the subsequent press conference, although at this moment it could all last less than a week: there is no agreement among the groups of the plurinational majority to pass the filter of the Congress of Deputies. In fact, they do not yet have a definitive text on which to pronounce themselves, as it is being finalized following the last-minute agreement of the coalition partners. The vote, in any case, will take place on Friday in the Congress of Deputies, because the Spanish executive has requested an extraordinary plenary session, also taking advantage of the pressure on the street, especially in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, where the encampment continues. "The social context gives us an opportunity," admit sources from Moncloa, who must manage to put Junts and Podemos in the same equation.

The Spanish President himself, Pedro Sánchez, has called for the approval of this "ambitious" package. In a video published on X, he defended that the housing decree laws allow for "building a sufficient parliamentary majority to combat the housing emergency." Thus, he has appealed to the left-wing and plurinational parties, since he admitted that from the PP and Vox "he can expect nothing": "We have listened and we have acted. Now it is up to the groups to do their job. I ask that you be empathetic with the citizenry and prioritize the interests of the people over those of the speculators." "We have a unique opportunity," he stated.

What exactly has the Spanish government approved? To begin with, the PSOE and Sumar have decided to split the measures into two different decree-laws. A first one that includes measures demanded by both the left and Junts and the PNB –the doubt is whether it is viable for all of them to go through at once–: the extraordinary two-year rental extension, the halt of evictions for vulnerable families, the regulation of room rentals, the prohibition for vulture funds of the "speculative purchase" of housing –although it remains to be seen how they are defined– and tax bonuses for both landlords and tenants. And a second decree-law that goes further and establishes indefinite rental contracts, a request from the Tenants' Union that had also been adopted by Sumar as well as Podemos, ERC, Bildu, Compromís and the BNG, and which has been the point of contention with the PSOE until the end.

With this division of measures, the Spanish government intends to approve at least the first one and trusts that social pressure will tip the balance in favor of the second one as well. Right now, however, it has no guaranteed support: in fact, this Tuesday, with a draft of the measures, everyone found flaws in it. Junts asserted that the philosophy "moves away" from the agreement they had worked on with the PSOE, while Podemos spoke of a "patch". In any case, Rodríguez trusts in the "generosity" of the plurinational majority because she considers that they have found "a balance" that everyone can buy into. And she lashed out at the PP: "Why does Alberto Núñez Feijóo not want to end vulture funds?", she retorted. The minister, thus, wanted to express her indignation, despite being in government, at cases such as that of Maricarmen Abascal, the elderly woman who was evicted from her home at 87 years old: "It is undignified. We cannot allow it".

The key, Junts and Podemos

To understand the difficulty of squaring the circle, one only needs to explain the behavior of the Sumar ministers. After arriving late to the Council of Ministers meeting and pressuring the PSOE until the last minute, they have decided to hold a press conference parallel to the official one at Moncloa to nuance their position. Despite the pact, they have made it clear that there are measures they do not share.

The head of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, said that he rejects the tax breaks, which were a demand from Junts and were included with the desire "to reach an agreement." He also verbalized that the five Sumar ministers wanted a single decree law and that the automatic renewal of contracts be included in the same package –reports Martí Odriozola–. In relation to this, the Minister of Housing justified that they had not worked on this measure with the groups, unlike the rest, which have already been debated and even defeated several times in the Congress of Deputies.

Precisely the fact that they are separated into two different packages alienates Podemos. "It's a mockery," asserted the general secretary, Ione Belarra, who has not clarified the meaning of her vote. "The only goal is to whitewash the Spanish government and contain a social mobilization that is historic," she summarized in Congress. For their part, Junts does not clarify what it will vote either and asks for time to study the latest version of the decree laws. However, they are wary of what they are learning through the media. For Gabriel Rufián (ERC), on the other hand, the meaning of the vote is clear: yes. Despite considering the decree law insufficient, he believes the measures are "useful" and directly challenges Junts: "Why does Junts vote in a self-destructive way if it falls week after week in the polls?", he asked. Carles Puigdemont's party will be, once again, in the eye of the hurricane until Friday's vote.