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 the whole thing could last less than a week: there is no agreement among the groups of the plurinational majority for it 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 polished after 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 at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, where the encampment is being maintained. "The social context gives us an opportunity," admit sources from the 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 argued that the housing decree-laws allow for "building a sufficient parliamentary majority to combat the housing emergency." Thus, he appealed to the left-wing and plurinational parties, as he admitted that from the PP and Vox "one cannot expect anything": "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 divide 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 rent extension, the halt of evictions for vulnerable families, the regulation of room rentals, the prohibition for vulture funds of "speculative buying" 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 both Sumar and 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 has lashed out at the PP: "Why doesn't Alberto Núñez Feijóo want to end vulture funds?" The minister, thus, wanted to express her indignation, despite being in the government, regarding cases like 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 decided to hold a press conference parallel to the official one at Moncloa to qualify 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 he rejects the tax breaks, which were a demand from Junts and were included with the desire "to reach an agreement." He also stated that the five Sumar ministers wanted a single decree-law and for the automatic renewal of contracts to 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 others, 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 secretary general, Ione Belarra, who has not clarified the meaning of her vote. "The only objective is to save face for the Spanish government and contain a social mobilization that is historic," she summarized in Congress. In turn, Junts does not clarify either what it will vote 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. Although he considers 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?" Carles Puigdemont's party will, once again, be in the eye of the hurricane until Friday's vote.