Together announces a veto of around fifty laws from the PSOE and Sumar parties

MadridTen days after announcing its break with the PSOE, Junts has announced a veto of some fifty bills proposed by the Socialists and Sumar in Congress. The Junts spokesperson in the lower house, Míriam Nogueras, explained that they have submitted amendments to the entirety of "each and every one" of the bills presented by the parties forming the Spanish government, totaling 24, and that they will not vote in favor of another 21 bills that are nearing the end of the legislative process. In a press conference, Nogueras warned the Spanish Prime Minister that, if he does not act, he faces a total parliamentary deadlock. "Pedro Sánchez will not be able to approve the budget, the spending cap, or the Bolaños or Begoña laws. He has therefore lost his legislative power. This is a wake-up call for Sumar and the PSOE," she emphasized.

Sources at La Moncloa have reacted with the same message they sent last Monday when Carles Puigdemont announced from Perpignan that the party he leads was breaking with the PSOE. "Openness to dialogue, always. The government remains open to dialogue with all parliamentary groups," stated both the Spanish government and the PSOE. Sánchez's inner circle insists that the executive branch "is fulfilling its commitments" and is working to finalize the remaining ones. One of these is the approval of the Junts per Catalunya law on multiple recidivism, which has been stalled in Congress for a year. This Thursday afternoon, the Socialists took a step toward reactivating its processing by calling a meeting of the bill's drafting committee for next Wednesday. This is where the text of the law should begin to be agreed upon, before being approved in committee and subsequently in plenary session.

"The question is what Sánchez's government will do now, whether it will keep its promises to the Catalans," the Junts spokesperson in Congress asked this morning. She insisted that it is the PSOE that "must decide if it wants to remain in power without being able to govern," and she passed the buck to the Socialist leader regarding the future of the legislature if this deadlock is not broken. Are there any options for resolving the situation? "If they haven't honored the agreements in two years, I doubt they will now," Nogueras opined, although she did not call for elections, arguing that it is a decision that must be made by the Spanish government, not Junts. At the press conference, Nogueras criticized this attitude of "pretending that nothing is wrong" and reproached Sánchez for not appearing to "explain how he intends to govern without the necessary majority." Juntos has justified its further action by citing this inaction, specifically the registration of these amendments to the entire bill. The members of the Judiciary have emphasized that, from now on, there will be no more dialogue, collaboration, or negotiation with the Socialists.

Motion of no confidence?

Alberto Núñez Feijóo seized upon Junts' announcement to capitalize on the Spanish government's parliamentary deadlock, in a week when the PP leader is facing his own crisis over his handling of Carlos Mazón's resignation. "What was this about the most stable government in Europe?" he quipped to X, alluding to one of the arguments Sánchez has used to defend himself against criticism regarding the instability of his support in Congress. The Spanish president countered previous attacks by comparing his more than seven uninterrupted years in Moncloa with the situation in countries like France, which has had five prime ministers in two years.

Could Junts' announcement this Thursday bring a no-confidence motion with the PP closer? For the moment, the Popular Party isn't budging. Junts hasn't positioned itself on this scenario either. "If the PSOE fails its subjects, the PP will repeat the year," Nogueras remarked regarding the possibility of a pact with Feijóo's party. Several voices within the Popular Party, such as that of Deputy Secretary Carmen Fúnez, have simply called for early elections, given that they see this legislature as doomed. For now, the PP's parliamentary group in Congress has only submitted a request for Sánchez to appear "urgently" before the plenary session. "To explain how he intends to guarantee the governability of Spain, now that the investiture majority has broken down and his partners intend to promote a legislative blockade," they justified.

The rest of the plurinational majority

With a more pessimistic assessment than other partners in the plurinational majority, sources within the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) emphasized that Junts' declaration this Thursday "confirms, once again, that a negative majority exists." "We have been warning for some time that the principle of reality has been lost," the Basque nationalists reacted regarding the course of the legislature. EH Bildu downplayed the announcement of a potential blockade: "The legislature continues," proclaimed pro-independence sources. Voices from Sumar also emphasized that nothing changes and, with a different tone than the PSOE, dismissed Junts' warning. The leader of United Left (IU), Antonio Maíllo, dismissed the announcement as "fireworks," arguing that the only real way to block the legislature would be with a motion of no confidence. The spokesperson for the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Gabriel Rufián, insisted on X that this move, rather than adding pressure to the PSOE, only encourages Feijóo to present a motion of no confidence.

Laws on a Tightrope

Junts' amendments affect not only the executive's bills already registered in Congress but also those that will arrive in the future. "The nine bills that have already passed the Council of Ministers will also face amendments in their entirety when they arrive," Nogueras warned. The Spanish government will also be unable to count on the Yeah Junts has vetoed legislation that hasn't even been introduced, such as the national budget. Five initiatives are excluded from the veto because Junts had already reached written agreements with the Spanish government in exchange for their approval. Sources within Junts indicate they will not renege on these agreements, given that their criticism of the PSOE is precisely its failure to honor signed agreements.