Why this time are important the elections of the Senate?

MadridNormally, the Senate is a secondary chamber in the day-to-day politics in Madrid. Although the PP this term, where it has an absolute majority, has turned it into the scourge against the socialist government—the toughest control sessions for ministers were in the upper house—and the cradle of all investigative commissions that affected the PSOE. However, in the next elections to the Senate, also set for November 29, not only are the majorities in the upper house at stake, but there is also on the table, indirectly, a change of majorities in the Constitutional Court.

For what reason? The Senate is composed of 266 senators, about sixty of whom are designated by the autonomous communities. The rest are chosen directly on the day of the general elections through a majority system of limited voting with open lists. In 2023, the PP managed to surpass the absolute majority and, in the next ones, it expects an even better result. That is why, some parliamentary sources interpret, it is now blocking the renewal of up to four magistrates of the Constitutional Court. One of whom is the president himself, Cándido Conde-Pumpido. If the selection were made now, the distribution would be 2-2 between conservatives and progressives; on the other hand, if it is done after November 29, when the PP expects to have an even better result, and Vox too, they aspire to be able to propose up to four conservative magistrates. This is not a minor change: if the new members of the TC were all proposed by the right, a change of majorities would occur: from progressive to conservative in the high court.

To be able to achieve this, the PP would have to reach three-fifths of the Senate, which it considers feasible based on what the polls give it and also because it already has many senators designated by the autonomous communities governed by the right. However, this wait means that there is now a blockage in the Constitutional Court and that, for example, its president maintains the leadership of the high court even though his mandate has already expired.

Last week, in the informative breakfast that Conde-Pumpido offered at the Real Casino de Madrid, this issue did not go unnoticed. The magistrate made a call to the PP and the PSOE to renew the body and, afterwards, announced that he would retire to "private life".

Left-wing alliance?

For this reason, various progressive voices are asking the left to explore an alliance and not to run separately against the Popular Party and Vox. It must be taken into account that, unlike the Congress, the Senate has a majority electoral system with open lists, so it rewards the concentration of the vote on certain candidates. In Catalonia in the years 2000, 2004, and 2008, the PSC, ERC, and ICV ran together for the Senate under the brand Entesa Catalana de Progrés. And in 2023, the experience was repeated in Ibiza and Formentera, where the PSOE, Sumar, Esquerra Unida, and Ara Eivissa allied to gain representation. It is, in fact, the only senator that the space to the left of the socialists obtained. Will they repeat this scheme on a national scale? For the moment, Sumar is still choosing its visible face and has to resolve whether it will run jointly with Irene Montero's Podemos.