The Popular Party and Vox presented in March a bill called “Concordia”, a law that aimed to repeal the decree on Historical Memory approved by former popular president Juan Vicente Herrera in 2019. Now, the PP – which governs in a minority – must decide what to do with this issue, which will influence Vox’s support for future laws and budgets. And the far-right party has decided to put pressure on it, precisely with the Concord law. This new rule was normally dealt with in the regional parliament, which is why it was necessary to debate in one of the plenary sessions in September whether the Cortes would take it into account to deliberate on the bill in the corresponding committee.
This “Concord” law, against which historians and university professors had spoken out, must be approved this Thursday, otherwise it will be “in the queue”, as explained by Vox, whose spokesman, Juan García-Gallardo, has asked that the PP clarify “its principles”. The first agreement of the Council of the Cortes establishes that if a group decides not to include the initiative in a plenary session when its turn comes, this initiative “will lose its priority and will occupy the last place on the list”.
This Thursday, the President of the Parliament, Carlos Pollán (of Vox), is expected to present it so that the Table of the Cortes can debate whether or not the next step is taken. Then, it will go to the Council of Spokespersons, the body that will approve the debate to move to the plenary session. This is where the Popular Party will have to vote, and on whose vote the stability of the Parliament could depend.
A common and negotiated proposal
When the two spokesmen of the PP and Vox – now both before, after the European elections and the breakup of the government coalition – presented the “Concorde” law, which sought to “reappropriate” the common history, understood as an integrating element for reconciliation, combating any attempt by those who try to use them to divide the Spanish people. The bill sought to help the victims not only of the Civil War and Francoism – which it did not condemn – but also of the Second Republic.
In fact, the articles invoked data protection and the right to privacy of victims and perpetrators: they sought to prohibit the public dissemination of images, documents or any other material likely to reveal the identity of those involved in the recovery process, including victims and their families.
Shortly after the presentation, in a parliamentary session, the president of the regional government, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, defended this norm and assured that it did not differentiate “between good and bad victims”, but that it expanded rights and improved services. Today, Fernández Mañueco does not specify what he will do about it despite repeated requests from his former government partner, although Juan García-Gallardo stressed on Vox that “a lot of dialogue, rest and negotiation” had been dedicated to it.
Aragon and the Valencian Community have already approved their respective “Concorde” laws, a path that Vox wants to continue in Castile and León. The former regional vice-president and current spokesperson for the Vox Group, Juan García-Gallardo, asked Mañueco last week to clarify what he was going to do “beyond empty words and hollow phrases.” Although Vox has not set red lines for negotiating the next regional budgets – which Mañueco could extend until 2025 – it has made it clear that this is one of its priorities, which does not seem to fit with the PP’s current agenda.
It is no longer a “priority” for the PP
The spokesman for the Popular Group, Ricardo Gavilanes, assured that the “Concorde” Law was not among his priorities and stressed that it would be on Thursday that we would see if the process continues or is paralyzed. “We will have to evaluate the possibilities of taking it or not to the Council of Spokespersons.” “We do not have to negotiate with anyone,” he said on Monday after meeting with the regional president, with whom he did not discuss this issue, according to his words.
At the other end of the chamber, the Socialist Party maintains its “outstretched hand” to Mañueco’s PP to reach community agreements in the coming months and even in view of the new accounts. But yes, they need “proof” that the PP no longer wants to continue “feeding” Vox. For the Socialist Party, it is not enough for the “Concorde” law to remain in force. to wait for“I ask you to withdraw this law. It is not enough for me to blow and sip at the same time,” protested the opposition leader, socialist Luis Tudanca.
This is not the only bill that has not passed its registration by PP and Vox. The bill modifying the rule on Public Service (one of Vox’s hobby horses) was also left halfway, as was the noise law. Of course, the Sanitary Shield Law – Mañueco’s electoral promise – was drafted normally, approved last week precisely.
The Popular Party must take a certain step if it hopes to approve the 2025 budget, unless it intends to bring forward the elections again in search of a new “popular” absolute majority. Of course, Juan García-Gallardo has already warned it of the cost of its parliamentary support and has also warned it that it will not be “a blank check.”
