A member of the Government acknowledged this Wednesday that the Action Plan for Democracy This is not only a measure aimed at “levelling Europe and pursuing a serious media policy”, but also “an opportunity” to extend legislative power by making promises to partners. The problem is that these promises do not always coincide with the intentions of those who sit in the Council of Ministers.
In fact, there are times when they do not agree even among the ministers themselves, much less when it comes to the Penal Code, and practically never if it affects the Crown. This is what happened to the PSOE with Unidas Podemos in the last legislature and it is happening in this one with Sumar.
Throughout the summer and especially in July, Ministers Félix Bolaños and Ernest Urtasun met with parliamentary groups to weave the beginning of the Plan. “Almost everyone,” including Sumar, said three things: repeal the gag law; reform the Official Secrets Act; and that insults against the monarchy and religious sentiments would disappear from the judicial system.
This Monday evening, a few hours after presenting the project of Action plan In the Council of Ministers, the two parties reached an agreement in principle on measures that are not very concrete, without guarantees, but easily sellable to parliamentary partners. Another of Sumar’s negotiators, Enrique Santiago, demanded that the criminal nature of insults against state institutionsto limit freedom of expression and not comply with European regulations.
The final text, in Chapter II, reads as follows: “Address a comprehensive reform of the articles of the Penal Code likely to affect the right to freedom of expression and artistic creation.” […] when referring to state institutions, whether in crimes against religious feelings, public derision or other cases.” No explicit reference to the Monarchy.
The problem between the PSOE and Sumar regarding this formulation – imposed by the socialists – is whether or not the Crown is considered part of the “institutions of the State”, or if the project implies it. In Moncloa, they assure that no, since they are part of different articles of the Penal Code: 491 for the Royal House and 492 for the rest of the institutions.
“It is not possible that insults to the Crown destroy the whole plan,” a prominent member of the socialist part of the government said on Wednesday.
On the other hand, one of Sumar’s parties responds that the text “refers to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights against Spain” which, among other things, “opposed Spanish convictions for insults to the Crown.” They especially remember the convictions against musicians and tweeters.
three more years
Pedro Sánchez’s democratic regeneration plan, officially baptized by Moncloa as Action Plan for Democracy, It contains recycled measures from previous government proposals, numerous inconcretions and generic proposals and multiple references to European directives.
Furthermore, they have very few guarantees of advancing in the parliamentary process of each of the complex legal reforms it contains. In principle, the Government justifies that the 32 measures are only “a road map” be developed during the three additional years of the legislature and, therefore, they must necessarily be generic, so that they can be negotiated and discussed by the parliamentary groups.
The controversy is whether, on the one hand, these three years can be supported, especially with such a fragmented Congress. On this subject, a minister specifies that the Plan This is precisely an “opportunity” to maintain links between partners.
However, the uncertain future of this project is demonstrated by the impossibility for some of them to advance in Parliament, especially when they were raised with a such a tight majorityconflicting interests and so little concrete.
