It was the most anticipated federal committee in recent years, and Pedro Sanchez I only had to answer one question. How does the Catalan agreement between the PSC and the ERC fit into the principle of equality of all Spanish citizens?
But the speech of the President of the Government not only did not answer the question that all socialist militancy was waiting for, but it added another one. How does Sánchez intend to govern a parliamentary democracy without Parliament?
Sánchez announced in his speech that “there is a long government” and then repeated the main points of his government program, which he had already cited in his speech at the beginning of the legislature last Wednesday: economic competitiveness and dignity of work, welfare state, housing, international peace and equality, “the cause of social democracy.”
But Sánchez immediately announced his determination to “push this agenda forward, with or without the support of the opposition, with or without the help of a legislative power which must be more constructive and less restrictive“.
Spain is a parliamentary system. Article 66.1 of the Constitution states that “the General Cortes represent the Spanish people and are composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.”
In Article 66.2, the Constitution provides that “the General Courts exercise the legislative power of the State, approve its budgets, They control the actions of the government and have the other powers assigned to them by the Constitution.”
Put another way. It is impossible in a democracy to govern without the help of the legislative branch. This newspaper has never given space to voices that accuse Pedro Sánchez of being an autocrat, but statements like the one made before the federal committee of his party are worrying. and cannot even be kindly interpreted as a mistakesince his speech was written in advance.
This statement, yes, can be interpreted as a recognition of weakness. But the will expressed by Pedro Sánchez has been to exhaust the legislative power at all costs. Sánchez, in fact, could have acknowledged the impossibility of obtaining a stable majority and announced the calling of early elections.
Without the Parliament, the agreement signed by Salvador Illa and ERC for a Catalan concert is a dead letter. The reform of the LOFCA is impossible without the support of the Congress of Deputies. Without Parliament, it is impossible to govern. In the best case, a government without the support of the legislative power can only aspire to perpetuate itself in Moncloa, but in an almost lethargic state.
Perhaps Pedro Sánchez is preparing his party to recognize the loss of its parliamentary majority and call elections in 2025. That is a possibility.
But the mere fact that the president has announced, even as a mere possibility, his intention to govern “with or without the help of the legislative branch” should be interpreted as a threat that should not be ignored.
