The Government presented this week its so-called democratic regeneration plan with the idea of approving various measures for the remainder of the legislature. The Executive has set itself new tasks, without having resolved the previous ones: the lack of support from Sánchez prevents it from approving 24 regulations included in the Government pact with Sumar.
To form the current coalition, the PSOE and Sumar signed an agreement in which, as this newspaper has analyzed, they commit to promoting a total of 31 new laws. This is an ambitious project that, in a parliamentary minority, can only be achieved through pacts. And Sánchez does not have enough agreements at the moment and realizes that the investiture majority is not a majority for the legislative body.
Of the 31 laws included in the pact, the government has only been able to approve 7 since its creation. Thus, 24 new laws are pending execution, in addition to those included in the regeneration plan. Of these 24, ten are blocked in the parliamentary process of Congress and 14 have not even been addressed yet.
In addition, the government pact contains 13 other, more vague commitments to reform, modify or develop existing laws. All this adds a burden that, without parliamentary support, remains blocked and complicates the government’s work to approve the measures.
Among the regulations already being developed in the Congress of Deputies are the Customer Service Act or the creation of the Financial Customer Defense Authority. These are just one example, but a very instructive one. Both are eligible for the urgent procedure, which shortens processing times, and despite this, the deadline for submitting amendments has been extended 19 and 15 times respectively.
Something similar happens with the Family law. This rule had already been promoted by Ione Belarra during the last legislature and declined when the courts were dissolved and elections were called. However, this rule has been blocked in the Lower House since last March. It is also subject to the emergency procedure and the deadline for submitting amendments has been extended no less than 20 times.
It is the Congressional Council, controlled by the PSOE and Sumar, that decides on the extension of the deadline for changing the rules. The lack of support from Sánchez leads the Council, on the one hand, not to advance the government’s regulations so that they do not decline and, on the other hand, not to allow others from the opposition to be processed, such as those that come from the Senate.
And the earrings?
This complicates the future of the PSOE rules and the Sumar agreement that are already being drawn up. But it also makes it difficult for new candidates to arrive. In fact, most of the laws spelled out in the pact have not yet been implemented. There are 14 of them, and some are very remarkable.
The best example is that of reduction of working hourswhose second vice-president Yolanda Diaz has made her figurehead. Not only does the norm not find the support of social agents, but once presented, it will have to convince the Congress of Deputies.
Some parties that participated in the investiture of Pedro Sánchez may not agree with the proposal that Labor would present to the Lower House, whenever it comes up. In addition, to implement any regulation, the Executive will also have to negotiate, which implies offering something in exchange.
Although the reduction of working hours is a law that, as one might expect, enjoys some social support, this does not mean that its implementation will be easy. Something similar happened with the ALS Act: The parties agreed that something had to be done, not how, and the rule was blocked from the last legislature until this week when the PSOE gave in, including the demands of the PP.
There will also be complications in implementing some of the 13 reforms agreed by the PSOE and Sumar in their coalition agreement. While some minor reforms could move some countries forward, others, such as the reform of the so-called gag law, could be stifled.
In addition to being included in the Government pact, the reform of the gag law It was also included in the democratic regeneration plan presented last Tuesday. And this rule will also be difficult to change.
Although there is a relative consensus among the left-wing parties, the last legislature failed due to the lack of agreement between Unidas Podemos and the PSOE with EH Bildu and ERC. And although the procedure has not yet been discussed and they have not yet sat down to debate, the positions were so entrenched that it is very difficult to change minds.
