After the elections, the formation of a government in Spain seems difficult and the possibility of a multi-month political stalemate is tangible. Could it be avoided?
After the victory of the conservative People’s Party (PP) in Sunday’s elections, which was not enough to form a government, fears of a months-long political deadlock, the so-called “bloqueo”, are intensifying in Spain. After all, the country had found itself in a similar impasse twice more, after the 2015 and 2019 elections. Both times new elections were finally called.
Except that the country, which is (still) ruled by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, now holds the EU presidency until the end of the year, in a Europe rocked by war, inflation and immigration debates. At the same time Spain is politically and socially more divided and polarized than ever.
Fears of a “bloqueo” intensify
The well-known Spanish newspaper “El Periódico” spoke on Monday of a “poisonous scenario”. “El PaÃs” columnist Javier Casqueiro described the success of PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijo as a “Pyrrhic victory”. Analysts of all shades adopted the same line: “The return of the Bloqueo”, writes the left-liberal “La Vanguardia”, while the conservative “El Mundo” sees Spain facing an “uncertain” future.
On Sunday, the PP won 47 more seats, reaching 136, but clearly lost the absolute majority. Even the 33 seats of Vox’s Eurosceptic right-wing populists, with whom the PP is willing to negotiate, is by no means enough. Polls gave the Right hopes of a sweeping victory, but that did not happen. Sanchez, for his part, rejoiced at the “failure of the regression bloc”, and so did Brussels. Rasmus Andresen, Greens representative in the European Parliament, said: “We Greens are pleased to have succeeded in stopping the shift to the right in Spain. Just a few weeks ago, the electoral victory of the conservatives was taken for granted.”
Nunez Feijo, a not so charismatic but experienced 61-year-old politician, nevertheless declared in front of thousands of his supporters in Madrid that “one should not succumb to the temptation of the bloqueo”, stressing that he will talk to various sides. But it is not at all likely that other factions will agree, as most of them categorically reject the possibility of cooperation with Vox.
Is there an alternative?
There is an alternative: Sanchez has proven again that he can overcome the backlash inside and outside his party. After the fiasco with the new sex offenders law, under which dozens of sex offenders were suddenly released and had to be reformed by express procedures, and after the failure of the Left in the regional elections at the end of May, the PSOE managed to win two additional seats.
But even with the support of 31 MPs from the left-wing electoral alliance Sumar and representatives of smaller parties, Sanchez has little chance of succeeding as a candidate for prime minister in parliament. According to analysts, the one who could turn the situation around is Carles Puigdemont. The Junts party of the Catalan separatist leader living in exile in Brussels could make a new government led by Sanchez possible if its seven MPs were absent.
Could such a thing happen? Sánchez defused tensions in the Catalan conflict and worked relatively closely with the left-wing separatist ERC party, making many friends in the region and achieving good electoral results there. Puigdemont had rejected the support of both the PP and PSOE, but Junts leader Miriam Nogueiras kept open the possibility of support on election night, with a corresponding political price, of course.
However, Puigdemont and Junts, who are further right of centre, are also a “red flag” for many PSOE voters, perhaps even worse than Vox or “Bloqueo”. Unlike the ERC, which takes a more conciliatory stance, the Junts favors a new referendum on independence, even against the will of the central state. “The fugitive Puigdemont’s legal status and his conflict-oriented strategy could lead to a deadlock that would force a repeat election,” explains “El PaÃs.”
Wide gap between PP and PSOE
One might ask why, with so many “ghosts” and risks, a “grand coalition” between PP and PSOE is not attempted? But such a solution never existed in Spain and remains unthinkable even today – and there are several reasons for this. First, the PP and PSOE are very ideologically far apart, much more so than, say, their sister German parties, the CDU and the SPD. Feijo stated repeatedly during the election campaign that he wanted to end “sancism”. He also wants the repeal of several laws protecting the environment, women’s and minority rights, which the PSOE celebrates as social achievements.
The gap between the traditional parties in Spain is so wide that even tolerating a government led by the rival leader is considered highly unlikely. After all, the Spanish are not particularly prone to political coalitions. The current left-wing coalition is the first such effort in the Spanish democracy.
Source :Skai
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
