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Date Published: 09/06/2023
Spanish presidential candidate vows to abolish Trans and Housing laws
PP leader Núñez Feijóo is tipped to take over as President of Spain after the July 23 elections
Following an overwhelming defeat in the May local and regional elections, standing President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sánchez opted to dissolve the parliament and call for a snap general election in July, five months before the scheduled end of the legislature.
The conservative Partido Popular (PP) swept the boards last month and party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo is now the frontrunner to become the next Spanish president. As part of his election campaign, the PP head has outlined a number of controversial changes he plans to implement during his first 100 days in office, which include abolishing the pioneering Trans Law and the brand new Housing Law.
“It is easier to change your legal gender than to get a driving licence,” he said, adding that the law “is an attack against children, against parental custody and common sense.”
Trans Law
After months of negotiations, the Trans Law was eventually pushed through by Sánchez’s government earlier this year, but the legislation caused several splits, even within the parties themselves. Under the law, anyone over the age of 16 can change their gender on official documents, and children under 12 can do so with court approval.
Not only does the likely future president want to repeal this law in its entirety, but he also suggested that its driving force, the Ministry of Equality, is unnecessary and could be absorbed into another department.
Equality minister Irene Montero said that Mr Feijóo’s plans represent “an assault against “the feminist and LGBT movement, which is at the vanguard of advancing rights across the world”.
Housing Law
The PP was one of the most outspoke opponents of the Housing Law, which was only passed last month, and if he enters into power Mr Feijóo has vowed to reform the legislation from top to bottom.
While he’s promised to maintain any measures that imply tax breaks, the party leader is determined to scrap the price caps on rental properties, which was one of the star measures introduced by President Sánchez. Furthermore, he plans to lift the restrictions on landlords who own more than five properties in stressed areas.
Finally, Mr Feijóo isn’t convinced that the owners rather than the tenants should have to pay the estate agent fees, but he’s agreed to study this matter more carefully before reaching a decision.
Euthanasia Law
The conservatives also plan to make amendments to Spain’s progressive euthanasia law. which was passed in 2020 and is considered one of the most liberal in Europe. In this matter, Mr Feijóo is coming under pressure from far-right party VOX, whose backing he will almost certainly need to form a new government.
Both the Catholic Church in Spain and VOX are fiercely anti the Euthanasia Law, which the party believes contributes to “the destruction of Spain’s Christian culture”.
Image: Alberto Núñez Feijóo/Twitter
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