Date Published: 13/11/2023
What Sanchez has promised each party in order to stay in power in Spain
Sánchez will be inaugurated as President of the Spanish Government in a few days
After a stormy few months, Spain’s caretaker president, Pedro Sánchez, will begin his second term as head of the government once he’s sworn in next week, but his return to power has required some major concessions.
After the now-distant elections of July 27, neither Sánchez nor his rival Alberto Núñez Feijóo emerged as clear winners; the sitting president required 179 votes to secure his investiture while the PP leader struggled from the beginning with only the support of right-wing VOX.
Just when it was looking like people in Spain would be sent back to the polls, Sánchez has cinched the required votes, but he’s given in to some rather controversial demands in order to do so.
Here’s a summary of what he’s promised his new partners, namely Junts, ERC, Bildu, PNV, BNG, CC and Sumar, to remain in power for another four years.
Sumar (31 votes)
- Reduce the standard working hours and a shock plan to tackle youth unemployment.
- Improve the public health system.
- Increase public housing so that it represents 20% of all properties.
- Review upwards the objectives of the Climate Change Law.
- Extend paid maternity leave and ensure access to public preschools for all children under two.
- Increase the tax on banks and energy companies and reform the corporate tax system.
Junts (7 votes)
- Amnesty to politicians and citizens linked to all Catalan separatist actions carried out between 2012 and 2023.
- Explore the possibility of an independence referendum in Catalonia in the future.
- Facilitate the return of the corporate headquarters of major companies to the region.
- Expand the direct participation of Catalonia in European institutions and other international organisations and entities.
ERC (7 votes)
- Catalonia’s Republican Left (ERC) were also central to negotiating the amnesty law which has sparked protests up and down the country.
- Transfer the management of Rodalies, Catalonia’s commuter train services, to the regional government.
- Reduce Catalonia’s debt with the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA) by 15 billion euros.
EH-Bildu (6 votes)
- Although Bildu quickly offered its support to Sánchez, no formal meetings or negotiations took place so it’s not clear if any concessions have been offered yet.
PNV (5 votes)
- National recognition of the Basque Country as its own regional territory.
- Compliance with the Statute of Gernika of 1979 within the "non-extendable" period of two years and commitment to "remove" the "legal obstacles" that "prevent greater exercise of self-government.
- Modify the Workers’ Statute so that decisions made at a region level will trump national decisions.
- Strengthen and expand the Economic Agreement relating to taxes and debt limits.
- Extend the powers of the local police force, the Ertzaintza, to cover the Port of Bilbao, crimes against the environment and cybersecurity.
BNG (1 vote)
- Reduce Galicia’s public debt by 20%.
- Discounts on the AP-9 and AP-53 motorways and commuter trains.
- More gender violence courts and improvements in pensions.
CC (1 vote)
- Transfer the 100 million euros that had been budgeted in 2023 for the La Palma Recovery Plan before the end of the fiscal year.
- The 'Canarian Agenda': respect the Canarian jurisdictions, execute bilateral agreements, solidarity policy in migration management, transfer of powers from the Statute of Autonomy and apply compensatory measures for remoteness, insularity and social and economic cohesion.
Image: La Moncloa via Wikimedia Commons
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