In the last few hours, the parliamentary majority that Pedro Sánchez's government had enjoyed since 2023 has been lost.
In a meeting held this Monday, the leadership of the Catalan separatist party Junts announced that it is breaking its alliance with the Sánchez government, an alliance that allowed the socialist leader to remain in power after losing the general elections held two years ago.
Apparently, this change does not worry Sánchez because he is entrenched in power. Let us remember that a year ago he already stated that he would govern without legislative power, that is, dispensing with the support of Parliament and systematically resorting to decrees, as he has been doing since coming to power, turning an emergency legislative mechanism into something everyday, in a clear gesture of authoritarianism.
Many Spaniards are wondering what will happen now and what real consequences Junts' announcement will have, because the separatist party doesn't seem to have any intention of supporting a possible motion of no confidence, even if it were only to call new elections. I think this doubt is being posed in the wrong direction: the logical thing to ask would be what Sánchez will do without having the parliamentary majority necessary to govern, a situation that in many other countries would lead to the calling of new elections. For once, I'll make an exception and say that Sánchez should heed his own words, specifically those he left in writing seven years ago, when he was in the opposition.
As many will remember, on February 28, 2018, with a Popular Party government (with Mariano Rajoy) with a simple majority, Sánchez wrote these words on Twitter:
"I demand that @marianorajoy present the General State Budget now and if he cannot count on a parliamentary majority to approve it, he calls the Spanish people to the polls so that a different majority can be built."
That message can still be read on Sánchez's social media account:
Le exijo a @marianorajoy que presente ya los Presupuestos Generales del Estado y que si no puede contar con una mayoría parlamentaria para aprobarlos, convoque a los españoles a las urnas para que se pueda construir una mayoría distinta. pic.twitter.com/l5zKPd5mE8
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 28, 2018
Seven years later, Sánchez is governing with the public accounts approved in 2022, which he has been forced to extend since then since he has not been able to muster a parliamentary majority capable of approving new ones. Everything seems to indicate that the 2026 budget, which should have been presented by now, will not have the necessary support either to be approved, that is if the government even makes the effort to present them, because it seems determined to fail to comply with its constitutional duty in this regard.
In case anyone didn't understand its meaning, Sánchez's message in 2018 had a reason to be: a government without parliamentary support is not fit to govern. Spain is a parliamentary democracy, in which the government is elected by Parliament, so without its support, the government's permanence in office makes no sense. Sánchez no longer has any political legitimacy to remain in office, where he is only thanks to the votes of Junts, through which the socialist leader has done unspeakable and intolerable things in a democracy.
So, what Sánchez should do is call elections and let the Spanish people choose a new parliamentary majority. You don't have to be a fortune teller to know that he won't do that. If he has proven anything so far, it is that he is a liar and a cheat who demands of others what he himself is not willing to do, accepting no standard other than his own personal desires and interests.
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Photo: Efe.
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