Parliamentary instability forces government to dose law | Spain

The Plenary of Congress are being very short this year. Ordinary sessions normally lasted three days, from Tuesday to Thursday. And this last day was the most important, the approval of laws. But the period of parliamentary sessions that concludes at the end of June has occupied few Thursday. Of the 11 full held since January, only four arrived on the third day. A symptom of government difficulties to legislate in a Congress without a majority and a parliamentary base With obvious ideological contradictionssometimes insurmountable obstacles that have already taken him to give up even present state budgets. The executive now tries to recover the pulse before the holidays with a package of several relevant projects.

The PP’s speech, as in so many other things, is overwhelming: the government has no majority and that leads Congress to paralysis. The proof, the popular allegations is that it has had to give up the budgets and to submit the announced to the camera Increased military spending by almost 11,000 million euros. The Executive denies such paralysis and for this invokes the 19 laws and 16 decrees approved so far from the legislature. But among his own allies, singularly those of the left wing, criticism also arise due to the lack of advances in certain legislative demands.

The comparison between the figures of this session and the same stage last year points to a reduction in legislative activity. Between January and May of 2024, with the same correlation of forces as now, Congress took into consideration 11 government bills. This year they have been five so far. What they have increased are the decrees: seven now –one, the bus, was rejected– For three then.

The five projects taken into consideration are those of social economy and regulation of the lobbiestwo reforms of the Criminal Procedure Law on the method of determining the age of migrants and their criminal responsibility, and the adhesion to four amendments of the Statute of the International Criminal Court that determine the crimes on which it is competent, the latter, processed in unique reading. The Chamber has also given the approval to the texts already elaborated from two laws: that of the right of association, which will allow illegalizing groups that exalt Francoism, and air navigation. Both, like the one relating to the International Criminal Court, are only waiting for the Senate procedure.

Government sources admit the difficulties in dealing with such a complex congress, especially with a group of behavior often unpredictable as Junts, which did not enter the equation the previous legislature. They also emphasize that the « more structural » laws were addressed in the last term, which closed with two hundred new standards approved. What they deny rounding is that legislative production has stopped.

The Government intends to give an acceleration before the summer, enabling some more in July, already outside the session. To their allies, according to parliamentary sources, have anticipated their purpose of approving in these weeks the final text of the Sustainable Mobility Law, still pending debate in the presentation, and obtaining the approval of the Plenary to activate the writing of those of Social Economy, which proposes reforms in the judicial career and the one that the State Agency of Public Health creates. For the latter it will be the second chance, after, with an already closed and apparently agreed text, PP and Junts were tumbas in full last March.

Beyond the criticisms of the PP, government allies for the left flank blame lack of decision at certain times. And there the tensions generated by the dependence of Carles Puigdemont’s party emerge. « We said from the beginning: here there are a majority of rights, » analyzes ERC spokesman Gabriel Rufián. « And before that the government has decided to put foot on the wall and not do what it has to do: legislate and, above all, negotiate. Upside down, send a fairly negative message: prioritize the most unfair partner that I have, together, I already give them the others. » In ERC it caused great discomfort that two weeks ago the PSOE Amagase with continuing to block at the table the proposal of law presented by all groups to their left to regulate seasonal rentals. Rufián until an omen is allowed: « They are doing a bad business. And this will end up assuming the departure of Sánchez de la Moncloa. »

Also EH Bildu spokeswoman, Mertxe Aizpurua, He regretted in the last control session with the President of the Government the « blockade of some social laws ». « Some forces of the majority of investiture, conveniently aligned with the retreat forces, impose their agenda, » Aizpurua granted. But at the same time he warned: « The Government also lacks a decision. » Among the laws cited by the spokeswoman Abertzale There were some that have been bogged down on the presentations that must write them. One is the one that aims to regularize immigrants, from the popular legislative initiative already taken into consideration more than a year ago. In this case, the Government He has just presented a text to promote negotiations with the groups. Another of those mentioned by Aizpurua is the reform of the Gag law, stuck after months in the presentationwhere last legislature already died for the lack of agreement between the groups. Or industry, which since February is still in the period of presentation of amendments, extended by the table every week. And the reduction of the working day, for the moment in the freezer, waiting for very arduous negotiations with Junts.

In that limbo of the deadline for the presentation of amendments – which can be extended indefinitely – 31 projects of the Executive remain. The oldest, the Family Law, which has been like this since March 2024 after 50 extensions. The universalization of the National Health System has been in the same situation for a year. The same happens with the 25 legislative proposals sent by the Senate, with an absolute majority of the PP, which periodically invokes that case To complain that they could not even debate and attack against the president of Congress, Francina Armengol.

The government limits its movements to avoid parliamentary defeats, always welcomed with euphoria on the popular bench. Since the beginning of the legislature, he has suffered 110, according to El País, less than 10% of the total voting. The vast majority have been in non -legislative initiatives, without more practical value than the political declaration.