Spain: attempt to force Pedro Sánchez out of government fails

For the second time in three years, Pedro Sanchez this Wednesday he dodged a motion of censure against him promoted by the Spanish far-right Vox.

With little 53 of the 176 votes in favor of what it would have needed, the proposal to oust the PSOE leader from the government, who has a nine-month mandate before the general elections in December this year, has failed.

In the vote that took place this Wednesday, after two days of debate, 345 deputies were present: 201 votes against and 91 abstentions.

and the sixth motion of no confidence that Spain faces in a democracy, of which only the one that the current president Pedro Sánchez presented in 2018 against Mariano Rajoy, of the Popular Party (PP) has thrived.

What just failed was an initiative by Vox which, this time, avoided -as it had done in 2020- the presidential candidate, Santiago Abascal, and proposed to Ramon Tamames, a former deputy of the Spanish Communist Party who participated in the Pacts of Moncloa which in 1977 allowed Spaniards to live a peaceful transition and democratic after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco.

“I think Vox provided a service. It was a great opportunity to give a good overview of the situation of the Spanish company. This is undoubtedly the most fruitful parliamentary game,” said Tamames, a prestigious economics academic who is about to turn 90 and whose speech was leaked to the press a few days before the debate in Parliament.

The candidate, who skipped part of the parliament he had prepared to shorten it, found the deputies’ speeches lengthy.

He even complained about the time it took the prime minister to defend himself against the no-confidence motion: “That you come here with a 20-page bill willing to talk…”, was the complaint with which Tamames interrupted Pedro Sánchez and earned him a challenge from the president of Congress, Meritxell Batet.

During Tuesday’s debate, Tamames did not mention the electoral advance, Vox’s main interest in presenting the motion of censure against Sánchez. He didn’t even applaud the interventions of the group leader who nominated him.

“This is not a parliamentary session, it is a preparatory rally for the May 28 elections”, said Tamames, referring to the electoral calendar that awaits the Spaniards: municipal and regional elections in May and general elections in December.

PP abstention

As expected, all parties voted against except the 52 Vox deputies and one deputy who belonged to the liberal Ciudadanos party and is now part of the mixed bloc. The PP abstained.

“The motion has remained inactive,” said the general secretary of the PP and his spokesman in Parliament, Cuca Gamarra.

“A Gift to the Government”

“We are first an inexplicable gift to the government. Because with the foreseeable defeat of the motion, he will be able to perform a unit that does not haveGamarra insisted.

For the opposition to the PSOE-Podemos coalition led by Sánchez, the motion of no confidence has allowed the Executive to project in Parliament and in front of the 47 million Spaniards an image of unity that it really does not have.

The distances between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos are increasingly evident, despite both sides declaring that there will be no divorce in a marriage of convenience thanks to the one who managed to form a government in 2019.

“We have had a progressive coalition government for a long time,” said second vice president of the government and minister of labor and social economy, Yolanda Díaz, outside Congress.

During the two days of debate, Díaz defended the management of his government together with Pedro Sánchez.

“We took the motion of no confidence very seriously. We incorporated citizens’ concerns into the no-confidence motion debate, and both the president and I did what we had to do: Be responsible of what we are doing,” said Díaz, who on April 2 will launch his candidacy as leader of a new political force, Sumar.

“What we saw yesterday is this without alternatives to the progressive coalition government”, added the minister who in 2021 was consecrated by Pablo Iglesias as the voice of Podemos when he left the government and the leadership of the party from which Díaz is now trying to distance himself.

“We will not vote in favor of this motion out of respect for the Spaniards and we will not vote against it out of respect for you, Mr. Tamames”, clarified the parliamentary spokesman of the PP.

“Today we are not facing a censure of Sánchez, but rather the gift of a parliamentary victory to Sánchez,” he added.

“For once do something noble for your country and call (elections). Leave with dignity. You know very well that your time is up. Let’s get out of Pedro Sánchez’s Spain and feel the real Spain at the polls”, Cuca Gamarra shot Sánchez.

“This motion of censure is yet another attempt to stop the transformative and reformist work of this executive,” said the head of government.

“And what does the absentee leader of the traditional right say today in the face of this story being repeated this time as a farce? Shut up. But with his silence he says it all,” Sánchez retorted, alluding to Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the PP.

“What do they know and They need Vox to be able to rule in communities and town halls starting next May 28th. That’s why the Popular Party goes from a dignified ‘no’ to an indecent ‘abstain’”, added Sánchez.

This no-confidence motion was more a critical analysis to government management than a real attempt to force the departure of the head of government. There were debates, verbal attacks and altered tones of voice, but one essential element was missing for a motion of censure to be effective: the presentation of an alternative government programme.

However, on leaving Parliament, Santiago Abascal said he was satisfied. “We knew how the result would be. We knew what was going to happen. we believe that this government is portrayed. We have once again represented one of the worst governments in our history,” said the leader of Vox.

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