Pedro Sanchez has made an unprecedented maneuver in the 15 legislatures since the 1978 Constitution came into force: has formed a Government despite having lost the general elections and despite the fact that the PP has an absolute majority in the Senate. And that is translating into a parliamentary weakness that the data no longer hides nor the murmur that exists among the Government's partners. The Executive was born seven months ago, but Sánchez has problems both in the Senate due to the majority of the PP and in Congress due to the lack of solid support: in the Upper House, he is showing signs of contempt since he has only attended once control sessionshim, while His ministers have recorded 89 absencess; in Congress, shows signs of weakness due to legislative paralysis since it does not have the strength to process laws, but it does have the capacity to block the approval of 16 PP initiatives. In fact, the figures are eloquent: the Government and the PSOE have processed fewer laws (12) than the PP (16).
The absolute majority of the PP in the Senate has become a discomfort for Sánchez since the popular ones are using the Chamber both to oppose and to take the legislative initiative. Those of Alberto Núñez Feijóo have created a Investigation Commission of the “Koldo case” that also covers the “Begoña Gómez case” and, in addition, they have processed twelve legislative initiatives, most of them with the collaboration of Government partners. The latest bill was voted on last Wednesday and includes tax exemptions for the aid received by those affected by thalidomide. The collaboration of the Government's partners suggests that a large majority of these laws may end up being approved in Congress.
To counteract the strength of the PP in the Senate, Sánchez has opted for contempt: He has only attended the control sessions once and it was March 12, so it has been more than three months during a single session, a period that no predecessor had surpassed (neither Mariano Rajoy nor José Luis Rodríguez Zapaterowho was the one who started the custom of going to the Upper House once a month). Sánchez avoids the Senate, just like his ministerswho have already registered 89 absences in 14 plenary sessions that have been held in the Senate in this legislature.
But not only do the rudenesses reflect the contempt that the Senate has for the absolute majority of the PP, but also the blockade of the 12 popular laws that come from the Upper House. In Congress, the PP has already managed to process four bills thanks to the fact that they have passed the first parliamentary filter for consideration. However, all of them (the 16) are stranded on the Congress Board, which is made up of nine members, of which five are from PSOE and Sumar. Therefore, Government parties have a majority in the key body of the Lower House and they can block the parliamentary process of the 16 PP laws, which are all in the amendment phase, without being able to move on to the Presentation phase.
However, all the PP laws, being propositions, have already had to pass a plenary vote (take into consideration) and this allows us to see if the initiative can end up being approved or not. And, as the vast majority of laws have passed the consideration with the collaboration of Government partners, everything indicates that they could end up published in the Official State Gazette and come into force.
This week, the popular have begun the process of the thalidomide e lawn the Senate and the law to put an end to multiple repeat offenders in Congress. In total, there are already 16, while the Government has registered 23 in Congress and has only approved one. Of the rest, there are only nine in processing (that is, they are in the Presentation phase, although there have really only been two that have gone to the Opinion phase, a step prior to the vote in Plenary). That is to say, all the Government's initiatives are far behind. The PSOE has registered five law proposals and has approved only the amnesty and is processing one on ALS.
While the PP manages to win votes, The Government and the PSOE have already suffered several setbacks in this legislature: they have lost a decree in January; the land bill (it was ultimately withdrawn before the vote); and, the proposed law against pimping (rejected outright by Congress). To “make up” this weakness, the socialists have sometimes chosen to vote in favor of the PP laws to prevent the victory of the popular party from being marked as a defeat of the PSOE; or, for presenting legal proposals modeled on those of the PP so that the popular initiatives are parked in a drawer, as will happen in the next Plenary Session, where the socialists bring a law to recognize, for legal purposes, the character of agents of authority to officials of Penitentiary Institutions, something that those from Feijóo were already processing.
In any case, the strength of the PP has not only been made visible with the law proposals, but also with other types of initiatives, such as non-law proposals, which are not binding but do send a message to the Government about the decisions that must be made. take. In this sense, has already won around 80 votes of this style, that “mandate” the Government to take measures in economic or international matters (deflation of personal income tax, reduction of VAT on meat and fish, recovering the “historical” position of neutrality with respect to the Sahara…).