Felipe VI proposed last night the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, as a candidate for the presidency of the government, under article 99 of the Constitution, which grants the head of state the power to designate the candidate for head of the executive, once heard the representatives of the political forces present in the Congress of Deputies. The decision was not easy and has been adopted in accordance with the customary rule: tradition.
The statement from the Casa del Rey reports that the designation of the Popular Party candidate follows tradition: since the Constitution came into force (1978), in all but one legislature, the first candidate for investiture has been leader of the party with the most seats. The exception was registered in January 2016, when Mariano Rajoy declined the commission, to save time, and the first investiture debate of the XI legislature had Pedro Sánchez as candidate, which he lost. Tradition. "In the consultation procedure, to date, the existence of a sufficient majority for the investiture has not been verified, which, in its case, would cause this custom to decline," the statement said. The note from the Casa del Rey recalls that the head of state will process successive proposals if the current candidate does not obtain the investiture.
Núñez Feijóo currently has 172 sure votes (Popular Party, Unión del Pueblo Navarro, Vox and Canary Islands Coalition) and aspires to the abstention of the Basque Nationalist Party and Junts per Catalunya (you read that correctly). The popular leader had a telephone conversation with Santiago Abascal yesterday, who has demanded guarantees of respect. There was peace. momentary peace. What does that mean? Maintain standing all the pacts signed between both formations in the town halls and the autonomous communities. And then there is the question of Murcia. We will soon see if Vox enters the Murcian regional government or elections are repeated in that autonomous community.
The truce between Vox and PP – the full validity of the entente between the extreme right and the Spanish right affiliated with the European Popular Party – makes it impossible for the Basque Nationalist Party to abstain, eight or nine months before the elections to the Basque Parliament, with EH Bildu disputing Sabin Etxea's men for first place. Through its experienced spokesman in Madrid, Aitor Esteban, the PNV has once again insisted that it cannot give the green light to Núñez Feijóo because of that historical commitment of the popular with the extreme right. Every time they take the floor, the Basque nationalists offer one more nuance to their position. Yesterday Esteban confirmed that the PNV has reconciled with Junts, as reported by La Vanguardia last Monday. Relations between Sabin Etxea and Carles Puigdemont cooled down after the events of October 2017. Aitor Esteban explained yesterday that the PNV has contributed these days to the dialogue between the PSOE and Junts.
PP sources say that they also aspire to the abstention of the group led by Puigdemont. It is a good tactic to create atmosphere. Generate the feeling that everything will be possible when Núñez Feijóo rises to the rostrum of Congress. Genoa has been sending morse signals to Waterloo these weeks. Among the most pragmatic sectors of Junts, the negotiation with the PP would not be a major inconvenience. But studies on space-time alterations are not advanced enough to generate a wormhole, like the one in the movie Interstellar, which directly communicates Prada de Conflent (August 2023) with the halls of the Majestic Hotel (April 2023). nineteen ninety six).
Feijóo offers a short hypothesis. Sánchez works with a still inconclusive hypothesis. The leader of the Popular Party, without sufficient numbers, unless astrophysics surprises us. The socialist leader, with the cake still in the oven.
The day before yesterday, the PSOE decided to facilitate the decision of the head of state, by announcing that it does not consider the appointment of Feijóo a setback. "What the King decides will seem good to us," said socialist sources. With that statement they gained centrality and time. Sánchez needs time to conclude a complex negotiation with Junts and Esquerra Republicana, but also with PNV and Bildu. And with the BNG. Without forgetting Sumar, who will not want to be a stone guest, since the five deputies of Podemos (elected on Sumar's lists) begin to emit signs of concern about Yolanda Díaz's kindness to Sánchez.
Why has Feijóo shown so much interest in a vote that he will surely lose? He wants to establish the position of winner of the elections before a possible repetition of these, or a new period of opposition. He wants to keep the leadership of the PP. He wants to sow for the future. After the Basque elections (perhaps in April 2024) and after the European elections (June 2024) there may be a new political landscape. And he wants to put Vox through a prolonged stress session. Feijóo and his team believe that they can win later, if they resist. In Spain it is always about resisting.
