Spain’s snap elections: Let the voters have their say
Pedro Sánchez’s announcement following the failure of the housing decrees to secure congressional passage will provide an opportunity for much-needed clarity after a legislative term marked by deadlock and tension
There are moments in the life of democracies when parliament, because of its divisions and deadlocks, is unable to respond to the urgent needs of a country — and when that happens, it means it is time to give citizens a voice. Spain is living through one of those moments.
The failure of two housing decrees to secure passage in Congress on Friday led Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to bring the term to an early end, amid a deep societal and political debate over the insurmountable barriers that many people face in accessing rental housing and home ownership. Galvanized by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, the debate goes far beyond that particular case and touches on existential issues such as the constitutional promise of “a decent quality of life.” Faced with the current parliamentary paralysis — a government without a majority and beset by legal cases, and a right- and far-right opposition that has pushed the tension inside Congress to unprecedented levels — democracy has a mechanism to untie the knot: early elections.
The November 29 election announced on Monday will allow parties and candidates to confront each other’s proposals on issues such as the housing crisis, which has mobilized tens of thousands of people in the streets, and to resolve at the ballot box what worries and divides society. After years of polarization and partisanship in the worst sense of the term, it is time for clarification.
The playing field is defined. The Popular Party (PP) and Vox already have their roadmap: they will focus on the corruption cases affecting the Socialist Party (PSOE) and on the Ceuta crisis after the influx in late July of 70,000 people from Morocco. The risk for PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who aspires to succeed Pedro Sánchez at La Moncloa, the seat of government, is that in his eagerness to broaden his base to the right he may radicalize his positions so much that he scares off moderate voters.
The PSOE and the left are reaching the end of the term with the polls against them, but in the protests after Maricarmen Abascal’s eviction they have found a lever to mobilize the grassroots. After months consumed by legal cases, they can now return the debate to the realm of social policies: those aimed at addressing citizens’ everyday needs, such as housing, education and healthcare, areas in which the socialists have driven decisive changes during decades of democracy.
Faced with profound public discontent over housing, the government has at least made a belated effort to begin seeking answers. The political right — the national parties as well as the Catalan regional party Junts — frustrated it. Social democracy now has an opportunity to demonstrate that its solutions are still valid, and to assert its legacy of social progress, as well as the pacification of Catalonia after the unilateral secession bid, and Spain’s role in a world where multilateralism and international law are under assault.
There is a danger that no one, progressive or conservative, should underestimate: the possibility that, for the first time since the death of the dictator Francisco Franco and the consolidation of democracy, a far-right formation could govern in Spain. Today that possibility is real. Vox appears to be the partner the PP would favor if it wins without an absolute majority, but it is not a party like the others. The xenophobic rhetoric of its leaders, its proximity to global racist movements and parts of its program that contradict the Constitution place it in positions more radical even than leaders such as Giorgia Meloni of Italy or Marine Le Pen of France. The election will give voters a chance to scrutinize every platform, including those that could have a destructive impact on a diverse and pluralistic society.
Nothing has been decided yet. The prospect of a government with Vox ministers and policies cannot be trivialized, nor should the major parties resign themselves to that outcome. The Spanish elections will also be decisive on this crucial question for Spain and for its position in Europe and the world. It is time for the voters to have their say.
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