The right-wing in Spain, led by the Popular Party (PP), has radicalized its discourse and political strategy in response to the frustration of not being able to reach government with Vox as they had planned after the 23-J election. They have questioned the legitimacy of the parliamentary majority in the Congress that supports the progressive coalition government and exercises its legislative authority. This constant harassment and attacks on the government by the PP and Vox, accompanied by grandiloquent appeals to the defense of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the integrity of Spain, are causing citizens to become increasingly disinterested in politics and damaging the pillars of democracy and the credibility of the governing institutions.
The aim of this article is to denounce what is happening in the Senate, where the absolute majority held by the Popular Party parliamentary group is being used to abuse the institution’s purposes, violating its role as defined by the Constitution with regards to the other legislative chamber, and perpetuating conflict and obstruction with the government. The Senate President seems to have forgotten that they represent the entire institution and are instead acting as the leader of the PP’s absolute majority, leading to a direct clash between this chamber and the Congress in the legislative process, as outlined in Article 90 of the Constitution.
Firstly, this abuse is evident in the unilateral modification of the Senate’s rules, without consensus, to reject the urgent processing of a law initiated by the Congress (the amnesty law) and instead process it ordinarily (a decision challenged as unconstitutional by my parliamentary group and accepted for review by the Constitutional Court). Secondly, it can be observed in the decision of the PP’s absolute majority in the Senate’s Mesa, also without any consensus, to question the Congess’s processing procedure of the amnesty bill, labeling it as a “covert constitutional reform”. This misuse of power is damaging the democratic process and disregarding constitutional principles and procedures.
The misuse and abuse of the PP’s absolute majority in the Senate can also be seen in the instrumentalization of the General Committee of the Autonomous Communities, the most important in the Chamber, to amplify political criticism of the amnesty bill by inviting regional presidents to testify, claiming the alleged regional interest of this amnesty measure. This maneuver is unprecedented in the history of the Senate and constitutes a clear overstepping of boundaries and interference in the legislative process, in this case regarding a matter that falls under the jurisdiction of the Cortes Generales. The request for reports from various bodies on the bill without legal basis is another example of this abuse of power.
The consequences of this behavior are not just limited to the Senate or the legislative process but extend to the erosion of institutional credibility and the principles of democracy. The PP’s confusion of its absolute majority in the Senate with parliamentary absolutism is dangerous and undermines the democratic rules of the game. The damage inflicted on the Senate and the disregard shown towards key institutional elements, such as the Chamber’s Legal Services, have lasting repercussions beyond the immediate political context. It is crucial to address and condemn this abuse of power to safeguard the integrity of democratic institutions and uphold the principles of accountability and transparency that underpin a functioning democracy.
