The PP is considering taking the State out of private companies if it wins on November 29.

There is no single parliamentary procedure that must be followed for every State divestment in private companies. The decisive issue is whether the sale can be executed under current legislation or requires amending a law. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish the legal authorization of the operation, the effective transfer of shares, and the political control of the Cortes.

1. Determine if a law is needed

Selling a state stake does not, by itself, equate to approving a regulation. If the applicable legislation allows the operation to be carried out through decisions by the Executive or the entity holding the shares, that decision should not be confused with prior parliamentary authorization.

Legislative intervention is necessary when the divestment requires changing an obligation or limitation established by law. A regulation or administrative agreement cannot modify what a law sets, except by express legal authorization. To specify the path of a particular sale, it is necessary to identify the company, who owns the shares, and what legal regime applies.

2. If a law is needed: Congress and Senate

When the operation requires legislative reform, the ordinary process would be as follows:

• Presentation. The Government approves a bill in the Council of Ministers and submits it to the Congress. It can also start from a parliamentary bill proposal, which normally must pass the consideration stage: the decision to begin processing it.
• Admission and amendments. The Congress Board admits the initiative and opens the possibility to submit modifications. If total amendments are presented, a debate is held on the global rejection or the alternative proposed.
• Study and approval in Congress. The text and amendments are examined, and the committee report is prepared. Approval corresponds to the Plenary, unless approval in committee with full legislative competence is applicable.
• Senate intervention. It can approve the text, introduce amendments, or veto it. If it introduces changes or a veto, Congress intervenes again. It can override the veto by absolute majority or, after two months, by simple majority.
• Publication and effectiveness. After royal sanction and promulgation, the law is published in the BOE and comes into force on the scheduled date or, failing that, after twenty days.

3. Exceptional route: royal decree-law

If there is extraordinary and urgent need and constitutional limits are respected, the Government can approve a regulation with the force of law through a royal decree-law. This is not an alternative available solely to accelerate the sale.

Its effectiveness can begin before parliamentary pronouncement, but Congress must decide its validation or repeal within a maximum of thirty days. Additionally, it can agree to process it as a bill to allow amendments.

4. Parliamentary control does not mean authorization

Questions, interpellations, appearances, and requests for documentation allow oversight of the decision. They do not replace the legal instrument necessary to sell. Nor does a non-legislative motion alone authorize the operation: it expresses a political position but does not create legal obligations equivalent to a law.

In conclusion: first it must be determined if there is a legal obstacle requiring intervention by the Cortes. If there is, it must be modified through a regulation with the force of law. If not, the entire legislative procedure should not automatically be applied to the sale. In any case, approving an enabling law does not equate to transferring the shares: the operation must be executed according to the applicable regime.

According to the national Statutes of the Popular Party, the Deputy Secretary of Economy does not have a fixed and closed catalog of powers. Their role derives from the general rules on party leadership, while their specific responsibilities depend on the internal organization approved by the National Executive Committee at the president's proposal. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between statutory attributions and tasks assigned through organizational agreements.

What the Statutes establish

The 2025 national Statutes contemplate a national leadership whose organization may include coordinators, deputy general secretaries, deputy secretaries, and secretaries. It is the National Executive Committee's responsibility to approve that organization at the president's proposal. The denomination "Economy" thus identifies a political responsibility area within that structure, but not an autonomous and unchanging statutory competence.

The general framework places the president at the head of the PP's political action and assigns the National Executive Committee the execution of decisions from the Congress and the National Board of Directors, as well as the direction of the party's ordinary activity. The action of a deputy secretariat must fit within those decisions and guidelines, not be understood as an independent power from the leadership bodies.

Functions that may be attributed

The organizational conclusion is that the deputy secretary is responsible for directing and coordinating the economic area entrusted to them. This includes organizing their teams and articulating political proposals within the leadership's guidelines. However, it would not be necessary to present a list of usual tasks —advice, programmatic development, sectoral interlocution, or public defense of proposals— as if each were expressly attributed to that position in the Statutes.

It is also not appropriate to deduce from the title that they can unilaterally set all the party's economic policy, direct their parliamentary groups without limits, or assume any negotiation on behalf of the PP. The scope of such actions depends on organizational agreements, decisions of competent bodies, and assignments received.

How the economic scope was specified

As an example of such specification through agreements, the agreement announced on September 15, 2025 organized the Deputy Secretariat of Economy and Sustainable Development into six coordinations:

• Economy.
• Trade, Investments, and Business.
• Rural Policy.
• Energy and Sustainability.
• Industry, Digitalization, and Artificial Intelligence.
• Employment and Social Dialogue.

This distribution shows which matters were assigned to the area at that time. It does not constitute a permanent statutory enumeration: it is a structural decision that can be modified. Furthermore, the existence of other deputy secretariats requires attention to the approved distribution, rather than interpreting "Economy" as a universal attribution over any economic issue.

What should not be confused with this position

Political responsibility over the economy does not equate to managing the PP's internal finances. The Statutes assign economic-financial functions to the Director General of Finance and Organization, including preparing accounts, territorial financial supervision, payment ordering, and expense authorization. These functions should not be automatically transferred to the Deputy Secretary of Economy.

In short, the strictly statutory answer is that it is a political leadership responsibility whose specific content is established organizationally. To know their exact powers at a given time, the Statutes must be read together with the applicable structural agreement; the position's name alone is not sufficient.

The State can maintain stakes in strategic companies but must respect budgetary, corporate, sectoral, and European rules. There is no general authorization that, by labeling a company as strategic, allows unlimited intervention in its management. Additionally, it is necessary to distinguish between holding ordinary shares and having special veto rights.

1. Legal basis and participation vehicle

Article 128 of the Constitution recognizes public initiative in economic activity. On that basis, Law 5/1996, of January 10, regulates the State Industrial Holdings Company —SEPI— and allows it to manage public business stakes and exercise the corresponding rights.

Shareholding permanence is articulated through that patrimonial capacity: it does not require converting the company into a public enterprise nor acquiring a majority. A minority stake does not automatically make it a state commercial company; Law 40/2015 considers participation above 50% and certain control cases.

2. Competent decisions, financing, and control

Buying, increasing, or transferring stakes requires agreements from competent bodies and compliance with applicable authorizations. The Order of July 13, 1995 assigns SEPI's board of directors functions to approve participations in existing companies, share increases, and transfers, according to current legislation.

Financing must respect budgetary, accounting, and debt regimes. Law 20/2006 expressly allows SEPI to receive contributions from the State General Budgets. This does not eliminate budget limits nor European rules on public aid. Law 33/2003 completes the patrimonial framework as applicable.

3. Telefónica: ordinary shareholder, not unlimited power

SEPI holds a 10% stake in Telefónica, acquired in May 2024, according to information collected by Demócrata. That position allows exercising economic rights, voting, and promoting board representation, but not issuing instructions outside corporate bodies.

The Capital Companies Act determines those rights and directors' duties. Market transparency obligations, market abuse prohibitions, and, for acquisitions reaching control, rules on public offers and concentrations must also be respected. Telecommunications and security regulation add obligations but do not replace these requirements.

4. Red Eléctrica: additional sectoral conditions

State participation is maintained in Redeia, parent company of Red Eléctrica de España, with 20%, according to Demócrata. Unlike a telecommunications operator, its subsidiary performs electricity system transport and operation functions subject to specific regulation.

Law 24/2013, of the Electricity Sector, and European rules require respecting activity separation and the independence of the transmission system operator. Public presence does not allow discrimination against other operators nor displace CNMC supervision. The consulted sources do not detail the current provision setting a possible mandatory minimum state participation.

5. European limits

Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU require examining whether contributions grant selective advantages: an investment under market conditions does not automatically equate to aid. If aid exists, it must comply with the European regime and be notified when appropriate.

Likewise, the free movement of capital limits golden shares: disproportionate special veto or authorization rights. European case law distinguishes these privileges from ordinary shareholding. In short, the strategic nature justifies public objectives but does not exempt legal compliance.