The PP has revised and expanded the motion registered this Thursday in Congress with the aim that the next Plenary session pronounce on the resignation of the Government and the call for elections or, failing that, on a vote of confidence. The conservatives hope that, with this new wording, the initiative will pass the examination of the Board led by Francina Armengol, by relying on wording that was already accepted on previous occasions.
The updated text maintains the most controversial elements, by demanding "the immediate bloc resignation of the Government" and the call for elections, "as was requested" in a non-binding proposal by Vox that the Board deemed valid in October 2024.
In addition, it is contemplated that, "in the event that he decides not to call elections," Congress urges Sánchez "to consider the opportunity to propose a vote of confidence, in accordance with the prerogative conferred upon him by the Constitution, taking into account the political nature, without legal binding, of the present initiative." These are the same terms used by Junts in a proposal registered in February of last year that was admitted by the governing body of the Lower House.
In the initial version, the motion also included that Congress should note "the loss of confidence" of the Chamber in the Executive "as a consequence of the accumulation of corruption cases, the absence of General Budgets and its inability to carry out the ordinary political action of the Executive." However, that part has been retouched after the warning from the Congress lawyers, who warned that it could not be accepted as it was understood to imply a veiled vote of confidence.
The PP seeks Congress to pronounce in favor of an early election
The new wording, which Europa Press has accessed, proposes that Congress express "its majority desire for general elections to be called as soon as possible in Spain to end the political paralysis existing in the current legislature."
Likewise, it incorporates that "the accumulation of investigations into corruption cases involving political leaders appointed and sustained directly by President Pedro Sánchez requires that his assumption of responsibility occur in the form of resignation."
On the other hand, the PP includes in its initiative a criticism of the decision by PSOE and Sumar in the Bureau of Congress to block the vote in the Plenary of the two amendments registered last Tuesday by PP and Junts to a motion by the 'popular' party itself, with which both groups intended to introduce the demand for the calling of elections.
Specifically, the 'popular' party demands that Congress defend "its freedom to exercise its constitutional legislative, government control, and political orientation functions without further censorship than the rigorous and non-arbitrary application of the constitutional order" and, consequently, that it condemn "the will to veto, both by the Government and by certain political groups, the debate of certain initiatives or amendments".
It will now be up to the Bureau of Congress to decide whether or not to admit the new text from the 'popular' party for processing. In the PP, they consider that, since it is based on formulations already examined and qualified in the past, its processing should be authorized this time.
PSOE and Sumar argue that it is not appropriate to put it to a vote
Parliamentary sources cited by Europa Press indicate that the Bureau of Congress will not address the motion presented by the PP until Tuesday, with the vote in the Plenary scheduled for the following Thursday.
In that meeting, PSOE and Sumar will have to decide whether to maintain the criterion they used this week to block the amendments from PP and Junts. The government parties, which hold the majority in the Bureau, argue that both the calling of elections and the vote of confidence are exclusive attributions of the President of the Government and, therefore, cannot be put to a vote in the sphere of the Legislative Power.