This May 3rd marks three decades since the first investiture debate of José María Aznar. After 14 years of socialist governments, the PP had managed to win the general elections and Spain was saying goodbye to the 'felipismo' that had transformed the country.
30 years ago, the young Aznar achieved what the founder of his party, Manuel Fraga, never achieved: to be president of the Government. The center-right took the reins of the country for the first time, which was preparing for entry into the euro and the world of the 21st century.
"The time has come"
"Public authorities have a duty to serve Spanish society with more modesty and better". With these words, Aznar concluded his investiture speech in 1996. A speech in which he presented his Government's program and outlined the pillars of his term: "To boost the economy in order to create employment, improve the well-being of Spaniards, develop the State of autonomies, revitalize our democracy, and strengthen Spain's presence in Europe and in the world".
During the almost hour and a half that his speech lasted, he also identified two major challenges: unemployment and access to housing, "especially for the youngest". The PP's recipe to face the housing crisis, which thirty years later is still highly relevant, involved reforming land legislation. That promise from the Congress hemicycle would, two years later, lead to the ''Aznar Land Law'.
Its approval in 1998 implied that practically all land could be developable, except for that which was expressly protected (for environmental, cultural reasons, etc.). This represented a change from the previous model, where only land previously classified as suitable was developed.
Back in 1996, the candidate announced that his government would have a smaller structure than his predecessor's and that he would also create a Ministry of the Environment: "The time has come". The portfolio fell into the hands of Isabel Tocino.
Here comes the euro!
Another constant during his speech was the European Union. Yes, Adolfo Suárez and Calvo-Sotelo had laid the foundations and Felipe González materialized the accession, it was up to Aznar to complete the economic integration. The task was clear: to prepare the Spanish economy for the third phase of the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999, a "national objective whose achievement will guide all government action." The euro would arrive in 2002, under an absolute majority of the *populares* after having done the homework required by the partners.
On the path to austerity marked by Brussels, a privatization plan was necessary, which Aznar had already announced on May 3, 1996: "It is necessary to continue and promote the path of deregulation and privatization undertaken since our entry into the European Community." A very controversial policy and harshly criticized by the opposition that excluded the State from historical companies such as Telefónica, Repsol YPF, Endesa, Iberia, and Red Eléctrica de España (REE).
The debate continued the next day, and shortly before lunchtime, Aznar was invested president with 181 votes in favor, 166 votes against, and 1 abstention.
Catalan, in private
The 1996 general elections resulted in the following parliamentary arithmetic: PP (156 deputies), PSOE (141), IU (21), CiU (16), PNV (5), and Coalición Canaria (4). An "bitter" victory for the *populares*, who managed to be the leading force but without achieving an absolute majority.
Proposal of candidate for President of the Government, José María Aznar López, the King, Don Juan Carlos -
To shore up the investiture, Génova 13 maintained contacts for two months with CiU and Coalición Canaria (CC). Although the PNV's votes were no longer necessary, Aznar saw fit to also reach an agreement with the Basque nationalists.
In his investiture speech, he summarized the agreements reached as follows: with CiU, to reform the financing model; with the PNV, to promote the development of the Guernica Statute; and with CC, to address the singularity and the outermost region status.
With Arzalluz
The agreement reached between the PP and the PNV was ratified by José María Aznar and Xabier Arzalluz, president of the Basque party.
The pact included the modification of the Economic Agreement, which granted the Basque treasuries full regulatory capacity over personal income tax, as well as the collection of special taxes on hydrocarbons, tobacco, and alcohol.
Likewise, modifications were agreed upon in corporate tax and the transfer of powers in road transport and continuous training. The pact also included the transfer to the Basque Country of the management of the ports of Bilbao and Pasaia.
Leader of the opposition in the making
Only Suárez, Calvo-Sotelo, and Felipe González remained as parliamentarians after leaving the presidency of the Executive. This condition meant that González, still in his capacity as acting president, intervened as the leader of the opposition in the making in the investiture debate of his successor.
On behalf of the Socialist Group, González took the speaker's podium with the shadow of four investitures behind him: "This morning I listened, with attention and some effort, to your speech," he snapped at Aznar.
The socialist leader, from his new role in opposition, assured, addressing the *popular* bench, that they would never hear him say "Get out, Mr. Aznar. I will ask you: Govern, Mr. Aznar." This was in reference to the mantra that the PP leader had championed in the final years of felipismo.
Throughout his speech, González maintained a cordial and respectful tone towards the work that another government of a different stripe from his own was now undertaking. "From the opposition, I still have to make a certain effort to change the chip; we will do our best to ensure that the legislature is stable and lasts," he even stated, provoking laughter on his own bench and on others, as reflected in the Official Gazette.
Regarding the agreements reached with nationalism to govern, González assured that he hoped that "the participation that is now inaugurated will be the fruit of conviction and not merely the fruit of an electoral result." "I have a good and positive experience of the relationship with moderate nationalism," he confessed. Three years earlier, it was González himself who had to reach an agreement with CiU and PNV to be invested president in 1993.
Although the Socialist Group's 'no' was never in doubt, González extended a hand to his successor: "The fact that there is a negative vote is nothing more than the expression of a normal situation in the Chamber. You can count on us on matters of state. You will count on our opposition when your project contradicts what we represent and have defended over the years."
MAJESTIC PACT
The Majestic Pact was the result of months of negotiation between the PP and CiU, which allowed José María Aznar to be elected president, ending four legislatures of socialist governments led by Felipe González.
The 18-page agreement included issues such as:
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The reform of the regional financing system
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The abolition of compulsory military service
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The transfer of powers in traffic matters
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The transfer of employment promotion policies and vocational training
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The participation of the Autonomous Communities in state bodies