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POLITICS

Half of Spaniards in favour of a PP-PSOE coalition to end election deadlock: study

Approximately half of Spanish voters are in favour of Spain’s main right and left-wing parties forming an unprecedented coalition and thus avoid another general election, a new survey suggests. 

Half of Spaniards in favour of a PP-PSOE coalition to end election deadlock: study
Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Núñez Feijóo. PP-PSOE coalitions have taken place many times on a regional and local level in Spain, could now be the time to adopt the same approach at a national level? (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP)

It’s been nine days since Spain’s July 23rd general election took place and the surprise ‘draw’ between the right-wing Popular Party and the Socialists.

READ MORE: If the PP was most voted party, why haven’t they won Spain’s election?

Since then, candidates Feijóo and Sánchez have pushed for coalitions with smaller parties to gain crucial parliamentary seats that could edge them closer to a majority, Catalan separatist parties have stated they will only give Sánchez’s left-wing block support in return for another independence referendum, and the pending votes from Spaniards overseas have been recounted (with an extra seat gained by the PP). 

In truth the situation is no clearer than it was a week ago, and although the support of Canary nationalist party Coalición Canaria could help Sánchez gain the much sought-after investiture, the prospect of another general election is looming. 

Spain has suffered from chronic political instability for eight years, which may partly explain the results of a recent survey by Spanish bank BBVA.

According to the Fundación BBVA de Cultura Política study, 58 percent of Spaniards are in favour of the Popular Party and the PSOE forming a State Pact which would see both parties decide who governs and how without Spaniards having to cast their votes once again. 

A pacto de Estado is when parties with opposing political views agree the long-term action of the State regarding a particular matter. 

There have been several other State Pacts in Spain since the country became a democracy, regarding public pensions, terrorism and gender violence – this time it would be over forming a coalition or deciding who takes power. 

BBVA’s survey also found that 45 percent of Spaniards would view a coalition between the main centre-right and the centre-left parties “positively”, although 84 percent responded that either a State Pact or a PP-PSOE coalition were “improbable”. 

What is rather revealing is that the survey was carried out between April 12th and July 21st, prior to the general election, reflecting how many Spaniards had already grown tired of the constant political deadlocks that have been happening in the country over the past decade.

Spaniards have had to vote in general elections five times since 2015 and and no party has gained an absolute majority since 2011.

Although a coalition between the right and left in Spain may seem “improbable” to most, political commentators have pointed to Germany as an example that such alliances between parties with opposing views are perfectly feasible. 

There hasn’t been a single party that’s gained an absolute majority in Germany since 1953, and the current coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz is made up of centre-left and centre-right parties. 

PP-PSOE coalitions have taken place numerous times on a regional and local level in Spain, could now be the time to adopt the same approach at a national level? That would depend on who you ask. 

Twenty-three percent of respondents to BBVA’s survey said they would prefer a single party to govern in Spain.

And despite Spanish voters’ apparent openness to what’s been called ‘the great coalition’ (PP-PSOE), when given the choice of a coalition government that’s either fully right wing, fully left wing or left and right wing, only 12 percent of respondents opted for the latter. 

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PROPERTY

Spain’s plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

Spain's left-wing government had planned to tighten its grip on temporary accommodation rentals as a potential means of making more long-term rentals available, but the country's right-wing parties on Tuesday rejected the proposal in parliament.

Spain's plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

If passed, the new law would have meant that anyone who wanted to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason.

For example, students or researchers would have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.

It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it will have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.

On Tuesday September 17th, the proposal was ultimately rejected in the Spanish Congress, voted against by Spain’s three main right-wing parties – Catalan nationalists Junts, Spain’s main opposition party the PP and far-right Vox.

The aim in part was to try and rectify the controversial Housing Law, which came into effect in 2023.

In most people’s eyes, the legislation has failed as landlords have found several loopholes to get around the restrictions, prices have continued to increase and the stock of rental properties is even more diminished.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

As a result of the fear of heightened regulation for landlords, many have left the traditional market and turned to tourist rentals or temporary accommodation instead, which are far more lucrative. 

This has had the opposite effect, increasing rental prices instead of stabilising or decreasing them.

READ MORE: Why landlords in Spain leave their flats empty rather than rent long-term

Seasonal contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and they not subject to the price limitations of the housing law.

The idea of this new law was to try and set the maximum duration of a temporary rental contracts at six months in order to avoid this, but it could have potentially also caused problems for many who need this type accommodation such as students, digital nomads, those living here on a short term basis etc. 

During the debate, Sumar’s spokesperson, Íñigo Errejón, defended the law saying that it is a “solvent”, “fair” and “precise” proposal, which will help “correct an abuse” and “close the gap through which “Landlords can use to avoid the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) and rent regulation”.  

Far-left party Podemos blamed the ruling PSOE for having left this “hole” in the housing law, but also agreed that the restrictions on temporary accommodation were needed to try and rectify this.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

Junts (Catalonia’s main pro-independence party) and the PNV, the Basque nationalist party, were firmly against it. They agreed that the problem must be solved and that “accessible decent housing was needed”, but raised the situation of students, interns, residents or workers who need housing for flexible periods.

Junts party member Marta Madrenas warned of the harmful effects that this limitation on temporary rentals can have for university cities such as Girona.

Vox and the PP meanwhile argued that they don’t want to help cover up the mistakes made by the left with regards to the Housing Law.

Vox deputy Ignacio Hoces stated that the increase in seasonal rentals has occurred due to the “failure” of the Housing Law, since this has caused rental prices to “skyrocketed” by 13 percent and the supply to be reduced by 15 percent.

Temporary accommodation, referred to as alquiler temporal or alquiler de temporada in Spanish, is considered to be anything that’s longer than a month but shorter than a year, middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals. It is also referred to as monthly accommodation or seasonal accommodation.

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