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‘Feijóo’s bid is doomed’: Spain’s Socialists confident of staying in power

Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialists said Wednesday they were confident of staying in power following July's inconclusive election, dismissing as "doomed" the conservative Popular Party's bid to form a government.

Published: 31 August 2023 09:36 CEST
'Feijóo's bid is doomed': Spain's Socialists confident of staying in power
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez smiles flanked by members of his cabinet, Spain's Minister of Universities Joan Subirats Humet (L), Spain's Minister of Education Pilar Alegria (2L), Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Teresa Ribera (2R) and Spain's Minister of Justice Pilar Llop. (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP)

King Felipe VI last week nominated Popular Party (PP) leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to try to form a new government ahead of a parliamentary investiture vote on September 27th, even though he lacks support within the 350-seat assembly.

The PP won the vote with 137 seats and can count on the support of 33 lawmakers from far-right Vox as well as two votes from two small regional parties.

In total, that would give a PP-led coalition 172 votes — four short of a governing majority.

“Feijóo’s investiture is doomed to failure,” Socialist party spokeswoman Pilar Alegría told reporters following a meeting between Sánchez and Feijóo.

“And once it fails… we will get an investiture that will bring stability to our country,” she added.

If the PP fails to form a government, the king must pick a new candidate – most likely Sánchez, whose party finished second.

If no candidate secures a majority within two months of the first investiture vote, new elections have to be called, probably in January.

Sánchez currently has the support of 164 lawmakers – the 121 of his Socialist party, 31 from far-left formation Sumar, 11 from two Basque parties, and from the sole lawmaker of a small Galician party.

He is negotiating the support of two Catalan pro-independence parties which, if successful, would give him the backing of 178 lawmakers.

But the Catalan separatists have set the bar high for their support, demanding a referendum on Catalan independence and an amnesty for hundreds of people facing legal action for their role in a failed 2017 secession bid in the wealthy northeastern region.

During their talks on Wednesday, Feijóo asked Sánchez to be allowed to govern on his own for a two-year term during which the PP and the Socialists could work together to pass major bipartisan legislation on important issues.

The Socialist leader rejected the proposal, prompting Feijóo to tell a news conference that “Sánchez prefers to ally himself with separatists”.

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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.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:53 CEST
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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