Feijóo won't save Spain: the reasons nobody wants to accept
Feijóo could bring down Spain's government tomorrow, yet doesn't: Puigdemont, the amnesty and a PP with no will to strike a deal.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Feijóo won't make a move: the reasons he won't save Spain
Feijóo could bring down Spain's government tomorrow. He won't. The explanation is more uncomfortable than it seems: he doesn't have the votes he needs, and doesn't want to pay the price demanded by those who have them.
Why doesn't he table a no-confidence motion?
On paper the path looks simple: strike a deal with Catalan separatists and grant amnesty or a pardon to Carles Puigdemont in exchange for their votes. The snag is that Puigdemont leads a right-wing republican party, and won't do a deal with the monarchy or with a PP he himself considers part of the problem. What's more, the Popular Party leadership insists that any change of government must come from the ballot box, not from a deal in Parliament. Some argue the amnesty has already been granted, which turns that promise into worthless paper for a negotiation.
PP or PSOE? The deeper criticism
Another line of thinking goes further: the PP isn't the solution, it's part of the problem. And some see them as interchangeable. Neither Feijóo nor Sánchez would talk about freeing up land, adjusting maximum pensions or squeezing small businesses less. In that framework, a no-confidence motion would be nothing but a change of face pursuing the same policies.
Conspiracy theories complete the picture: the so-called Agenda 2030 and the elites' slogans would stop Feijóo from moving until the Prime Minister is completely worn out. In the short term, the motion won't happen. The PP will keep waiting for the government to burn down on its own, while Spain keeps simmering.
Feijóo could bring down Spain's government tomorrow. He won't. The explanation is more uncomfortable than it seems: he doesn't have the votes he needs, and doesn't want to pay the price demanded by those who have them.
Why doesn't he table a no-confidence motion?
On paper the path looks simple: strike a deal with Catalan separatists and grant amnesty or a pardon to Carles Puigdemont in exchange for their votes. The snag is that Puigdemont leads a right-wing republican party, and won't do a deal with the monarchy or with a PP he himself considers part of the problem. What's more, the Popular Party leadership insists that any change of government must come from the ballot box, not from a deal in Parliament. Some argue the amnesty has already been granted, which turns that promise into worthless paper for a negotiation.
PP or PSOE? The deeper criticism
Another line of thinking goes further: the PP isn't the solution, it's part of the problem. And some see them as interchangeable. Neither Feijóo nor Sánchez would talk about freeing up land, adjusting maximum pensions or squeezing small businesses less. In that framework, a no-confidence motion would be nothing but a change of face pursuing the same policies.
Conspiracy theories complete the picture: the so-called Agenda 2030 and the elites' slogans would stop Feijóo from moving until the Prime Minister is completely worn out. In the short term, the motion won't happen. The PP will keep waiting for the government to burn down on its own, while Spain keeps simmering.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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