Sánchez vs Spain's Parliament: a standoff over separation of powers

"Governing with or without Parliament": the phrase that exposes how fragile the system is

Can a prime minister govern without Parliament in Spain? The Constitution says no. But Pedro Sánchez has just suggested otherwise. In an intervention that went largely unnoticed, the prime minister declared that the legislative branch should be "more constructive and less restrictive" and that the Government will press ahead "with or without the support of the legislative branch." In a parliamentary system, a phrase like that is the equivalent of waving a red rag in front of the chamber.

The phrase that opens the door to governing without Parliament

The warning does not fall on deaf ears. Sánchez leads an Executive with a very fragile parliamentary majority, dependent on a patchwork of parties with divergent interests. Any defection could leave him in a minority and expose him to a no-confidence vote or a vote of confidence. The most widespread interpretation is that he is trying to shield himself from that scenario, paving the way to govern by decree or ignore certain votes if his partners let him down.

Is there really a separation of powers in Spain?

But the underlying problem goes beyond parliamentary tactics. Spain's institutional design already gives the Executive enormous weight. The prime minister is invested by the Cortes (Spain's parliament), yes, but once in office he holds the power to dissolve the chambers, a powerful weapon. And deputies, elected on closed party lists, vote with iron discipline. "Socialist deputies are totally loyal to the Government, whatever it does," one analysis sums up. In practice, the supposed separation of powers is reduced to a formality.

This is not the first time this drift has been flagged. The economist and politician Ramón Tamames, in his no-confidence motion, denounced that Spain had become an "absorbing autocracy." The comparison with Venezuela, brought up again and again, no longer sounds exaggerated to many. The difference, some point out, is that here control of the judiciary is exercised through the renewal of bodies such as the CGPJ (Spain's governing council of the judiciary) and the Constitutional Court, with subtler but equally effective results.

The economic risk of the authoritarian drift

The economic impact has not been long in coming. Institutional uncertainty is a risk factor that markets price in, and the risk premium has already moved during similar crises. A Government that rules outside the Cortes sends a worrying signal to investors: the rules of the game can change at any moment. Foreign investment, so tied to stability, rarely rewards authoritarian experiments.

Meanwhile, the chamber watches the standoff with a mix of indignation and bewilderment. History, which always comes with anecdotes, recalls that Largo Caballero said back in February 1936 that "the total transformation of the country cannot be achieved simply by dropping ballots into the urns." With his phrase, Sánchez seems to be heading in the same direction. Let us hope history does not repeat itself with the same consequences.