The decision of the King

The current Spanish politicians, whatever their ideology, are distinguished, with rare exceptions, for being intolerant, for being sectarian, for not knowing how to negotiate, for being egotists, for being uneducated, for putting their party's interest above general interest and, last but not least , for not properly complying with the rules, beginning, of course, by the Constitution. In other words, if we stick to what has happened in the last four years in our territory, there is no choice but to conclude that what results from their actions is that they accept an impossible Spain.

Hence the ideal would be to change the current politicians for others that had a more professional level, in every way. But that is not possible because, as Indro Montanelli pointed out from his Italian observatory, "unfortunately a ruling class is not improvised." Therefore, we have no choice but to plow with the oxen we have. Circumstance that highlights even more if we compare politicians with our athletes, who with figures like Rafael Nadal, the Gasol brothers, Sergio Ramos, Carolina Marín and a long etcetera, who have placed our country at the top of the sports universe. This contraposition, curiously, also occurs in Argentina, a brilliant country in sports and an absolute disaster in terms of its political class .

Be that as it may, the pitiful situation in which we find ourselves is not due to the failure of our constitutional regime, which, of course, is not perfect and could be improved, but to the behavior of our politicians, starting naturally by the leaders of the matches. To demonstrate my statements, I cannot make a critical analysis of the last four years here, which would require almost a book, but I will limit myself, before the turn of consultations of the representatives of the parties with the King , which begins today, to explore which solution is better for Spain, based on the particular idiosyncrasy of our politicians, whose most significant negative features I pointed out at the beginning.

As is known, the decision of the appointment of the President of the Government in a parliamentary regime such as ours belongs exclusively to the King, as indicated in Article 99 EC, which proposes to the candidate that he has sufficient support in the Congress of Deputies to Get your trust and be able to govern. This article of the EC is undoubtedly the one that allows the Head of State to have, in special situations, greater autonomy, since in the other powers recognized by article 62 he has no margin of discretion .

Well, one of those special situations that I have mentioned is the one we are currently experiencing, which demands an urgent decision from the King that will take us out of the sterile paralysis in which we are immersed. The reason is that, unlike the years of bipartisanship, there is no clear majority to form a stable and constitutional government. Consequently, after consultations with party representatives, there is no solution other than a coalition government or directly calling the elections with the endorsement of the president of Congress. In principle, it seems that the candidate proposed by the King would be the current president of the acting Government , unless he chose a person from civil society who had the consensus of Congress, which is very problematic. For the rest, the King must propose to Pedro Sánchez only in the event that he is apparently willing to form a coalition Government, since one cannot govern with 123 deputies and even less in the face of the political cold drop that comes upon us. And, if so, with whom can a coalition government form that surpasses the absolute majority of the Congress on the first ballot ?, because we cannot expose ourselves to weakly naming a candidate with the simple majority in the second ballot.

Therefore, there are only two options: the first, a PSOE and Citizens coalition Government, with 180 deputies, which is what we need. And, the second, a PSOE Coalition Government, We can, plus another 12 deputies at least, of the heterodox group of 38 deputies that is formed by nationalists, separatists, proetarras and regionalists and whose composition should clarify Pedro Sánchez, if it is He bows for this adep. So, it seems clear that, today, neither option is possible. The first, because both Pedro Sánchez and Albert Rivera do not want to collaborate because of the compliments that are thrown at each other, when curiously three years ago they were willing to govern together. What is the original cause of this African hatred? I do not know exactly, but I think it all started with the motion of censure to Rajoy, because the initiative of the motion, according to Pablo Iglesias, he had, and Pedro Sánchez accepted it marginalizing Cs. In this way, Pedro Sánchez says in his pseudo autobiography that he sent Rivera a message to talk about Rajoy's motion of censure and he told him to speak better Villegas and Ábalos. To which Pedro Sánchez responds in his book: "That same day, Rivera begins to tell the press that I have not called him because I want to agree with the independentists and break Spain. Pure and hard poisoning. After having refused to meet me , accuses me of not calling him: the kind of behavior that makes people unreliable. " We do not know the exact truth of this mess but, whatever it is, it is very strong to leave it in writing in a book. Then you know how Rivera reacted, calling Sánchez and his allies "band", as well as other niceties like that. Conclusion: this coalition government is not possible as long as both politicians do not regret it again, as the children say.

The alternative to this Government would be another formed mainly by Podemos with the group of heterodox. But after rejecting in July a vice-presidency and three ministries, Pablo Iglesias, despite all the moneries he does now to give him a ministry, even for a week, Pedro Sanchez has already said, active and passive, that no You can make a coalition government with a party that declares itself a Republican, a supporter of the right to self-determination and other nonsense that do not fit in the Constitution. Obviously, it will not occur to the acting president to propose a government of coalition, collaboration or commiseration with the leader of Podemos, who seems to have left his right mind for what he says. Certainly, it is pathetic to see how he pleads with the King to intercede for him before the "despot" acting president to accept his offer. Therefore, this route is not possible either, because it would be to ask the King to accept a clearly unconstitutional government, when its primary function is to be guardian of the Constitution.

In sum, the real problem that Spain has on the table is to end as soon as possible with a functioning Government, which is bordering every day on the legality of its actions, such as sending warships with expensive expenses for nothing. or to have the opposition muted, that it cannot present propositions of law at this nefanda juncture. But what nobody gets rid of, even with good intentions, is to ask for pears from the elm tree. In fact, it is surprising that Rivera demands that the Government apply Article 155 EC in Catalonia, when, while on duty, he cannot do so, according to the Government Law. The way to end this acting Government as soon as possible is for Pedro Sánchez and Albert Rivera to come to their senses, reconsider in these hours that they have left to meet the King, write a common program to put it into practice, smoke the pipe of peace with a little modesty and face, with a solid majority, what is already coming. If this is not achieved with the arbitration of the Zarzuela , there will be no other way than the elections, which would probably win the PSOE without reaching the absolute majority, but which would condemn Spain, as long as an agreement with another party was not reached, to continue having a government in office until after Christmas, which would be a calamity for our country.

We know, then, that the Government is making the paripé, because it wants clearly (and erroneously) elections already, but its behavior is like that of the one who stays, unwittingly, with the face discovered in a costume ball.

Jorge de Esteban is a professor of Constitutional Law and president of the Editorial Board of EL MUNDO.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Pedro Sanchez
• Spain
• PSOE
• We can
• Pablo Iglesias
• Mariano Rajoy
• Albert rivera
• Citizens
• Congress of Deputies
• Catalonia

Tribune Tell me a story

Churches, Sanchez Crutch

nothing in writing Rivera's voter dilemma