The left-wing Spanish minority government no longer has to fear legal cross-shots from the constitutional court in the election year.

Shortly before the turn of the year, a blockade was surprisingly resolved: four new judges took office on Monday.

For the first time in nine years, the constitutional court has a “progressive” majority that leans toward the ruling left.

Hans Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb based in Madrid.

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The court now has seven “progressive” and four conservative judges;

one position is still vacant.

The new majority, which also has access to the influential presidency, will last at least until the end of the decade, when the next judges will be appointed regularly.

Decisions on abortion rights and euthanasia are pending

Not only are the years in which the constitutional court distinguished itself as a conservative bastion, despite the change of government, over;

it was set up in 2013 by the government of PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Only shortly before Christmas did the previous judges stop a legislative process by the left-wing minority government before it was even completed.

At the same time, the proportion of women is growing.

In the more than 40 years of its existence, there have only been eleven female constitutional judges in Spain, and there have never been more than two at a time.

In the future there will be five.

The new composition of the court will affect important judgments.

The Constitutional Court must rule on complaints against abortion law and the new laws on euthanasia and school reform.

The court will also deal with the Catalonia conflict and a new relief package intended to mitigate the rise in the cost of living after the outbreak of the Ukraine war.

The constitutional judges had always shown a clear edge towards the Catalan separatists and had always given priority to the "unity" of Spain.

In his Christmas speech, King Felipe VI.

appealed in very clear terms to politicians to stop further "erosion of institutions".

He meant in particular the ongoing dispute over the renewal of the top of the judiciary.

At least the conservative majority of the "General Council of the Judiciary" (CGPJ), which has been blocked for years, gave in and nominated its two candidates for the Constitutional Court six months late.

The other two lawyers had already been appointed by the government, as required by the constitution.

However, the conservative People's Party (PP) rejects these two, because they are former justice minister Carlos Campo and the former constitutional law adviser to the Sánchez government.

Never before in Spain has a former minister become a constitutional judge, criticizes the PP, which has announced that it will "defend the independence of the judiciary".

However, the Spanish press pointed out that this is not uncommon in EU countries like Germany and that the PP has not previously hesitated to bring party members to the Constitutional Court.

This dispute shows how entrenched the fronts have remained and there is little hope that there will be any movement in the dispute over the renewal of the "General Council of the Judiciary" before a new parliament is elected towards the end of the year.

The body is intended to ensure the independence of the courts and fills the most important judicial posts.

The PP maintained a conservative majority during its reign, which holds to this day, although the body's mandate expired in 2018 - the year Pedro Sánchez became Spain's prime minister.