Sánchez’s newly formed government strengthens social agenda in new budget

9 months ago 28

Moving towards full employment, strengthening the welfare state, and improving gender equality are some of the objectives within Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s new government’s new budget plan, Education Minister and progressive coalition government spokesperson Pilar Alegría said on Wednesday.

The objective of the 2024 budget, the Ministry of Finance explained in a statement, is “to advance the modernisation, competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the Spanish economy by promoting growth that is sustainable, fair and inclusive”, with housing as a right, EFE reported.

Alegría recalled that the budget plan that the government sent to the European Commission last October already had the Brussels backing, which allows the Spanish executive to be optimistic that the EC will not block the new draft budget 2024, which envisages a deficit forecast of around 3% and a government debt ratio below 110% of GDP already by 2023.

The 22 new ministers of the ‘Sánchez III’ government took office on Tuesday and began their work on Wednesday with the first meeting of the Council of Ministers, in which the priorities for the next four years of the legislature were set.

They will be four very complicated years for the Socialist leader (PSOE/S&D), as the future approval of a controversial amnesty law for separatist activists involved in the 2017 secessionist attempt in Catalonia has provoked fierce opposition from the right-wing (Partido Popular/EPP), the main opposition party, the far-right Vox party, the third force in Parliament, and of a sector of conservative magistrates and judges.

Both have announced legal action against the extraordinary measure of grace before the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the EU, with the presentation of a preliminary ruling so that the judges in Luxembourg can give their opinion on whether or not the measure is in line with EU law.

The decisions of the Spanish and EU courts will take a long time, even years, which is why both the leader of Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, have announced regular demonstrations and more actions before the courts.

The PP makes changes to reinforce its ‘wall’ against Sánchez

However, although the amnesty law passed – on Tuesday – its first hurdle in Parliament, the PP has announced that it will do everything in its power to try to stop it in the Senate, where the conservative party has a majority, which could delay its approval.

On the other hand, the PP is preparing internal changes to try to reinforce a “wall” of opposition to Sánchez, according to its leader, who announced on Wednesday that these “adjustments” will be made public shortly, perhaps next week, with the aim of toughening resistance in Parliament to legislative initiatives presented by the PSOE and its partner, the progressive platform Sumar.

Sánchez has managed to return to power thanks to the generous concessions he has had to make to the two main Catalan separatist parties (and rivals), Together For Catalonia (JxCat, right-wing), led by former regional president Carles Puigdemont and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), as well as the two main pro-independence parties in the Basque Country, PNV (centre-right) and EH Bildu (radical left).

Although the PSOE’s agreement with all these nationalist forces is for the four years of the legislature – which includes the budget approval – their backing is conditional on Sánchez fulfilling everything he has promised them.

Sánchez asks his ministers not to respond to provocations

Alegría stressed on Wednesday that “the first measure” adopted by the new Council of Ministers was to begin the procedures for presenting the new budget to “continue consolidating” the country’s economic growth.

Before presenting the draft budget for 2024 – which Madrid plans to do “as soon as possible” – the government will have to draw up a deficit path and obtain the endorsement of both Parliament and the Senate, where the PP could try to veto the text or force the executive to modify it.

Meanwhile, Sánchez sent a letter to all his ministers on Wednesday in which he asks them to act with unity and solvency and not to be influenced by the climate of tension and insults encouraged by the PP and Vox, who – the prime minister said- deny the legitimacy of the government, EFE reported.

“This government is not articulated from the mere conjunction between the two political forces that make it up (PSOE and Sumar). This government makes that union its raison d’être, and will act accordingly, from its internal plurality, with unity, solvency and determination in the shared desire to contribute to social progress, coexistence, institutional stability and dialogue between different people,” Sánchez pointed out.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)