Spanish King wades in to try to resolve parliament deadlock

King Felipe of Spain (left) met with the four main party leaders last week, and will do so again next week to try to break the current Parliament deadlock.

The ongoing deadlock at governmental level in Spain could be resolved next week, with the four main party leaders due to meet King Felipe to try to reach an agreement on how best to form a parliament as soon as possible.

Since the vote on December 20 last year left no party with a significant majority, Spain has been left in limbo as the various parties concerned – the Popular Party (PP), Podemos, Ciudadanos and the Socialists – seek a compromise that could prove workable…

Evidently, no such compromise has so far been struck, which means that the Spanish head of state – the King – is now compelled to step in. The four parties met with King Felipe last week in a meeting that prompted acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to admit that he does not yet have enough backing to seek a parliamentary vote of confidence.

On Monday, February 1 and Tuesday, February 2 the King will meet the leaders of Podemos and Ciudadanos – the two newcomers to the Spanish political landscape – to assess their stance and claims to government.

According to Spanish law, once a political candidate seeks the confidence of the Spanish parliament, then a two-month deadline is triggered during which time the formation of a government must be realised. If the two month date is passed without a successful outcome, then a new general election must be held.

The current impasse stems from the fact that no party leader is under any time pressure to seek that vote of confidence – a situation that is exacerbating the stalemate. It is likely that only Rajoy or Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez will ever feel secure enough to ask for a vote of confidence, but that could still take many weeks yet.

The King’s involvement has thus far been rather passive, as is typical for monarchist countries that elect Prime Ministers, but as the stalemate drags on, expect growing pressure on King Felipe to do something as the Spanish population’s patience wears thin.

Hopefully, however, a successful agreement can be reached next week, thus ushering in the beginning of a new era for Spanish politics because, whichever way the pendulum swings, Spain will be governed by a coalition for the first time since the Franco era ended in the 1970s.