This legislature has not been short of surreal moments in Congress, but few like the one experienced this Tuesday, moments before the union of the right-wing parties struck down the extension of the rent freeze. The ERC spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, after a brutal intervention against Junts, approached the seats of his former partners to hand them a paper with comments against their position on housing policies. He stood next to his Junts counterpart, Miriam Nogueras, who did not lift her head from the document she was reading. The rest also rejected it. Then a shout rang out in the chamber —“showman!”— followed by protests and angry gestures. These displays of solidarity with Carles Puigdemont’s party came from the most unexpected place: from the seats of Vox —the party that advocates for their illegalization— and the PP.
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There, the majority of the right-wing parties, along with UPN, manifested themselves, striking down the decree that will leave more than two million people at the mercy of sharp rent increases and in a legal limbo for those who have taken advantage of the extension during the month it has been in force. This majority, tacitly, is replacing the one that invested Pedro Sánchez to impose its vision on economic and social issues in Congress. The passionate plea by the Minister of Consumer Affairs and Social Services, Pablo Bustinduy, about the consequences of what was being voted on for millions of citizens only convinced those already convinced: 166 in favor of PSOE, Sumar, ERC, EH Bildu, Podemos, Coalición Canaria, BNG, and Compromís; 177 against —the four groups already mentioned— and 5 abstentions from the PNV.
One of the major debates of the legislature on the issue that, according to all polls, tops citizens’ concerns, began with more than half of the chamber’s seats upholstered in the air. “Thousands of tenants are following us from their homes and here the chamber is half-empty,” Bustinduy observed. On the PP bench, the few present huddled on their left flank, the one that anchors the camera shot focusing on the speakers. From the PSOE, not a single minister, not even the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, who cited commitments at the same time in the Senate. Bustinduy was supported on the blue bench by those from Sumar: Yolanda Díaz, Ernest Urtasun, and Mónica García.
“What is being voted on today is whether we act according to the general interest or that of speculators,” the head of Consumer Affairs began. “What is at stake for almost three million compatriots is being able to continue living in their homes or being expelled from their neighborhoods.” With the end of the rent freeze, he continued, the market will impose unaffordable increases for most tenants. The beneficiaries, he assured, will not be small owners, but large holders who control around 60% of rental housing.
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The right-wing parties did not move an inch. The PP brought in an unusual deputy, Daniel Pérez Osma, who spent more time elaborating on the disagreements within the Government than on analyzing the “pastiche” of the decree. Vox, on the other hand, showcased its emerging star, Carlos Hernández Quero, called to imbue the ultra discourse with a social veneer. He started with an “uncomfortable confession”: his sister will be one of those affected and will probably not be able to afford the new rent. But the culprit, Quero added, is none other than a Government with which the housing supply has plummeted. Marta Madrenas, from Junts, was more explicit in defending landlords: “You invite to the party and the owners pay for it.” She also alluded to “technical defects” of the decree, as did Maribel Vaquero, from the PNV.
The groups further to the left not only criticized the right for its “inhumanity,” a frequently repeated reproach. They also attacked the PSOE. Ione Belarra, from Podemos; Néstor Rego, from the BNG, and Àgueda Micó, from Compromís, accused it of having washed its hands of the decree’s fate. Gerardo Pisarello, from Sumar, pointed to Sánchez: “What’s the use of being Trump’s antagonist if you don’t act against big landlords?” The socialists left the matter in the hands of another deputy with little prominence, Ignasi Conesa, who urged his allies “not to mistake the adversary.” Several groups demanded that the Government resubmit the decree, a call that Bustinduy eventually joined.
The line between right and left —except for CC, in favor of the decree— was very marked, also in the nationalist camp. Oskar Matute, from EH Bildu, did not mention the PNV, but it was clear whom he was referring to in his constant allusions to “those who stand aside.” “Here, they don’t care about flags, be it the ikurriña, the senyera, or the Spanish one,” he added about the alliance of the right-wing parties. Rufián also spoke of flags, but of only one. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a 50-euro note.
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