Alberto Núñez Feijóo concreted this Monday his offer to the PNV and Junts to oust Pedro Sánchez from La Moncloa with a motion of no confidence. The leader of the PP specified that he offers to lead an instrumental type motion that would bring about a sole PP government, without Vox, that “would clean the institutions and call elections,” he explained in an interview on Telecinco. “184 deputies are asking for elections. If those who say it are consistent and do it, we can find a solution in a short time,” Feijóo urged, who continues to pressure the partners while making it clear that he does not plan to present a motion if he does not have guaranteed support because it “would divert the focus” from PSOE’s corruption.
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Feijóo perceives a “movement” in the stability of Sánchez’s government because PNV and Junts have requested the calling of early elections, although at the same time they have ruled out participating in a motion of no confidence. The leader of the PP emphasizes that, in any case, this means that there are already 184 deputies in Congress who want to go to the polls now, “eight more than the absolute majority,” and tries to convince the partners to agree to a motion of no confidence. “To call elections we do not need Vox to be in a government,” Feijóo offered them today, proposing “to constitute a government to activate the electoral call.”
The leader of the Popular Party proposes a first government without Vox that would have the mandate to open the polls, although he suggests that it would not be limited only to arriving and calling elections, but first, he says, “would clean” the institutions. At another point in the interview, Feijóo referred to the CIS as an instrument of “intoxication” and to TVE as “the NO-DO,” but did not give more details about his plans for these organizations. “I make a very clear and very transparent call: I only want decency, to clean the institutions and call elections,” he insisted. However, Vox would be left out of that first temporary government to go to the polls, but Feijóo specified that afterwards “the Spaniards would decide” with their vote if they want the far right to be part of the next Executive, although his approach remains to try to govern alone.
In the event that a motion of no confidence were to succeed, the leader of the PP could immediately call the polls, which would open 54 days after the call. The Constitution only defines as a time limit that a year must have passed since the last dissolution of the Cortes. The last general elections were held in July 2023, so there would be no obstacle to calling them immediately, although Feijóo suggests that he would stay some time in La Moncloa, which he does not specify, before opening the polls.
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The leader of the opposition continues to pressure the partners amid the “critical situation” Spain is experiencing due to corruption cases around the PSOE: “This legislature is exhausted and cannot give more,” Feijóo defends. “What does a PNV or Junts voter think? They are outraged just like the rest. The partners have to make a decision,” he urged.
What Feijóo will not do, according to his words, is present a motion against Sánchez if he does not have guaranteed support, because he believes that would “benefit the PSOE.” “I am not going to be so naive as to help divert the focus,” he stressed. “What the government intends is to change the conversation,” Feijóo believes, and that is why he will not start any round of contacts with PNV and Junts to explore the limits of their refusal. Although the Popular leader also wants to generate suspense and left an ambiguous reflection at the end: “Motions are not speculated on, they are presented.”
At the same time, Feijóo calls on the territorial power of the PSOE “to act” to oust Pedro Sánchez from power. “I ask the socialists to act. This is not just a matter for Mr. Feijóo. There are hundreds of mayors, regional deputies, they have two or three regional presidents left,” he specified. “This is not a stumble, it is a total disaster.”
