He intends to govern without the Parliament, the repository of that sovereignty
Spain is experiencing a political situation that is halfway between an absurdist comedy and a film about psychopaths.
Governing without legislative power: Pedro Sánchez is announcing a dictatorship
This is how Sánchez and the PSOE promote antidemocratic attitudes among young people
Lately, the Trump administration has reaffirmed its claims to Greenland, a territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, a US ally and a committed member of NATO. Last March, I already expressed my opposition to these plans here, which are not only disrespectful to a US friend, but also further Putin’s intentions to divide Western allies at a time when transatlantic unity is crucial in the face of the threat of Russian expansionism. The US does not need Greenland: to defend it, it simply needs to maintain the cooperation with Denmark that it has been developing cordially for decades.
Having said that, I can only express my astonishment at the message disseminated on Tuesday, January 6th by Pedro Sánchez, stating the following: “Spain reiterates, along with Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, its firm support for Denmark and the people of Greenland. Respect for the sovereignty of countries is essential for peace. That was the greatest lesson the 20th century bequeathed to us. Let us not forget it.”
It’s incredible how some politicians can say one thing and do the opposite, and Sánchez cultivates this habit with utter shamelessness. In case anyone doesn’t know, Sánchez governs in a minority after losing the 2023 general election. His government has now been failing for three years to fulfill its constitutional duty to present a national budget for a vote in the Congress of Deputies. In any other European Union country, a government in these circumstances would have already called elections given its clear inability to govern.
Instead, in September 2024, Sánchez announced his intention to govern without legislative power, that is, without the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, simply because he lacks the necessary support in both chambers to pass laws. Sánchez intends to govern by decree, as in a dictatorship, usurping the legislative function of the Coortes Generales (the name of the Spanish Parliament) and thereby attacking the separation of powers inherent in a democracy.
Besides demonstrating how little he cares about democracy and the interests of his country, with this way of acting Sánchez is violating two articles of the Constitution, one of which speaks precisely of national sovereignty:
Article 1.2: “National sovereignty belongs to the Spanish people, from whom all State powers emanate.”
Article 66.1: “The Cortes Generales represent the Spanish people and consist of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.”
Thus, the legislative power that Sánchez wants to dispense with is precisely the one that embodies the representation of Spain’s national sovereignty, since its members are elected by the Spanish people in general elections. The Spanish government is not elected directly by the Spanish people, but rather by a vote of the members of parliament who make up the Congress.
Certainly, a leader must respect national sovereignty, starting with that of their own country, to which they owe their allegiance above all others. In Spain, we are experiencing the ridiculous situation of having a Prime Minister who disregards his own country’s national sovereignty and now claims to be protecting that of Denmark, as if his primary commitment were to the Danes and not to the Spanish people. This is yet another example of the circus that Sánchez has turned his government into, the most corrupt and the one that has violated the Spanish Constitution more times than any other since its approval in 1978.
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Photo: Jacob Bøtter.