The most left-wing government in history?
The Beginning of the End
The Spanish government, a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and sections of the alternative left united under the Sumar Party, is a rare bird in Europe. In the light of the alarming rise of far-right and conservative forces across the West, it has come to stand as an international touchstone for progressives. As such, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is currently one of the most radical left-wing voices on critical issues including condemning Israel’s genocide in Palestine, opposition to NATO rearmament — and the corresponding 5 percent of GDP demanded of member states by Donald Trump. Moreover, Sánchez has voiced staunch support for multilateralism and international law for the resolution of conflicts such as those currently taking place between the United States and Iran, and Russia and Ukraine.
However, behind closed doors, every objective indicator suggests that Spain’s progressive coalition government is reaching the beginning of the end. At present, it enjoys neither the political, social nor institutional majority that would enable it to implement all the progressive policies its electorate would wish to see. Politically, in this term the government has lacked the parliamentary majority in the Congress of Deputies that would allow it to pass social legislation; indeed, it has been unable to pass any General State Budget for the last three years. Most polls and surveys predict a defeat for the progressive bloc and forecast an upcoming government led by the right — the People’s Party (PP), and the far right party Vox. Most of Spain’s autonomous communities are run by right-wing governments (made up of PP and Vox), and are boycotting many of the central government’s proposals, especially those related to housing, abortion, and healthcare, among others. On top of this, other institutions, including the judiciary and the police forces are exhibiting a marked tendency towards conservatism and opposition to the progressive government.
The Corruption Surrounding the PSOE
This three-pronged opposition has maintained Sánchez’s government in a noticeably weakened position throughout its parliamentary term. Moreover, over the past three years, a series of corruption scandals have emerged within Sánchez’s personal and political circle, leaving the government decidedly on the back foot. The ‘caso mascarillas’ — Covid face mask case — involves the two PSOE party secretaries who have served under Sánchez’s leadership (José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán). The case alleges fraudulent purchases of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. The investigation has been extended to encompass supposed irregular awarding of public works contracts and subsequent acceptance of kickbacks. A separate strand of the case has been opened to examine a potential correlation between the purported accumulation of commissions and irregular funding of the PSOE.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Begoña Gómez, is also the subject of an ongoing investigation. Gomez is accused of using her relationship to benefit certain companies and projects linked to her professional life. The protracted nature of the preliminary investigation, overseen by Judge Peinado, appears to be a clear instance of what numerous experts have described as ‘lawfare’. Meanwhile, the president’s brother, David Sánchez, is also on trial for alleged irregularities concerning his employment by the Badajoz Provincial Council as a musical and performing arts events programmer. It is important to note that this appointment took place prior to Sánchez becoming Prime Minister. The manner in which the right-wing is exploiting the case in the media suggests that the primary objective of the trial is not to determine whether the appointment was in fact irregular. Rather it is aimed at influencing public opinion and damaging the Prime Minister’s image.
The most recent scandal to have erupted in connection with the PSOE is the Caso Plus Ultra, involving former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Zapatero is said to be a moral and political role model for Sánchez to a certain degree. Investigations are underway to determine whether Zapatero intervened to facilitate the state bailout of Spanish airline Plus Ultra during the Covid-19 pandemic, and if he received any related commissions or other benefits. He denies it, and the case is still in the preliminary investigation stage. So far in the investigation, jewellery valued at 1.3 million euros has been found in the former prime minister’s office, leading to a separate investigation being opened into the origin of the items and whether the relevant taxes have been paid for them.
The political ramifications of all these scandals are clear. The government is in a weaker state than ever. It is evident that some of these cases — namely those involving the president’s wife and brother — have the undeniable political motive of undermining the government. This is substantiated by the media spectacle they are generating along with leaks from police and judicial sources to conservative media outlets. However, in other cases, the investigations reveal how Socialist leaders have engaged, at the very least, in morally corrupt practices. All this leaves Sánchez in a delicate position, as a significant proportion of his inner circle has been disgraced in the eyes of the public. The situation is straining the PSOE’s relationship with its coalition partner, Sumar, and with its parliamentary allies. This has resulted in an increasingly complex situation for the government.
Erosion of the Alternative Left
The steady stream of related news stories is causing a headache not just for the PSOE, but also for its coalition partners. Sumar sees a PSOE failing to react, leaving the government treading water, unable to push through any ambitious progressive measures or change the narrative. The parties that make up the Sumar wing of the government – Izquierda Unida, Más Madrid, Comuns and Movimiento Sumar – are distancing themselves, taking a firmer stance against the Socialists, demanding anti-corruption measures and the courage to implement social policies, especially on housing. Access to affordable housing in Spain, as across much of the West, is one of the major problems facing the public, particularly young people. The PSOE has only managed to advance timid measures on housing. Furthermore, the PP, from within the autonomous communities it governs — which happen to be most of them — is boycotting the national housing law which enables rent prices to be capped in areas under pressure.
All this places the alternative left within Sumar in an awkward position. Sumar is under fire from a portion of its grassroots base, who argue that being in government brings no benefits to the lower and working classes. The debate over whether to take part in governments with the PSOE is a longstanding one in the Spanish alternative left. During the current legislative term, in December 2023, Podemos broke away from Sumar, leaving the parliamentary group they shared in Congress just months after the 23 July elections in which they had fielded joint candidates. Since then, Podemos has been highly critical of the coalition government, accusing it of lacking both courage and resolve in standing up to the PSOE. The underlying factors behind Podemos’ decision to break away had less to do with being in government with the PSOE and more to do with personal vetoes and diatribes. The actual reason for the split lies in the fact that neither Yolanda Díaz nor Pedro Sánchez wanted Irene Montero, a Podemos leader and Minister for Equality in the previous parliament, to retain her post.
A Plurinational Majority… but a Progressive One?
The truth is that the approval of policy does not depend solely on the will of the executive. Not only is the government a coalition, but the two parties that make up that coalition together do not hold a majority in the Congress of Deputies. Consequently, every measure that Sánchez’s government wishes to push through must be fiercely negotiated in Parliament, and often ultimately fails.
To understand the current fragmentation in Congress, we need to look back to June 2018, when Pedro Sánchez took office at La Moncloa, the Spanish Prime Ministerial seat. He gained office through a no-confidence motion against the previous Prime Minister. This was conservative Mariano Rajoy of the PP, a party that had just been found guilty of corruption in the ‘Gürtel Case’. The motion was backed by a diverse majority comprising the PSOE, Unidas Podemos and various nationalist and pro-independence parties. Among them were the Basque parties; the PNV (right-wing nationalist) and EH Bildu (left-wing pro-independence), and the Catalan parties, Junts (right-wing nationalist) and ERC (left-wing pro-independence).
It is worth recalling that a year earlier, on 1 October, a referendum on independence had been held in Catalonia, and was harshly suppressed by the PP government. This led to a climate of opposition towards the PP, including from the Catalan and Basque nationalist right, which criticized the undemocratic nature of the response to the independence movement. This helped secure a majority that gave Sánchez the presidency.
The PSOE governed independently through its first term. In the April 2019 general election, the PSOE gained the most votes but failed to secure a sufficient majority. The failure of negotiations with Unidas Podemos triggered a repeat election in November 2019. Those elections resulted in a highly fragmented Congress. Sánchez then formed the first coalition government of the recent democratic era alongside Unidas Podemos, and was sworn in with 167 votes in favour, 165 against and 18 abstentions. The PSOE, Unidas Podemos, the PNV, Más País, Compromís, Nueva Canarias, Teruel Existe and the BNG voted for the government. For their part, ERC and EH Bildu abstained, ensuring more ‘yes’ votes in favour of Sánchez than votes against.
In 2023, new general elections were called. Most opinion polls suggested that the PP and Vox would form a government. However, during the campaign, the polls were turned on their head, mainly due to three factors. The first was a highly effective campaign by Sánchez, which mobilized the progressive electorate. The second was a dismal campaign by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, despite seemingly having everything in his favour. The third was that the alternative left rallied behind the Sumar platform, which brought together the main successors to Unidas Podemos (Podemos, IU, Comuns), the most significant regional parties within that political space (Más Madrid, Compromís, CHA, Més per Mallorca, Drago Canarias…) and Yolanda Díaz’s new project under a single umbrella, thereby preventing them from fragmenting the vote by standing separately. The coalition came to comprise some 20 parties.
Following the July 2023 elections, Sánchez was sworn in with a larger majority than in the previous parliamentary term. The PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, BNG and Coalición Canaria voted in favour, securing 179 seats. Only the PP, Vox and UPN voted against, totalling 171 seats. However, the Congress of Deputies was skewed to the right, as Junts, the PNV and Coalición Canaria, even though they facilitated Sánchez’s investiture, are conservative parties. At present, looking at the left-right spectrum in Congress, there are 185 right-wing MPs compared to 165 on the left. This is why many of the government’s measures fail to gain traction in negotiations.
Achievements of the Coalition Governments
In spite of Spain’s difficult political climate through the last decade, the two progressive coalition governments have achieved significant social and political progress, despite being minority governments in Parliament. The democratic era’s first coalition government, comprised of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos (2019–2023), passed some of the most significant social reforms of recent decades. These included the Minimum Living Income, aimed at vulnerable households; the 2021 labour reform, which limited the use of temporary employment contracts and strengthened collective bargaining; and successive increases to the National Minimum Wage, which rose from 950 euros in 2020 to 1,080 euros in 2023. The public pension system was also adjusted in line with the Consumer Price Index, and extraordinary support measures were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the area of civil rights, the government passed the Euthanasia Act, making Spain one of the few countries in the world to recognize this right; the Trans Act, which introduced gender self-determination; the Democratic Memory Act, and numerous reforms to strengthen protection against gender-based violence and discrimination. Structural measures were also passed, such as the Housing Act which, although not as far-reaching as it could have been, did establish mechanisms to cap prices in high-demand areas and strengthened protection for vulnerable tenants. The Climate Change and Energy Transition Act was also passed, along with a significant expansion of grants, social support and care policies.
The second coalition PSOE-Sumar government (2023–present), has seen its legislative powers more constrained by parliamentary numbers, but has pressed on to develop social and labour reforms. The most significant measure from a political perspective has been the Amnesty Act for those involved in the Catalan independence process. It was presented by the government to promote institutional normalization and social cohesion in Catalonia. The ELA Act was also passed, aimed at improving care and the resources available to people affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other serious neurodegenerative diseases, and Article 49 of the Constitution was also reformed, replacing the term disminuidos (impaired) with a respectful reference to people with disabilities.
On equality and social rights, this government has passed the Parity Act, which reinforces the balanced representation of women and men on the governing bodies of companies and public institutions. Furthermore, the policy of increasing the National Minimum Wage has continued, gradually raising it to 1,420 euros. This is no small sum. In 2018, when Sánchez took office, the National Minimum Wage stood at 735 euros – half the current amount. During this legislature, the coalition government has also approved a number of social and labour protection measures, including improvements to leave entitlements and rights regarding work-life balance.