Avoid the second parliamentary defeat of the Socialist Party in the same week. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda has decided withdraws the project to amend the constitution this Thursday. He did this just a few minutes before it was to be discussed in the plenary of the Congress of Deputies, with the explicit rejection of Sumar and the partners of the coalition government, Esquerra, Junts, Bildu and Podemos. It also did not receive the support of the Popular Party, although Housing has tried to gain the support of the main opposition party, ensuring that it was a law requested by municipal councils and autonomous communities under the law.
“It is a rule that has been worked on with the PP in its institutional aspect, we had that support to advance it,” acknowledged the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda at the doors of the Congress of Deputies, although the PP denies these negotiations . “Some partners are not as involved in municipal policies, as we have the two main parties in this country, the PSOE and the PP,” Isabel Rodríguez has assumed.
We analyze what the failed Land Act consists of, who supported it and who rejected it and what can happen from now on.
What is the law of the land?
What the Ministry of Housing was looking for was to change the current constitution, which dates back to 2008. That is, it wanted to change the legislation that restricts the development of urban planning, the launch of new real estate developments, the construction of more housing created or new neighborhoods are created.
The argument for changing the law is that the current legal uncertainty gave municipal authorities and autonomous communities, because, if a ruling were to support an appeal against a certain aspect of a general urban development plan, with the current regulations the entire plan would fall. According to the ministry, almost a hundred urban development plans are currently at a standstill. “This standard tries to avoid what has happened for decades, namely that after long hours of work, with great social participation, [los planes] “They are throwing themselves overboard because of correctable mistakes,” argued Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez at the doors of the Congress of Deputies.
The change in the law is also not new, it has been on the table for some time. The Housing and Urban Agenda – at the time under the umbrella of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management – already tried it in the previous parliamentary term, but early elections a year ago prevented the change in law from being processed in the Congress of Deputies.
Moreover, the Socialist Party already knew that it would be difficult to gain parliamentary support for a text about which Sumar expressed doubts, even if it was approved by the Council of Ministers. Housing embraced the fact that it was a request from the sector and local and regional authorities. “The vocation of this government is to reach a broad consensus,” government spokesman Pilar Alegría said after the text's approval in Moncloa in March.
What backups did you have?
The only political group that positioned itself in favor of changing this law were the socialists; and that is why it has decreased, to avoid a defeat of the main party in the government. Minister Isabel Rodríguez has acknowledged to the media that they are seeking popular support “out of state sentiment.” “The opposition party knows that it is a good law, necessary and that it is destroying communities and municipal councils. “They took the opportunity to trip up the government,” he emphasized, although the PP denies these negotiations. “They called us on Tuesday to ask about the vote,” sources from this group assured elDiario.es.
Housing counted on the PP's ploy to be feasible, because the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) – of which it is now president – has on several occasions demanded legal changes that go in the direction promoted by the text , namely the occurrence of a resource that can be corrected, paralyzes an entire urban development. Also because the Xunta de Galicia, chaired by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, demanded a similar change a few years ago.
The one that had clear support for the change in the law was the development and real estate sector. The The fundamental right had to be discussed in Congress at the same time as the Sima Real Estate Congress was held in Madrid. And this Wednesday, the initiators asked for approval of the legal change. “The constitution must move forward so that many plans that have been blocked become reality,” said Beatriz Toribio, general director of the Association of Construction Developers of Spain (APCE).
The president of the Real Estate Developers of Madrid (Asprima), Carolina Roca, also asked for consensus. “Tomorrow is an important day,” Roca said, referring to today's plenary session of Congress. “It is an essential law to put an end to the legalization of urban planning. We ask the legislator for a higher vision, to provide legal certainty for urban planning regulations.”
Who rejects it?
He received the rejection of the partner in the coalition government, Sumar; and those of the executive, such as Esquerra, Junts and Podemos. These three had submitted amendments to the entire project, which were to be voted on today in the Congress of Deputies. EH Bildu also rejected the legal change promoted by Housing. And the PP.
Sumar's spokesperson in Congress, Íñigo Errejón, has criticized in the corridors of the House of Commons that the Housing Bill was “a hit bill more typical of the path Aznar took” and that is why the PSOE has opened the door to negotiations with the House of Representatives. PP. “They knew they were not counting on us or on the investiture partners,” he assured. Among these, Esquerra. The spokesperson, Gabriel Rufián, has assured that Housing has presented it as “lentils” and that “it has not followed the path of dialogue” and Podemos has recalled that this is the third time that it has opposed this law, two of them, in government.
The text passed in the Council of Ministers, but Sumar required changes, which were not implemented. For example, the restriction on public action to block city plans is eliminated, that is, any individual can commit resources to city plans even if they are not directly affected. “The need to limit access to public action is not shared and it is considered more appropriate to maintain it in its current form and not limit the possibility that citizens currently have to demand the expulsion from the legal system of illegal city plans in defense of general interests,” he criticized this formation.
Why did it fall?
Because the parliamentary amounts are not forthcoming. The rejection of Sumar and all government partners makes it impossible for the Socialist Party to trust that they will implement the first law that the current Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda submitted to Congress.
Without them, it was time to look at the Popular Party, which has also been clear in its rejection and is now taking advantage of the misstep with this project to highlight the loneliness of the Socialist Party in parliament. “The government has a problem with the government,” PP spokesperson Borja Semper told the media.
The popular parties have taken the opportunity to point out that loneliness is “unprecedented” on the same day that the European election campaign begins. “The government is not able to approve in the Cortes even what was designed at the table of the Council of Ministers,” sources from the conservative group assure, because “Sánchez does not have the ability to determine the future of the nation when his legislature's priorities are not. They don't even convince Yolanda Díaz.”
And now that?
Well, there's no more bill. It's not like he died either, even though he was in a drawer for several weeks. Minister Isabel Rodríguez has acknowledged that the constitutional amendment will no longer return to Congress, promoted by the executive, but rather leave it to the parliamentary groups to resume negotiations once the European elections are over.
“I am making the law available to parliamentary groups so that they can use a good text as a reference,” said the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda. For example, the PNV has hinted that they may register the same text that has not yet been negotiated today as a bill, to serve as a starting point.
And there are already voices calling for consensus, especially between the PP and the PSOE, such as that of the president of the employers' organization CEOE, Antonio Garamendi. “It is time for us in this country to talk about what unites us and not about what divides us,” he told the media. “The constitution is necessary, but it may be time for the elections to be over, for the election debates to end and for things to be viewed more calmly. It is an important law and it is also important that the two major parties sit down and speak so that they can jointly present the law, which is “a state issue”.