How the EU Council presidency fell victim to Spain’s electoral games

The electoral battle between majority parties PSOE (S&D) and Partido Popular (EPP) is taking a toll on the upcoming Spanish EU Council presidency – which will start on 1 July – as it becomes part of their offensive campaign.

Sánchez planned to use the Spanish EU Council presidency to boost its international figure among voters in the run-up to the general elections – originally planned for the end of 2023 – by setting a decentralised programme with ministerial meetings in several regions.

But a landslide victory of right-wing Partido Popular (PP/EPP) and far-right Vox (ECR) during the regional and municipal elections in May disrupted Sánchez’s plans and pushed him to advance the general elections to 23 July, almost a month after the start of the EU Council presidency.

Amid fears that the presidency would be compromised by a potential change of government, authorities were quick to reassure that the presidency’s functions would not be affected.

After all, it is not the first time that a country holding the presidency faced elections – it happened with France in April 2022.

“It is not something that worries anyone. No one in Europe has raised any doubts. The facts show that you can have successful presidencies with electoral cycles”, assured Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.

It has recently become clear that the EU Council presidency is falling victim to the electoral games between the majority parties as some of the key routine inauguration events have been disrupted by the EPP – supporting PP’s President Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

The bickering over the EU Council presidency, used as campaign material by both the PP and PSOE, is part of a wider offensive strategy from both parties.

The PP has adopted a “defeating Sanchism” discourse, attacking Sánchez and its governance. “I am going to repeal lies, deceit, arrogance, sectarianism and, therefore, Sanchism”, Feijóo stated as reported in eldiario.es.

On the other side, after the failure of PSOE’s campaign for the regional elections, which focused on showcasing the government’s achievements, the party shifted its strategy towards attacking the PP. Sánchez’s speech now revolves around stopping a “Trumpist” extreme right, referring to both right-wing PP and far-right Vox, EL PAIS reported.

Following this trend, on 2 June, the EPP requested the postponement of Sánchez’s presidential inauguration speech at the European Parliament plenary session in July. Shortly after, the Spanish government announced the speech postponement to September.

On 8 June, the EPP struck again by leading the Parliament’s leadership into cancelling its visit to Madrid, originally scheduled for 26 June on the occasion of the Spanish EU Council presidency inauguration.

“We regret that the EPP has allied itself with the extreme right and the independentists to attack the Spanish presidency once again”, S&D President Iratxe García said in a communication, and added that “the damage is not done to Pedro Sánchez or the Socialist Party, it is done to the country and Spanish society as a whole”.

At the national level, Feijóo also accused Sánchez of a lack of communication and transparency, as he demanded Sánchez decide on the presidency priorities with the opposition and inform the Spanish parliament “like in any other democratic state”.

In response, Foreign Minister Albares expressed in a press conference that Sánchez has maintained a dialogue with all political forces in the Spanish Parliament via the EU committee. Moreover, the Minister summoned all Spanish MEPs during the European Parliament plenary session in April to present the presidency priorities, but PP MEPs did not attend.

“Why did all but the PP MEPs attend? Why doesn’t the PP want to participate in a state policy such as the European presidency, which is also a national project?” questioned Albares.

In April, EPP’s chief Manfred Weber, and the head of the PP delegation to the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, accused the Commission of “campaigning” for the PSOE-led Spanish government due to their strong position against an Andalusian bill that endangered the Doñana Park natural reserve, ahead of Spanish regional and municipal elections on 28 May.

(Max Griera | EURACTIV.com)