The expired mandate of the General Council of the Judiciary has been one of the protagonists of the celebration of the anniversary of the Constitution in which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has set a date for the call to the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to address its “renewal without conditions”: before the end of the year.
In the PP they reveal that Feijóo accepts the meeting. “If the president calls Feijóo, he will go, but he would like not to have to find out the agenda of his meetings with the president through the media,” the same sources say.
Asked in groups about the renewal of the CGPJ, PP sources have insisted that both the reform of the judiciary and the unblocking of new Council appointments must occur “simultaneously.” In fact, in Genoa they claim that the Commissioner of Justice, Didier Reynders, says the same as the PP.
However, the harsh reality is that neither the Government wants to change the law to reform the model of election of CGPJ members nor is the PP willing to unblock the renewal if this rule is not reformed first.
Therefore, all the leaders of the PP and the PSOE consulted in the circles of the anniversary of the Constitution agree that there will be no renewal of the Council in the coming months.
And it is precisely the renewal of the CGPJ, the amnesty and the pacts of the PSOE with the independentists have indelibly marked the 45th anniversary of the Constitution. This has been made clear with the statements of the main political leaders minutes before the institutional event that commemorates the birthday of the Magna Carta began in Congress.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in a statement without questions, has stressed that the Constitution “does not belong to any political party” and has assured that “in the face of those who give lessons in constitutionalism, we must remember that the best way to defend it is to comply with it.” every day of the year and all its articles”. In this sense, and making express reference to the blockage in the renewal of the CGPJ, he stressed: “The excuses are over and it is time to comply, moving from proclamations to facts, complying with the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary. who has been in office for five years. Sánchez has urged the PP to endorse the saying that “before devotion comes obligation.”
Sánchez has assured that he is willing to “reach out” to the leader of the opposition to “engage in state policy” and finally renew the governing body of the judges.
After these words, and in an informal conversation with journalists, Sánchez expressed his intention that in the coming weeks progress could also be made on an agreement with the political forces to reform article 49 of the Constitution, about which he said that There is “a broad consensus”, and to move forward in changing the regional financing model.
For his part, Alberto Núñez Feijóo has regretted that in the last five years the State parties have “cracked” and the minority independentists who have agreed with the PSOE have gained ground, making a deal that is “presidency of the Government in exchange for a “continuous attack on the institutions and the Constitution.”
“Sánchez,” he said, “has begun to lead a movement against the Constitution” that is reflected in the amnesty law that he has negotiated with the independentists and that in his opinion is nothing more than “an amendment to all the Magna Carta. For the leader of the PP and for all its regional presidents, “the first objective” is to defend the Constitution and equality. And he has warned: “They are not going to win. The only mediator for coexistence in Spain is the Spanish Constitution. “We will defend it no matter what it takes.”
In relation to the renewal of the CGPJ, he has insisted that his project is to “guarantee the independence” of the judges while that of the Government is to “control them, exactly what the Constitution rejects.” Feijóo hopes to “be able to advance” in this area but has warned that he will not be “complicit” in an attempt to control this power of the State. “There is a dam in favor of the independence of the Judiciary and we will keep it firm.” “We should agree on the independence of the Judiciary but this Government still does not believe in it. In that case we will be sliding down a very dangerous slope,” he warned.
The Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, has assured that the Constitution “does not build walls” although he has admitted that coexistence is now “in check.” In this sense, he has asked the President of the Government for “consistency” because his actions have nothing to do with his words. For him it is an exercise in “cynicism” to praise the Magna Carta while making agreements with those who want to break it.
Furthermore, in relation to the renewal of the CGPJ, Moreno has assured that the proposal that Feijóo makes in this regard is appropriate: renew the governing body of the judges while reforming the law to change the method of electing its members. .
The president of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, has urged Pedro Sánchez to carry out a “deep analysis of the role of institutions” because, in his opinion, “democratic quality is being degraded.”
Mañueco has urged the President of the Government to “do a deep reflection because,” he stressed, “it is not about colonizing powers such as the Judiciary or managing the institutions as one wishes.” “Sánchez”, he has stressed, “is on a bad path hand in hand with those who want to break the Constitution and must make a profound and sincere turn.” As long as the head of the Executive does not do this, according to the president of Castilla y León, it will be very difficult to reach an agreement between PP and PSOE to renew the General Council of the Judiciary.
The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has regretted that today a good part of the articles of the Constitution are being breached and has made special mention of the right to housing or the article that says that all the country’s wealth must be subordinated to the general interest . Belarra has assured that the purple formation will continue working to ensure that these articles are fulfilled.
Minutes later, the leader of Sumar and second vice president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, assured that the right wants the Constitution to only apply to part of the country. Díaz has attacked the bipartisanship that has “emptied” the Constitution for many years, failing to comply with many of its precepts. “This is violating the Spanish Constitution.” She later stressed that Sumar, with the policies she promotes, complies “in full” with the Magna Carta. Díaz maintains that the Constitution “is alive, it is flexible and must be interpreted based on the moment in which the country is experiencing.” The leader of Sumar has insisted on the message of stopping the right and the extreme right, a mandate that, according to her, is the one that emerges from the 23-J elections. She considers that the Government of Spain “is being besieged by the destructive politics of the right and the extreme right.”
For her part, the parliamentary spokesperson for Vox, Pepa Millán, has justified the non-presence of her group at the institutional event of Congress due to the “hypocrisy” of the PSOE that turns the sentences of the judges into a dead letter with its proposed law of amnesty. “We,” she said, “are not going to be complicit in this.”