The alliance between Spain's right-wing Ciudadanos (Cs) party and the government led by the Socialists (PSOE) does not seem to be temporary. This Wednesday, with the country's state of alarm already in the past, the relationship was visible again in the Congress of Deputies. Sources within Cs report that they have entered into "commitments" with the Pedro Sánchez executive, and for that reason will support at least three of the four conclusion documents of the Reconstruction Commission, the committee set up to tackle coronavirus recovery measures, which is completing its work this week. As well, the executive is in contact with the main right-wing opposition group, the Popular Party (PP) to reach a basic agreement on health measures and the EU questions in relation to the reconstruction body.
In the commission's working groups on economic recovery, health and the European Union, more than 20 amendments from Ciudadanos have been approved. Thus, Cs will vote in favour of the three final documents for these groups. With regard to the fourth working group, on social policies and the care system, Ciudadanos has complained about "the desire of the groups that support the government to omit assistance to concerted private education and special education". Cs has also undertaken an initiative to create a Spanish public health centre, led by the central health ministry aimed at "improving" health coordination between the autonomous communities - which are the key players in Spain's devolved health system.
The agreement between Ciudadanos and the Spanish government began under the state of alarm declared as a way of centrally managing the coronavirus crisis. But from the Moncloa government palace there is an impulse to take the alliance much further and even involve the party in the negotiation of the Spanish government budget. The intention of the Sánchez executive is to extend the variable geometry as long as possible, using the economic crisis as justification.
A minimal accord with the PP?
Meanwhile, in the midst of the election campaigns for the Basque and Galician autonomous communities, PP leader Pablo Casado has also been trying to show a much more moderate profile than in previous weeks, and is in negotiations with the PSOE and their coalition partners Unidas Podemos to find a basic consensus on both the health and EU working group for the reconstruction commission.
The Catalan pro-independence parties ERC and JxCat look with suspicion at most of the work of the commission, where they detect recentralizing measures, such as those agreed on between the Spanish government and Ciudadanos. ERC deputy Joan Josep Nuet has also stated that if an agreement is reached with the PP on meeting on issues such as stability objectives and the reduction of public debt, "social budgets will not be possible."
The left-of-centre, pro-independence ERC was one of the key elements in the parliamentary arithmetic which brought the Sánchez government to power, but it has been left high and dry several times in recent weeks as the Socialists have simply turned their back and made a deal with Ciudadanos.