The PP approved this Wednesday at the Congress table and with the unanimity of all the parties represented there in the governing body of the Lower House, the composition of the Permanent Deputation through a mathematical distribution proportional to their votes, operating in unqualified times, but rejected the same method of distribution of representatives on the regular and daily working committees and vetoed them. The PP again denounced on the same day and even threatened possible legal action that the President of the Congress, the socialist Francina Armengol, has stopped the legislative and control activity of the Chamber without convening the plenary session for the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez in the body of speakers demanded a resumption of his activities in favor of the socialist candidate. The PP then argued that the system for allocating MPs to the commissions proposed by the progressive majority “does not reflect the composition of the Chamber”, but admitted at the table that it does not recognize and does not recognize ERC and Junts as a parliamentary group, so representation at all these meetings.
In this beginning and once again complex 15th electoral term, there is no area that is free of party political disputes. And the Congress of Deputies is the most relevant and media-rich field to conquer. The Cortes was constituted on August 17, the Senate began its activities, but the Congress is still inactive. The PP has been claiming for weeks, and especially since the failed inauguration of Alberto Núñez Feijóo at the end of September, that the president of this chamber “hijacked” it in the interests of the candidate Sánchez. To justify this complaint, the people’s representatives emphasize that Armengol does not set a date for the inauguration of the socialist candidate (when this decision is not regulated and there are precedents and delays in various mandates of different ideologies) or that he does not refer to the board of directors Speakers Committee is the one who discusses and resolves the questions and suggestions of the groups to include them in the calendar of plenary sessions and commissions.
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Under normal conditions, Congressional speakers’ committees typically meet every week (usually Tuesdays), but it is now apparent that this is not the case. One of the basic functions of the House of Commons as a legislative body is to control what the government does, but the current government is in office and its operations are precarious. The progressive majority, which controls the congressional executive committee, which decides the schedule and the issues to be addressed, has, in these three weeks after Feijóo’s inauguration, brought to the fore the possibility that Sánchez’s option as president could be successful in order to bring the legislative session back to normal to start. They formed the working commissions and began the plenary sessions and control of the executive. This meeting is not in sight for the time being and in the PP they are increasingly complaining. They are protesting and pushing to force this vote, especially with the idea that Junts or ERC will stand out and fail or, failing that, represent the new government of Sánchez and his separatist, Basque and Catalan partners. But they are not in a hurry with all the tasks or meetings that should already be scheduled in Congress.
The Congressional Committee, which met again this Wednesday and now meets almost every week despite the low activity of the Chamber, finally and after almost a month of delay had to approve a proposal from the Bureau to allow the correction of the erroneous statements of the MPs if they vote immediately ask for it verbally, as was the case with the Junts’ second Feijóo voting representative, Eduard Pujol. This very fundamental solution has been extended for three weeks because the PP spontaneously presents amendments and alternatives and the Presidency does not want to impose its idea in order to reach a consensus on something as fundamental as the Chamber’s Rules of Procedure.
With the government in office, plenary sessions have not yet taken place in Congress, but its working commissions could be set up. In order for these commissions to be created, up to 23 legislative and 10 non-legislative commissions in the last 14th legislative period, the parties must first agree on the way of their formation and the PP has the distribution proposed to them by the progressive majority rejected. A distribution proportional to the votes and seats obtained in the July 23 elections. The same that the PP approved this Wednesday to form, if necessary, the Permanent Representation for non-working parliamentary periods: 33 deputies from the PP, 24 from the PSOE, six from Vox, six from Sumar and one each of the other five groups ( ERC, JxC, EH Bildu, PNV and Mixto, in this case UPN). This composition gives the majority supporting Armengol 34 votes and the right and far-right 34, and the president would be the casting vote that would decide the outcome. What is good for the PP of the Permanent Deputation is not useful for the commissions and they justify this by saying that this distribution “does not reflect the composition of the chamber”. At the table, they argued that ERC and Junts should never have formed their own group, as they were granted at the end of August, and then unsuccessfully appealed.
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