The Constitution Day event in Congress is a ritual that concentrates countless politicians, institutional officials and journalists in a few square meters of the same cauldron. In the bitter cold, the morning of December 6th near the Carrera de San Jerónimo in Madrid usually begins with the parade of several regional presidents and party spokesmen, who then appear in front of a standing microphone installed in the courtyard of the House of Commons. The ceremonial celebration that follows gives way to celebration inside. This also happened this Wednesday, when the 45th anniversary of the Basic Law was also commemorated. After the official ceremonies, which take place in the Hall of Lost Steps of Congress in front of the Chamber, the cameras are turned off and politicians and journalists mingle in the gastronomy.
The leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, tried as best he could to get out of the Hall of Lost Steps, barely taking a bite from the trays of ham, mini Mexican tacos, regañás with anchovies and croquettes that were passed between him the crowd, and he left first. On his departure he met the deputy president of the Judicial Council, Vicente Guilarte, with whom he had a brief conversation. Regarding the content of the conversation, the opposition leader’s team says it will not disclose personal meetings. In the background is the PP’s refusal to renew the CGPJ unless at the same time the law governing the election of judges appointed to the body, whose mandate has expired five years ago, is reformed. This issue and the exit of the five MPs from the mixed group after the separation from Sumar were the most common topics in the informal conversations between politicians and journalists, reflected in the headlines this Thursday.
The person who did not greet Feijóo was Pedro Sánchez. The district president stayed in the same “Lost Steps” room to speak to the press. There he fled from Feijóo while a crowd of journalists tried to listen to the head of the executive branch, who is already thinking about “putting on the table” the Guilarte formula for the renewal of the CGPJ, as revealed in this informal conversation. The proposal is to deprive the Council of its main authority to appoint presidents of hearing and superior courts as well as judges of the Supreme Court. This possibility has not yet been examined in the PP. Who knows if Guilarte said anything about his own solution to Feijóo during their meeting.
From left: Vicente Guilarte, Cándido Conde-Pumpido and Pedro Sánchez, at the event.Claudio Álvarez
Several regional presidents of the PP were stationed in the corridor between the hall and the meeting room: that of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras; that of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno; that of Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco; and that of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda. Everyone was surrounded by journalists or party colleagues and, unlike their leader, they stayed to chat and enjoy the tidbits. And they all had doubts about what position they would take in the debate on regional financing and debt relief, one of the main issues facing territorial leaders now in La Moncloa. The regional presidents of the PP do not give up on a cut, but call for it to be discussed in the Financial Policy Council and for different positions to be adopted depending on the area.
The new Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Isabel Rodríguez, approached López Miras and spoke to him as if she were scolding a child, but without going that far. According to those close to him, Rodríguez told the president of the Region of Murcia that it would soon be necessary to address the housing problems, the responsibility of which lies with the autonomies that must apply the housing law. López Miras then met with Miquel Iceta, the former culture minister and recently appointed Spanish ambassador to UNESCO, whom the president of Murcia greeted effusively and with a growl.
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– Man, Miquel! You’re inviting me to Paris, aren’t you?
“Anytime!” replied the energetic former minister.
The President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno, welcomes the President of the Congress, Francina Armengol, upon her arrival.Mariscal (EFE)
There was also a lady strolling down the hall who kept asking for photos of all the regional presidents of the PP. The last person he questioned was that of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who, unlike her party colleagues, remained in the Hall of the Lost. The woman who asked for photos asked for a second snapshot because she didn’t like the first snapshot. Ayuso nodded happily. The President of Madrid had already held her own constitutional ceremony at the Real Casa de Correos two days ago. An event organized by the community to which the minister in charge of territorial policy was not invited, as he usually does every year. Ayuso reacted in this way to the central government not inviting her to the inauguration of the AVE line between Madrid and Asturias. Transport explained that it was the León-Oviedo section.
The Minister of the sector, Óscar Puente, with whom Ayuso is also currently waging an open war over the derailment of two trains at Atocha station in recent days, also attended the congress this Wednesday. But like Feijóo, Puente didn’t stay long.
“I have to take the AVE!” the priest apologized as he left.
Second-grader Pablo Ruiz enjoyed the meal and read an article of the Constitution during the ceremony. He was chosen because his parents knew “someone” in Congress and whom several people had congratulated on the ease with which he pronounced the words, with barely any nerves. Only a few politicians came for dessert and cava. Among them were Ayuso and another of the most sought-after people, the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, who attended the celebration after the shock of the separation from Sumar that occurred just a few hours earlier. Díaz secretly looked relieved.
Second grader Pablo Ruiz Moreno after participating in the event. Claudio Alvarez
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