PP's Feijóo begins bid for PM and proposes creation of crime of 'constitutional disloyalty'

The leader of the conservative People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has begun addressing the Spanish congress in his bid to be elected the next prime minister of Spain.

Feijóo announced his intention to create a new crime of "constitutional disloyalty." 

The PP leader arrived at congress accompanied by his 137 MPs applauded by around a hundred people who had gathered outside. 

The crowd heckled acting Spanish prime minister, the Socialists' Pedro Sánchez, and MPs from pro-independence Esquerra Republicana.

Following Feijóo's speech, there was a recess before the debate continued in the afternoon with the Socialists. Former mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, took to the floor, rather than Sánchez.

The PP won the most seats in the Spanish general election in July, but fell well short of a majority.

The Socialists are better placed to win the support of congress to govern, but need the support of several smaller parties, including Catalonia's ERC and Junts.

No amnesty or referendum

Feijóo voiced his clear opposition to an amnesty for pro-independence figures over their role in Catalonia's 2017 independence referendum, which was deemed illegal by Spain.

"I am not going to defend that. I have principles, limits and my word," the PP leader said.

"Above all I have a duty that I will not evade," he added.

The candidate for prime minister also ruled out an independence referendum in Catalonia.

"The program that I have come to present to you does not include amnesty, nor the self-determination of a part of the nation," he said.

The PP leader said that former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont had offered Feijóo and Sánchez "the exact same thing," but the difference was "the integrity of the two potential candidates."

Puigdemont's party Junts have found themselves in the role of kingmakers as their votes would be enough to push either candidate for PM over the line.

"I have the votes within my reach" to be prime minister, Feijóo said, but, he added, he would "not accept paying the price they ask of me" in return.

According to Feijóo, an amnesty is "outside the constitution" and represents a "legal and moral aberration."

"It is a direct attack on the essential democratic values of our country" and on the "equality of Spaniards," he said.

"Institutional deterioration"

Feijóo was also critical of the direction Spain had gone in during the previous term, under the left-wing coalition government led by the Socialists.

"Spain is experiencing an unprecedented institutional deterioration that risks getting even worse," he told congress.

He outlined his intention to introduce a new crime of "constitutional disloyalty" and reverse some of the reform of the criminal code undertaken in the last term.

"We must strengthen the instruments to protect the dignity of the state, incorporating into the criminal code a crime of constitutional disloyalty, as occurs in all the countries around us, and once again punishing the crime of misappropriation of public funds according to its severity."

Sources from the PP say the new crime would be similar to the crime of sedition, which was eliminated in the previous legislature following the Socialists and Unides Podemos pact with pro-independence parties.

Far-right Vox support

Feijóo thanked the "responsible and generous" support of the 33 MPs from far-right Vox, and also urged Socialist MPs to vote for him.

Linguistic diversity

Feijóo said he was aware of the linguistic and territorial diversity of Spain, but was "fed up" of "linguistic impositions."

Congress certified the use of Catalan and other co-official languages one week ago, with a majority of 180 votes.

Two votes

Once the debate is over, the first vote to elect Feijóo as prime minister will take place on Wednesday when MPs will one by one declare out loud: "yes," "no" or " abstention".

In this first vote, Feijóo needs an absolute majority to back him, at least 176 MPs.

If he fails in his first bid, the congressional speaker, Francina Armengol, will call a new vote 48 hours later, on Friday.

During this second debate, Feijóo will have 10 minutes to ask for the support of the chamber again, and each parliamentary group will have 5 minutes to reply.

Voting will be carried out in the same way, but on this occasion Feijóo only needs a simple majority to be elected PM, more votes in favor than against.

Election countdown starts

If Feijóo fails to win the first vote, the countdown to another election will begin.

Congress has two months to elect a prime minister, otherwise an election will be called for 54 days later.

Therefore, Pedro Sánchez would need to win the support of congress before November 26. Otherwise, Spain will go to the polls again on January 14, 2024.