Frustration over reform
Spanish deputy PM calls for prudence over constitutional reform; delays to meetings common, with national Security meeting not held since 2009
“Little by little, step by step” is how a hypothetical constitutional reform should be addressed according to Spanish deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, who yesterday urged “prudence” to those who wish to reform the Constitution because “it is serving 46.5 million Spaniards.”
Participating in the Congressional Constitutional Committee in Madrid, Santamaría was open to amending the 1978 text, but highlighted difficulties reaching agreement with the other political parties due to their opposing views on, among other issues, multiple nationalities and the territorial structuring of Spain.
During the meeting, republican Teresa Jordà reminded the deputy PM that the current Constitution “does not impede the holding of a referendum, if there is the political will to do so” and specifically reproached the unwillingness to resolve the Catalan issue because the PP wants Spain to continue as it is “forever”.
PDECat spokesperson Francesc Homs insisted that a referendum is the only solution. “If someone thinks that the Catalan question is solvable without going to the polls, they are making a misdiagnosis,” he told Santamaría. In the same meeting, En Comú Podem leader, Xavier Domènech criticised the Spanish government for the constant appeals for dialogue without specifying any concrete action beyond “a lot of meetings”, some of which many are sceptical will even be held.
The most flagrant case is the Security Committee, which has not met since 2009, largely because doing so would entail the Spanish government reviewing its debt with the Generalitat.