“Besides the substance, the form must be cared for.” The spokesperson of the PNV’s warning to Pedro Sánchez this week addressed the entire chamber. The president transformed, lowered his tone, thanked the constructive opposition of Basque nationalism, and moved past the latest clash between partners in Vitoria. The Basque nationalists have signed twelve transfer agreements with Sánchez’s government in three months and distance themselves from the investiture majority in Congress when it suits them. No one protests. Meanwhile, the agreements with ERC and Junts are dying amid performances and internal consumption reproaches.
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The rental extension decree failed in Congress due to votes against from PP, Vox, and Junts. If Carles Puigdemont’s group had followed the PNV’s strategy – abstention – it would not have been approved either and would have generated the same animosity. The ERC spokesperson lashed out at Junts: pointing out their seven deputies and a 50 “bucks” bill he raised as Junts’ flag, which ended up turning what could have been an anecdote into a category.
Gabriel Rufián’s bill does not serve to hide the fallacy that the government is supported by a progressive majority and confirms that, in times of polarization, a headline and a reproach are worth more than a timely pragmatic concession. Citizens become hostages, and legal uncertainty becomes the norm. Who does that strategy give votes to?
The government approved the rental decree knowing it would not be ratified. The absence of PSOE ministers on the blue bench in the chamber confirmed that Sánchez’s license to Sumar after a walkout in the Council of Ministers had an expiration date. Junts’ no was on the agenda. They have been on the side of the owners for months, where the CEO places most of their electorate; their tenant supporters do not exceed 13%. In January, they already said no.
Sumar’s decree forced landlords to extend rentals without price increases beyond 2% until 2027. And Junts only accepts the patch to contain the emergency if bonuses to owners, IRPF deductions, and VAT reductions for the self-employed are included. The form also worries Junts’ ranks. Miriam Nogueras’ aggressiveness strains the post-convergent argument: if housing is considered a social policy, it must be financed with public resources and not at the expense of owners, especially in a context of record state revenue.
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Junts’ leadership maintains that before the vote there was no contact with Sumar or PSOE; nor with ERC to prevent the consortium for investment management in Catalonia from collapsing in Congress. The leaderships try to preserve a relationship they call “fluid,” but distrust and their own agendas prevail. Rufián has made himself a battering ram against the right, whether Spanish or Catalan, and the tacit pact between Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras not to sabotage each other in Catalan sovereignty initiatives has fallen apart.
Rufián’s bill focuses on the emergency but does not give more votes to the government
The confrontation dynamic between independents in Madrid contrasts with the consensus of the last decade in the Parliament on housing. In 2015, under Artur Mas’ presidency, a housing emergency law was unanimously approved; in 2020, with Quim Torra, the first step to rent containment. PP and PSOE governments challenged them before the Constitutional Court.
The rental extension could benefit between 125,000 and 526,000 contracts in Catalonia, according to Catalan Administration data. However, the rental cap in effect since 2024 discourages owners from changing tenants if they cannot adjust the price. The Housing Law has set prices below the CPI increase, and only Barcelona records rents lower than last year (-1.2%) among provincial capitals. In Madrid, Palma, or Valencia – with PP governments opposed to the Housing Law – the increase ranges from 8% to 10%. The problem is structural and requires efficient policies. Rufián’s 50 “bucks” focus on the emergency but cannot erase the image of a minority government. And the form…
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