Socialists: does Pedro Sánchez have a chance at reelection?
Party to come in second in Spain but win in Catalonia, polls say
The Socialist Party is hoping to remain in government after the upcoming July 23 general elections in Spain.
Following the People's Party (PP) win in the local and regional elections in late May, Pedro Sánchez announced a snap vote.
Sánchez made a televised announcement on May 29 in which he stated that "as the head of the government and the secretary general of the Socialist party, I take responsibility for the results. I believe we ought to put our democratic mandate to the people’s will."
In the May election, PP emerged as the big winner with over 7 million votes across Spain, over 31% of all ballots cast. The Socialists, meanwhile, won over 6.2 million votes, about 28% of the total.
With the PM's decision, the left-wing coalition government came to an end months before anticipated.
The Socialists are expected to come in second after the People's Party with 104 to 108 seats. In Catalonia, however, the Catalan Socialist Party, PSC, is expected to gain an estimated 16 to 18 congressional seats out of the 48 that Catalonia elects, according to polls.
This is an increase on their 2019 results and could see them putting some distance between them and pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC), which would follow with 8-10 seats. ERC was the most voted party in Catalonia in the 2019 Spanish election and is currently the sole governing party in the minority Catalan executive.
In the last general election, the Socialists won 120 seats across Spain and Pedro Sánchez secured his post as PM in a tight vote, with 167 MPs for his appointment and 165 against it.
The Socialist candidate for Barcelona is Meritxell Batet, the current congressional speaker, accompanied by Spanish transport ministers Raquel Sánchez and culture minister Miquel Iceta.
Progressive policies, gender equality and coexistence with Catalonia
Policy-wise, the party is, generally speaking, progressive and focused on social rights. In fact, their slogan for this summer campaign is "Forward", as they also present themselves as the opposing force to the right-wing parties PP and Vox.
During their mandate, the Socialists and Podemos coalition government dedicated a great deal of resources to mitigating the consequences the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war had on the Spanish economy with measures like VAT reductions to ease the impact of inflation and free Renfe train tickets and discounted public transport fees.
Other social measures of their left-wing government include the labor market regulation, the reform of the abortion law removing parental consent for 16-to-18-year-olds, as well as the new housing law limiting rent increases.
Regarding Catalan independence, the Socialists state that they were successful in ending the "big independence challenges in Spain." Off the back of this, they will work towards the "territorial integration and cohesion" to "guarantee the coexistence of all the Spanish citizens."
During their time in office, the coalition government met with Aragonès' cabinet two times, with the aim of "dejudicializing" the political conflict.
On January 12 this year, changes to the penal code came into effect, which included scrapping the crime of sedition – the very crime the nine independence leaders were jailed for.
When it comes to the Spanish economy and businesses, they want to "boost the digitalization and internationalization of companies."
The red party, in a reference to their corporate color, is also focused on promoting green and renewable energy as well as a green and sustainable industrial transition.
If they were to be re-elected, the Socialists have pledged to create the Spanish Agency of Artificial Intelligence Supervision to encourage innovation but still protect people's rights and safety.
Another of the Socialist's aims is to promote feminism and gender equality as well as to battle gender-based violence.
During the coalition government, their sexual consent 'Only yes means yes' law presented a loophole that was used by rapists to reduce their sentences.
The Socialists then put forward a modification that was not backed by Podemos, their government partner, but by the People's Party.
One of their campaign promises is to increase government resources for victims of gender-based violence and their families.
On a European scale, the Socialists want to continue to show support to Ukraine and "defend its peace and territorial integrity," a position that Pedro Sánchez continues to back now that Spain holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.