Rajoy’s weak administration could be on the verge of toppling after Podemos called for a vote of no confidence in his government this afternoon.
The scandal hit PP party is tottering, as high-ups are arrested or quit as magistrates extend their investigations into corruption and illegal financing by industry magnates.
Catalan independence party Comprimis has backed the call, and now the race is on to get the other small parties to back them. For the motion to pass the PSOE – currently embroiled in its own leadership race – will have to get on board.
Pablo Iglesias of Podemos is betting the house on being able to force the PSOE to back him and in a press meeting this midday called upon the three PSOE leadership candidates to take a position on the motion. He said that corruption was a virus that had infected every level of the PP, and that the vote was an ethical, not political, matter.
C’s, the other main party in the congress and which is in an unofficial coalition with the PP, said they wouldn’t play in this “circus”.
The PSOE said that Podemos is “playing bad faith games” and said that the first they knew of the call was 10 minutes before the cameras started rolling.
But since Podemos has announced a series of meetings with large apolitical groupings such as Judges for Democracy and the big unions that support PSOE, this position may well change over the coming days. With internal PSOE elections looming, any of the candidates could snap under the pressure and back the motion.
For the motion to pass, they need an absolute majority -176 MP’s – and a candidate to replace Rajoy.
It’s all to play for over the next week…. Especially if Podemos offer PSOE the Presidency in exchange for a coalition deal.