Incompetent Spanish Political System... Facing Crisis of Second COVID-19 Wave Spread

Central Government and Local Governments Shift Responsibility Over State of Emergency
Minority Ruling Party Helpless in Face of Foreseen Crisis
Spain Faces Threat of Second COVID-19 Resurgence

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Spain is once again facing a new wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but due to the divided power structure between the central and local governments, it has been unable to respond swiftly. The incompetence of Spain's political system is worsening the situation.

On the 26th (local time), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez requested local governments to take active measures, but local governments led by the People's Party are shifting responsibility to the central government. At a press conference that day, Prime Minister Sanchez stated, "We will not let COVID-19 dominate our lives again as it did this spring," and added, "We will try to curb and control the threatening rise in COVID-19 cases as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in Spain. According to the international statistics site Worldometer, new confirmed cases reached 6,900 on the 22nd, showing signs of a second wave. When COVID-19 peaked in Spain in March this year, new confirmed cases were 10,855. Since the beginning of this month, Spain has seen new cases ranging from 3,000 to 7,000, clearly indicating signs of a crisis.

However, politics is hindering the COVID-19 response. The central and local governments are passing the responsibility back and forth over declaring a state of emergency, which can restrict individual rights. In particular, the People's Party, which governs the Madrid local government, is shifting the blame to the central government.

According to the Spanish Constitution, the central government can declare a state of emergency, but it must obtain parliamentary approval every 15 days to extend it. To avoid this process, local governments can request emergency measures from the central government, which then takes emergency actions.

Prime Minister Sanchez has mentioned the need for emergency measures but is asking local governments to propose them first. He also noted that even if a state of emergency is declared, lockdown measures are not necessarily implemented, and strong measures are at the discretion of local governments.

However, the opposition party flatly rejected this request. The People's Party criticized Prime Minister Sanchez for trying to avoid responsibility during the crisis, stating, "No one is taking the lead in this crisis right now." They added, "We are somewhere between a national state of emergency and doing nothing." The People's Party called for amending the health law to allow limited lockdown measures without declaring a state of emergency.

In Spain, there are concerns that both sides are only blaming each other. Pablo Simon, a political science professor at Carlos III University, described the situation as a "typical blame game," explaining, "The Madrid local government, run by the People's Party, will not want to request a state of emergency unless the situation worsens," and "Requesting a state of emergency means admitting that the local government has failed to control the situation properly." He pointed out that "policy decisions are delayed not only due to political conflicts between parties but also because the central and local governments share responsibility for political decisions."

Trend of New COVID-19 Cases in Spain (Source: Worldometer)

For example, in Italy, the state of emergency lasts until October 15, but in Spain, it ended on June 21. To maintain the state of emergency, parliamentary approval is required every two weeks, but the Spanish Socialist government, being a minority administration, lacked the power to extend it. As a result, despite the serious crisis, the state of emergency was lifted, and Spain's health policy is maintained with local governments, not the central government, taking responsibility.

Due to this structure, various measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are frequently undermined. For instance, a judge in Madrid last week suspended the enforcement of COVID-19 prevention measures such as nightclub closures and bans on outdoor smoking. The reason given was that measures restricting basic rights require actions like a state of emergency, which have not been implemented.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.