Prelude: As the main price for allowing his minority government to take office, José María Aznar accepted to move forward with a process of Constitutional Reform within the
Cortes, working alongside Rosa Díez's UCD and the moderate autonomists of CiU, PNV and CC (which combined had over 70% of seats) to quickly rule out reforms to the Frankenstein of a Constitution inherited after the Communist regime and the reforms of the 1990's to instead craft a completely new document. Basing the main text over a less conservative version of Suárez's 1979 Constitution many areas of agreement were quickly found, and despite public fights over the fate of King Carlos Hugo - whose lack of support in the
Cortes aside from the Carlist remnants has sealed his fate - it is believed the 2006 Constitution will sail to an easy vote in the
Cortes and with the public.
However, before the text is completed a series of more controversial articles must still be decided by the parties involved in the process, and a Referendum held - after a political pact - to decide on the fate of the Monarchy.
The Monarchy Referendum:
Monarchy Campaign: Having determined that Carlos Hugo I will lose his throne - partly because of his partisan role as Monarch -, Aznar and PP have selected the 32-year old Prince Luis Alfonso de Borbón y Martínez-Bordiú (son of the
Martyr King) as the candidate for Monarch on a strictly constitutional and non-partisan role. Led by Aznar and PP, the Pro-Monarchy campaign argues that recent troubles with the Heads of State have been because of "unsuitable monarchs" rather than the institution itself, presenting Luis Alfonso as proper candidate who should have been selected back in 1994. Still young, Luis Alfonso himself has vigorously campaigned to gain the throne and put an end to the whole dynastic fight, pledging to be a traditional, moral and dynamic constitutional head of state.
Republic Campaign: The other side of the coin is defended by Rosa Díez and the UCD alongside the moderate autonomists and the Greens (the Communists have their own unofficial campaign), citing episodes such as the Borbon and Carlist corruption scandals or the interruption of Suárez's government to showcase that the Monarchy is no longer useful to Spain. Arguing that despite several years of different transitions to Democracy Spain has grown far more mature and "capable of looking after itself", the Republican side argues in favor of an elected Presidency to fulfill the constitutional role of the monarch, but without excessive powers (thus retaining parliamentary democracy).
Constitutional Proposals:
Size of the Cortes - One of the topics up for the debate is the precise size of the
Cortes after a few years under a 400-seat house. The first proposal (spearheaded by UCD) argues to lower the size back to 350, but under a reform to the electoral system to further enforce proportionality and reduce the bonus to the larger parties. The second (defended by PP), argues to keep the present method for the main 350 deputies, and turn the 50 National deputies (elected by full PR) into a majority bonus handed over to the largest party to ensure more stable governments can take place.
Regional Model - Following years of intense federalism, UCD and PP have agreed that the system must be reformed. The "Re-Centralization Proposal" advocates to return key powers such as education, health care or the environment back to the central government (to ensure a government can effectively act on those matters) and enshire them in the Constitution, whereas the "Uniform Federalism Proposal" advocates to establish a limit on federalization and ensuring that all regions have the exact same level of devolution (thus ending the Basque or Catalan privileges).
Europe - Given the intense support among most of the Spanish parties (and population) regarding membership in the EU and the Euro, there's been talk among many politicians regarding a inclusion of Europe into the Constitution to enshrine Spain's membership of it (and thus prevent a future exit without a Constitutional Reform).
Balanced Budget- A pet issue of Aznar and PP (and which has drawn divided reactions from within UCD and CiU), this proposal aims to enforce fiscal responsibility by mandating that all national and regional budgets from 2013 on must be balanced unless in case of a natural emergency.
The Senate - Finally, with the two main parties arguing that a Senate should exist, a debate has now developed as to how the Senate should be elected. The first plan calls for a Senate elected nationally at the same time than the
Cortes through limited voting, and the second for a Senate appointed by the regional legislatures (and thus slowly evolving through time).
Two days.
Poll
