For a few seconds, the royal decree law of the labor reform that has been debated and voted on today in Congress has been rejected by a parliamentary majority. An error in announcing the count by the president of Congress, Meritxell Batet, has plunged the Chamber into an initial silence that has been broken by the Vox deputies who, overjoyed, have applauded furiously what seemed like a setback for the Government. But, in reality, it was a failure to announce the vote, perhaps due to the fact that the result was not what was expected (176 Yes it is by 173 It is not), but a tighter one: 175 to 174. And with plot twist ending that includes betrayal and a massive mistake by the PP that has saved the “Social Communist Government”.
The mistake of the PP deputy: he voted ‘yes’ to validate the labor reform and ‘no’ to process it as a bill
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The vote took place around 6:30 p.m., at the end of a plenary session that began at 9:00 a.m. with the defense by the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, of the royal decree law that reforms the labor market. The debate has been long, which has prolonged the entire session beyond what is usual. After a break for the telematic vote, the deputies present have sat down in their seats and the vote has proceeded. First, the non-law propositions, the motions resulting from interpellation, the opinions of the investigation commission of the PP’s political police,…
The last thing has been the law decrees. The most awaited, the reform of the labor market. 335 deputies present and 14 online. 349 out of a total of 350 since Alberto Rodríguez’s seat is still empty, waiting for all the judicial channels with which he tries to recover it to be closed.
The result in the Hemicycle: 166 Yes it is and 169 It is not. With the telematic vote, nine Yes it is and five It is not. Batet, after a few moments of doubt, has declared “repealed the royal decree law”, to the delight of the extreme right and stupefaction of the Government.
Almost immediately, the president has corrected her mistake, notified by the legal services of the Chamber: “They inform me that it is validated.” The shouting has changed sides and from the bench of the Executive parties the now classic “yes, you can” of difficult moments has been heard.
But the final result, although positive, hides a betrayal and another mistake, clearly more serious. The two deputies of the Union of the Navarrese People (UPN), Sergio Sayas and Carlos García Adanero, had committed their Yesbut they have finally voted that no. Despite the commitment of the president of his party, Javier Esparza, both have broken his word and, without warning, have changed their minds.
The UPN movement, a traditional ally of the PP in Navarra and which in 2019 concurred, together with Ciudadanos, in the Navarra Suma coalition, would have been used to overthrow the royal decree law. But a last failure of a representative of the PP has propitiated the final result. The deputy for Cáceres Alberto Casero, who has voted electronically, has made a mistake in doing so and has voted Yes to the decree law and no to process it as a bill. Just the opposite of what I had to do, which has brought the final result: 175 Yes it is and 174 It is not.
The parliamentary spokesperson for the PP, Cuca Gamarra, has demanded a turn to speak to protest and has alleged that they had previously notified the Congress of Casero’s error. The president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet, has responded: “The Table is knowledgeable and has been able to analyze what you are going to ask me. It is a technical question of the Table, a decision of the Table and not of treatment by the Plenary, I do not I will give the word”. Batet has adjourned the session between the protests of the PP, with a visibly upset Teodoro García Egea who has shouted at the president of Congress: “But what is this!”.
In a subsequent press conference, Gamarra explained that Casero is ill, which is why he has requested the telematic vote, but that upon realizing his error in the vote, he has moved to Congress to try to vote in person. According to the PP, he has been prevented from entering the Chamber. From the PP they maintain that it is an error in the voting system. The legal services of Congress, with the general secretary at the helm, deny this possibility and have validated the vote. Yolanda Díaz’s labor reform can no longer be reversed.
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