Why did the framers of the Spanish Constitution want to create such a strong premier (President of the Government) and to what extent has this formal power been translated into practice?
Spain is Europe’s third largest country. According to Grolier Encyclopedia, Spain is a hereditary, constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. Its political subdivisions are divided into 17 autonomous communities or regional self-governments. Its 1978 constitution states that national sovereignty and power emanate from the people and is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation.
Spain’s political history is rich in diversity and characterized by rapid transition brought about by different events and upheavals. In the early 1930s, it was ruled by a leftist republican regime which was overthrown by the Spanish civil war. A right-wing dictatorial regime ended with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975. According to Payne (1970, p.1), events of the past century have shown that violent, thoroughgoing revolutions are probably only possible against comparatively weak governments and institutional systems based on relatively unproductive economies. Spain has had its share of revolutions and civil wars. There were leftists and rightists who advocated different sets of principles. As the constitution was being formulated, leftist parties were opposed to a monarchy type of governance. They still favored a republic form of government. The framers of the 1978 constitution took this into consideration as a means to balance the need to involve all parties even with those who have opposing views on democracy. This constitution recognizes political parties as part of the people’s expression and political participation. Political parties and their structure must be democratic even if these parties are socialists or communists.
Although the king wields a considerable influence in running the day to day operations of the government, he is just a symbolic figure who relinquished some of his powers given by a former Prime Minister. His role was limited by the fact that democratic reforms put in place in the constitution made it clear he should be apolitical and neutral. True power lies in the hands of the premier. The premier usually comes from a party who wins a majority seat in the Cortes.
According to an online article about Spain’s constitutional system, the writing of the was a long and arduous task which involved painstaking research, compromises, and a lot of negotiations and bargaining. Since Spain is composed of different political parties, the framers of the 1978 constitution devised it in such a way that it would be acceptable to all parties. These constitutional framers came from members of the newly elected Cortes, or the bicameral legislature.
The 1978 Constitution of Spain allowed the country to develop a democratic, social, and regional state. Political reforms and the emergence of King Juan Carlos as the new head of state marred Spain’s history prior to the adoption of the new constitution in 1978 after the death of General Franco in 1975. The King named Adolfo Suarez as the new Prime Minister in the following year. Prior to this time, General Franco ruled the country for 36 years of dictatorship. Political reforms initiated after his death led to the legalization of different political parties which included the socialist and communist parties. These democratic reforms were further strengthened with the creation of a new constitution. However, during this transition period, much of the energy and resources of the country were spent on trying to focus on political and constitutional matters. At that time, democracy was at its hardest time because economic and financial considerations have taken a backseat. By this time however, Spain’s foreign and economic policies and processes are directly tied to its membership in the European Union in 1986 (Magone, 2004).
The Prime Minister is vested with a lot of powers according to the different provisions of the 1978 constitution. It is understandable because the Prime Minister itself represents the people. Giving him stronger powers means giving the people greater participation and involvement in running the government. As a leader of the government and of the political party that he represents, he is accountable for all his actions within his party and the people. The Council of Ministers or the cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister, the deputy Prime Minister, and the different ministers. The Prime Minister oversees the policy-making and administrative functions of the council. He is in charge of preparing, and coordinating the different functions of the various departments of government. His nomination of the different ministers who would lead the different ministries puts him in a position to choose those which he thinks are capable of supporting his platform of government. He has the power to name and nominate civil servants for civil service positions and civil governors of each the 50 provinces. The armed forces are also directly under his control although the king is still regarded as the supreme commander.
Aside from these powers, he can also propose the dissolution of the entire legislature (the Cortes) and ask for a vote of confidence from the Congress of Deputies.
The transformation of the Spanish political structure from dictatorship to a full pledge democracy was what inspired the framers of the 1978 constitution to give most of the powers to the President of the Government. It was difficult to reconcile the concept of democracy with the concept of monarchy when sovereignty lies in the hands of the people, not with the government. Though the framers did not consider the idea of eliminating the constitutional monarchy, they were able to reach a compromise with regards to the roles that the king and the Prime Minister would play in government. Translating this sovereignty and power to the people means giving the Prime Minister enough power to run the government and deal with different problems and crisis situations.
Bibliography
Books
- Magone, J (2004), Contemporary Spanish Politics, Routledge, London
- Payne, Stanley (1970), The Spanish Revolution, W. W. Norton & Company Inc., New
- York
Journal Articles
- “Spain-Constitutional System”, Retrieved February 28, 2005 from
- http://www.exploitz.com/Spain-Consitutional-System-cg.php.
- “Spain-index”, Retrieved February 27, 2005 from http://www.oefre.unibe.ch