The Partido Popular (PP) says no viable majority exists to remove Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, dismissing Junts' latest move in Congress as a stalling tactic. Corruption cases involving figures in Sánchez's political circle have widened divisions between the government and its parliamentary allies. The PP still cannot assemble the votes needed to challenge the administration.
During Wednesday's plenary session, Junts spokesperson Míriam Nogueras called for Sánchez to resign and for Parliament to appoint a new leader capable of addressing Catalonia's demands. PP sources see the move as an attempt by Junts to buy time, rather than a genuine effort to unseat Sánchez. The PP leadership in Génova sees no prospect of Junts joining it in a formal motion of censure.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP leader, has dropped earlier attempts to court government allies and now criticizes them for continuing to support Sánchez. He accused the groups of lacking dignity and said he would promote a motion of no confidence only if the necessary support were already secured, a scenario he considers highly unlikely. Junts, led in Congress by Nogueras, has sought concessions from the Spanish state while maintaining its independence-oriented position. Its opposition to Sánchez has not become a commitment to support a PP-led alternative.
In recent weeks, the PP pinned its hopes on Junts, especially after the Catalan party supported parts of a PP initiative in Congress, fuelling speculation about a possible rapprochement. On 25 June, Congress approved a non-binding PP motion urging Sánchez to consider submitting himself to a confidence vote and to resign. It passed 178 votes to 171, with support from the PP, Vox, Junts, Unión del Pueblo Navarro and Coalición Canaria. The Congressional Bureau had rejected the original wording calling for elections, and the text put to the vote did not create a binding route to remove the prime minister. Feijóo has pointedly reminded Junts that it was instrumental in Sánchez's initial investiture.
The distinction between that motion and the parliamentary process for replacing a government matters. Under Article 113 of Spain's Constitution, a motion of censure must name an alternative candidate for prime minister and win an absolute majority in Congress. If approved, the proposed candidate becomes the successor. A confidence vote under Article 112, by contrast, is initiated by the government, and its defeat requires the government to resign under the constitutional procedure. The June motion's request that Sánchez consider a confidence vote did not trigger that process.
Junts' proposal, described as the “Starmer route” in reference to the recent leadership change in the UK Labour Party, suggests Parliament could select a new prime minister without holding elections. Junts has said the successor need not come from the PSOE and could be an independent candidate. The PP calls the proposal political theatre and criticizes Junts for abandoning its earlier demand for elections. The constitutional requirement for an alternative candidate and an absolute majority means criticism of Sánchez alone does not amount to a viable parliamentary majority.
While the debate in Congress exposed the lack of alignment between the PP and Junts, a parallel session in the Senate reinforced the divide. Junts abstained from voting on a PP motion calling for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections, despite supporting a similar initiative in Congress the previous week. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) voted against the motion. Its spokesperson, Maribel Vaquero, criticized the PP's focus on her party and rejected accusations related to government aid for Tubos Reunidos.
The PNV's remarks showed the PP's parliamentary isolation. Junts, meanwhile, has backed individual measures critical of the government without entering a lasting alliance with the PP. Nogueras has presented Junts as willing both to negotiate and to confront other parties, but its parliamentary positions do not establish support for a PP-led government. Despite ongoing corruption debates and calls for Sánchez's resignation, the balance of power in Congress remains unchanged: the government stays in place, and the opposition has no clear path forward.
Motions of censure in Spain require an absolute majority in Congress and a named alternative candidate. Since the 1978 Constitution came into force, only two such motions have succeeded. The current legislature has seen repeated tensions between the government and its allies, but the fragmented opposition has so far failed to unite around a credible alternative.
