Finally, the ex-communist economist Ramon Tamames (89 years old) will be the candidate for the motion of no confidence against the Government of Pedro Sánchez that Vox will register in the Congress of Deputies next Monday, February 27, as announced by the formation of Santiago Abascal in a release.
Abascal and Tamames met this Wednesday at the national headquarters of the far-right party, after which the green formation has announced that the 52 deputies from the Vox group will register the initiative in Congress, which could be voted on once accepted by the Board of the Congress from five days after its registration. In any case, it will be the president of the Chamber, Meritxell Batet, who will decide when it will be debated in full.
Tamames announced Tuesday at a meeting of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences that he had accepted Vox’s offer to lead the motion. However, this afternoon the spokesman for Vox in Congress, Iván Espinosa, still argued that they had to close “some fringes” to be able to present the initiative, although he added that “soon” they would give information.
After reaching the final agreement, Abascal pointed out that his party “complies with its word and with its commitment to present an independent candidate.” “The deputies of Vox -he added- want to offer the platform of Congress to an independent Spaniard, with a brilliant intellectual career, a symbol of national reconciliation, so that he represents millions of Spaniards who, beyond parties, demand an immediate resignation of a Government contrary to the interests of the nation”.
With a certain sense of historical humor, Professor Tamames stated, according to the Vox statement, that “El Cid Campeador must have felt in a similar way to this, when he asked King Alfonso VI for explanations in the Santa Gadea oath.”
Abascal announced that he would present his second motion of the legislature in December with the intention of presenting an independent candidate, with experience in the institutions and that he had to acquire the commitment to call elections once he received the support of Congress to relieve Sánchez, something that will not get
At the moment, it will not even seek the vote of the PP, which refused, from the outset, to ally itself with Vox, although Alberto Núñez Feijóo opened the door to abstain. The popular see the initiative as a “clear mistake” because, in their opinion, it only benefits Pedro Sánchez if he wins, as will happen if there are no substantial changes to the script.
Vox already presented a motion in October 2020, with a failed attempt that received a vote against the popular. The motion headed by Abascal did not prosper due to the lack of parliamentary support: only the 52 Vox deputies said yes. It was, in fact, the worst result of the five motions of censure that had been presented in democratic history.
Tamames’ alliance with Vox confirms the radical turn it has taken throughout its career. The economist was an active anti-Franco militant and member of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), for which he served as a deputy in Congress with the restoration of democracy. Later, he helped create the United Left (he was also a representative for the IU) and would eventually move to the Democratic and Social Center, founded by Adolfo Suárez, before leaving politics. In the economic sphere, he has been modifying his thesis, turning towards a conservative position and further and further away from his political origins.
In recent weeks, both Tamames and the Vox leadership had been negotiating the terms of the speech of the motion of no confidence and the content of the government program, without the economist having officially accepted his candidacy until yesterday.
At the beginning of February, Tamames assured EFE in an interview that he plans to invite Pedro Sánchez to dinner or lunch at his house before the parliamentary session. “I plan to invite him to dinner or to eat at home, to meet us before the session. It seems to me that it is normal for civilized people, and the president is, undoubtedly,” he said.
He said he did not know Sánchez personally, although they have “ever written letters” and affirmed that his “obligation as a citizen” is to try to get to know each other better beforehand; For this reason, he will invite him to eat in the attic where he receives journalists and “the intelligentsia” and where Albert Rivera or Alberto Núñez Feijóo have had lunch.