Opposition Parties in European Legislatures by Elisabetta De Giorgi Gabriella Ilonszki & Gabriella Ilonszki

Author:Elisabetta De Giorgi,Gabriella Ilonszki & Gabriella Ilonszki
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)

Conclusions

This chapter has analysed opposition parties’ parliamentary behaviour during normal and hard times in Spain. Results show that, contrary to expectations, non-mainstream parties with low chances of governing behave responsibly, especially during good economic times and where they see opportunities to influence parliamentary majorities (even when not part of a coalition government). Opposition parties’ behaviour in the Spanish parliament is strongly influenced by institutional factors and more specifically by variations in the type of government, which significantly affect parties’ voting behaviour as well as the preponderance of legislative initiatives (introduction of parliamentary bills). Our results do not give support either to the expectation that challenger opposition parties are generally more focused on government scrutiny than mainstream opposition parties. As previous research has already illustrated, the activity of parties during oversight sessions is strongly influenced by the formal rules and procedures that govern the introduction of oral questions in the Chamber.

Our analysis also corroborates the importance of taking into consideration multilevel governance dynamics. With regard to political decentralisation downwards, towards the regions, we show that regional parties from territories with high levels of fiscal and political autonomy introduce fewer legislative initiatives than regional parties from those areas whose interests depend more on central government decisions. In Catalonia, debate regarding the territorial question and the rise in popular support for secessionism have also contributed to increased political confrontation in the Spanish parliament, raising opposition to executive-sponsored legislative initiatives. Contrary to what occurred during the minority governments of the 1990s, Catalan regional authorities could not negotiate higher levels of political and fiscal autonomy for Catalonia during Rajoy’s absolute majority government. With regard to political decentralisation upwards, towards the EU, as expected in a country without Eurosceptic positions in the party system, the EU has not brought about a significant transformation in opposition parties’ parliamentary behaviour. However, in the context of the great recession, opposition to EU-related legislation increased.

Overall in Spain, institutional factors and formal rules play a key role in explaining opposition parties’ parliamentary behaviour. However, contextual factors reinforce the impact of structural influences. All parties follow a more confrontational strategy when the economic situation is bad than during good economic times. This is especially the case with left parties, whose preferences are at odds with policy implementations following EU recommendations, and with regional parties, especially Catalan parties, because of the rise of secessionist vindications and the blockade of their relationship with the central government. The absolute majority of the PP did not facilitate a trade-off between Catalan and central government authorities as a response to increasing demands for more political and fiscal autonomy on the part of regional authorities. Both Zapatero and Rajoy implemented highly unpopular measures during their mandates but following the arrival into power of the conservatives in 2011, there was an unprecedented increase in the levels of parliamentary opposition to executive-sponsored initiatives. This can be partially attributed to the conservatives, contrary to the socialists, governing with an absolute majority of seats, and following a hierarchical policymaking style, in a

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