The Government and parliamentary partners assume the urgency of an agreement on housing but note "distant" positions

The eviction of Maricarmen has generated a breeding ground that in recent hours has moved to the streets, marking a before and after in the public conversation on housing matters. 

The two souls of the Government, PSOE and Sumar, assume that next Tuesday, the Council of Ministers, must approve a text with urgent measures that respond to the social outcry sweeping the country and that has settled in the Puerta del Sol to say "enough is enough." 

The executive assumes the urgency and works with that premise, but nothing can be taken for granted. Let's go by parts. 

The urgent legislative formula, the Royal Decree-Law, is a constitutional mechanism that allows the Executive power to approve norms with the force of law immediately. 

The text with the agreed measures is drafted and sealed in the Council of Ministers, which subsequently, within a maximum period of one month, must be ratified in the Congress of Deputies by a simple majority, that is, it requires more votes in favor than against. 

For now, not even the Government's partners are on the same page. They acknowledge the urgency, yes, but there is no consensus on the set of measures, which has led Sumar —they already did it half a year ago in another Council of Ministers— to threaten to stand firm and not attend the meeting. "We stood firm half a year ago and we will stand firm again on Tuesday if necessary," they point out in a statement issued this Saturday. 

In the note, Sumar says that "the PSOE cannot be more on the sidelines." And although there will be consensus on many of the measures, such as the extension of rents or the protection of families against evictions, the minority part of the Government will also demand the expropriation of Maricarmen's apartment. Something the PSOE refuses to do. 

A matter of numbers 

The Popular Party has already distanced itself: it will comment once it knows the content of the decree, but it will not negotiate its content with the Government. Neither the PP nor Vox will be there to save this text, which further narrows the Executive's margin: every vote from PNV, Junts, Podemos, ERC, or Bildu becomes essential.

After months of a fragile Government and a decomposed parliamentary majority, it seems that something has changed: Junts, which broke with the Executive and refused any dialogue, has sat down to negotiate. At least in this phase, everyone is back at the table.

The difficulty lies in finding a balance that does not cause the agreement to fall apart at either extreme. Sumar and Podemos demand measures such as expropriation; PNV and Junts, on the other hand, demand tax incentives for owners or changes in land law to build more. These are demands that, in turn, alienate the left-wing parties.

Bringing positions closer under pressure 

From Moncloa, they acknowledge “the enormous pressure” experienced in recent days, which fully conditions the negotiation framework. 

No one wants to be blamed for the decree failing and everything remaining the same. However, it cannot be taken for granted that the parties will support ideological measures that go against their own bases. 

Positions are “distant” and the countdown has begun. Until next Tuesday, there are 48 hours of intense multi-party negotiation.

The responsibility is shared. But the Government has one last bullet to approve a text that responds to the indignation in the streets and, in turn, gets a breather at a politically fragile moment with the other major crisis, that of Ceuta, which it also fails to solve.