The 'grandchildren's law' opens another clash between Vox and the PP: the far-right demands an investigation commission in the Senate and Génova stands firm

The far-right Vox wants to extend its offensive against the so-called 'grandchildren's law' in the Senate, but has met with the rejection of the Popular Party. The far-right formation requested this Monday an investigation commission on the nationalities granted to descendants of Spaniards, an initiative that depends on the absolute majority of the PP in the Upper House and that Génova has already ruled out.

The national spokesman for Vox, José Antonio Fúster, intends to summon the political and administrative officials who participated in the drafting of the provision included in the Democratic Memory Law. He also demands access to legal reports, documents, and decisions adopted during its development.

Fúster has gone a step further by demanding that "how many fraudulent nationalities have been granted" and what their electoral impact might be, be investigated. The accusation comes without Vox having presented data demonstrating the existence of massive fraud or a judicial resolution that has annulled these nationalities.

The Supreme Court has not declared the files fraudulent either. Its decision is precautionary and affects the electoral rights of a part of the beneficiaries while it studies the merits of the appeals filed by Vox and Iustitia Europa. Spanish nationality remains in force and administrative procedures continue.

Vox turns the precautionary measure into a political war

The far-right has celebrated the order as a "first victory", although it believes that the offensive must continue until the effects of the norm are definitively stopped. "Let's not confuse a battle won with a war ended", proclaimed Fúster, who has presented the extension of nationality to descendants of Spaniards as a supposed electoral operation by the Government.

This language has accompanied Vox's campaign against the provision for months. Santiago Abascal's party has spread suspicions about the census and attributed to the Executive the intention of manufacturing new voters, despite the fact that obtaining nationality, registration in the Census of Absent Residents, and the effective exercise of suffrage are different processes.

As 'ElConstitucional.es' already explained, there is also no evidence that new Spaniards vote homogeneously or automatically benefit a particular candidacy. In the 2023 general elections, CERA participation was around 8% and the only seat that changed after the overseas count went to the PP in Madrid.

The so-called 'grandchildren's law' allows certain children and grandchildren of Spaniards who left the country as a result of the Civil War and the dictatorship to opt for nationality. An instruction approved in 2022 established a presumption of exile for those who left Spain between 1936 and 1955, an interpretation that the Supreme Court is now reviewing.

The judicial resolution has suspended the electoral effects of the files processed under that presumption until the consulates verify the connection with exile. The exception applies to those who have already documented that their ancestors suffered persecution for political, ideological, religious reasons or reasons related to their sexual orientation and identity.

Vox has also accused the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, of pressuring the Supreme Court by asking for a quick ruling. Fúster argues that the Government intends to then go to the Constitutional Court to take advantage of its "progressive majority", also sowing suspicion about another jurisdictional body before it has intervened in the procedure.

The Central Electoral Board agreed this Monday to comply with the Supreme Court's mandate, although it did so deeply divided. By seven votes to six, it rejected appealing the order and by eight to five, it decided to execute it without adding interpretations. A large majority of its members expressed reservations about the suspension of a fundamental right without first hearing the affected individuals.

The PP rejects the spectacle, but maintains its criticisms

The PP has for now halted the attempt to move the offensive to the Senate. Its national spokesperson, Borja Sémper, has assured that the popular party will wait for the Supreme Court's definitive resolution and has expressed his surprise at Vox's need to open a parliamentary investigation.

"Politically, we do not need an investigation commission to understand that a ministerial order is not above a law approved in Congress," Sémper stated. The popular leader described the 2022 instruction as an "outrage" and demanded that the will of the legislator be respected.

The distance between both parties thus focuses on the chosen instrument and the tone of the offensive. Genoa rejects turning the Senate into another investigative scenario, although it maintains its doubts about the application of the norm and has also questioned the growth of the foreign census. Feijóo himself has spoken in recent months of "electoral engineering" and "social engineering".

Vox has taken advantage of its appearance to pressure the PP on two other fronts. Fúster has demanded that the popular party use its majority in the Senate to stop the law that recognizes Spanish nationality for Sahrawis who had it until 1977 and lost it after the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. The initiative was approved in Congress with the opposing vote of Vox and the abstention of the PP.

He has also demanded Genoa's votes to activate article 102 of the Constitution and accuse Pedro Sánchez of treason for the management of the migratory crisis in Ceuta. Vox has 32 deputies and needs to gather at least 88 signatures to promote the procedure, in addition to a subsequent absolute majority in Congress.

Fúster has asked the PP to "roll up its sleeves" and has celebrated that Isabel Díaz Ayuso "dresses up as Vox" by calling the President of the Government a traitor. The commission on the 'grandchildren's law', however, remains blocked since its announcement. Without the support of the popular majority in the Senate, the new parliamentary offensive of the far-right cannot be launched.