The PSOE forces Feijóo's transparency: Congress will vote for him to declare all his income, assets, and donations

The Plenary of the Congress of Deputies will vote next week on a non-legislative proposal presented by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which calls for reforms so that the leader of the opposition is obliged to publicly declare their assets, all remunerations received in money or in kind, as well as donations and linked economic interests. This initiative arises after the statements by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who urged the leader of the Popular Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to clarify who finances his home in Madrid.

Context and current scope of asset declarations

Although as a deputy in Congress, Alberto Núñez Feijóo already presented a detailed declaration of his assets, remunerations received during the last year, and economic interests when he took his seat, the PSOE intends to go further and establish that more exhaustive data be offered about all his income and remunerations, both monetary and in kind.

Origin of the debate: the parliamentary face-to-face

This proposal has its origin in the intense exchange that occurred during the last 'face-to-face' debate between Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, held on June 24. In that session, Sánchez challenged Feijóo to reveal "how much he or his party pays for the rent" of his residence located in the El Viso neighborhood of Madrid. To which Feijóo replied: "I myself pay for my house together with the mother of my son" and assured that "my father-in-law has not given me any apartment."

A few days later, during a debate focused on Ceuta held this same week in the Plenary of Congress, Pedro Sánchez again referred to Núñez Feijóo's economic perceptions, pointing out that these exceed "more than 13,000 euros per month."

Legal difficulties and adjustments in the socialist proposal

Following the political confrontation that occurred at the end of June, the PSOE initially registered a non-legislative proposal expressly aimed at Núñez Feijóo detailing how he defrays the expenses related to his family home in Madrid. However, this measure was paralyzed by the Bureau of Congress in response to the legal report prepared by parliamentary lawyers, who warned of inconveniences in processing an initiative specifically aimed at a person identified by name and surname.

From this, the PSOE reformulated the proposal, eliminating explicit references to the specific payment of the domicile or direct mentions of Núñez Feijóo. This corrected version is the one that will soon be submitted to plenary debate.

Strict maintenance of the current regime and extension to the opposition leader

In the foundations set forth in this new legislative proposal, it is highlighted that it is “essential” to fully extend to the institutionalized position of leader of the opposition the current transparency rules applicable to all parliamentarians. This takes on special relevance given that said position does not necessarily require being an elected deputy.

In this regard, it is warned that a situation could arise where an individual assumes leadership of the governmental alternative without even being obliged to report on “what donations they receive or what economic interests sustain their way of life.” According to this initiative, it states textually: “Asset transparency constitutes an essential guarantee to ensure morality and public ethics.”

Additional requests for all Spanish deputies

Apart from the focus on the opposition leader, this proposition also proposes promoting regulatory modifications aimed at obliging all Spanish deputies to exhaustively reflect in their asset declarations all information related to their movable and immovable property; economic activities; income received both monetarily and through in-kind benefits; donations received; as well as other related economic interests. These measures seek to strictly comply with what is stipulated both by the internal regulations of the Congress and by the current Ethical Code approved by the Cortes Generales.