Guardiola shows the way to Sánchez after the breakup of Junts

Spanish politics experienced a day this Monday that could mark a turning point in the legislature and anticipate a string of electoral appointments until the summer of 2026.

While Maria Guardiola called early elections in Extremadura after losing the ability to approve regional budgets, Carles Puigdemont from Perpignan certified the break between Junts and the Government of Pedro Sanchez.

Two apparently disconnected events that, however, raise an uncomfortable question for the President of the Government: whether Guardiola has had the courage to go to the polls when he has run out of majorities, Why doesn’t Sánchez do the same?

The Extremaduran president finds herself in a parliamentary situation analogous to that of the President of the Government. Guardiola has governed in a minority since Vox left the coalition in July 2024, and both the PSOE and the formation of Santiago Abascal have submitted entire amendments against their 2026 budgets.

Without the approved public accounts, Guardiola has reached the only democratically honest conclusion: to call elections for December 21 and let the Extremadurans decide.

Why Without budgets, the most important law of any government, you cannot govern. It’s that simple.

Sánchez is now in the same position. With the breakup of Junts, the president has lost seven essential seats that leave him without the ability to approve the 2026 General State Budgets or any other relevant legislative initiative.

Parliamentary arithmetic is implacable: without the support of the Catalan independentists, there is no possible majority.

Y Carles Puigdemontquite right on this point, has expressed it crudely: Sánchez “may occupy seats, but he will not be able to govern.”

Guardiola’s decision and the support of Alberto Núñez Feijóo They also represent a brave political movement against the “pincer” of PSOE and Vox that is blocking regional and municipal governments throughout Spain.

In Castilla y León, both groups destroyed the budgets of Alfonso Fernández Mañueco in an unprecedented episode.

In Aragon, Jorge Azcon faces budget blockage after breaking up with Vox.

And in Murcia, PSOE and Vox systematically coincide to hinder the action of the popular Government of Lopez Miras.

This tactical convergence between opposing ideological extremes is paralyzing institutions and generating unprecedented instability.

Guardiola has decided not to submit to this permanent blackmail. He prefers to go to the polls rather than prolong an agonizing legislature in which each initiative depends on the whim of those who block it for reasons beyond the general interest.

The Extremaduran president also has significant assets.

The regional PSOE is going through its worst moment in decades, with its candidate, Miguel Angel Gallardoprosecuted along with Sánchez’s brother for alleged crimes of prevarication and influence peddling. The scandal of the case David Sanchez It hovers over these elections like a long shadow that weakens the main adversary.

Guardiola legitimately aspires to achieve an absolute majority that allows him to govern without depending on Vox. But this strategy entails undeniable risks for the PP.

If the Extremaduran electoral advance triggers a cascade of calls in other autonomous communities (such as Castilla y León and Aragón), the popular parties could once again be forced to agree with Vox depending on the results, reproducing the 2023 scenario.

But if the bet goes well and the territorial barons obtain sufficient majorities, the PP will have managed to free itself from dependence on the extreme right and govern with stability, thus fulfilling Feijóo’s prophecy that the PP aspires to occupy the Moncloa without depending on Vox.

The breakup of Junts places Sánchez in an unsustainable position: without budgets, without a parliamentary majority and without the ability to promote his legislative agenda.

That’s why, The president should take note of Guardiola’s decision. Because theirs is the responsible decision that parliamentary democracy demands: when a government loses the majority that sustains it, and when it cannot approve the most important law of the year, it has the moral obligation to call elections.

Governing through decree laws and budget extensions is not governing, but rather occupying power without the ability to exercise it, to guarantee personal political survival at the price of condemning the country to institutional paralysis.