The party «Citizens» during the crisis of executive power in Spain (2015-2019)

Ryzhikova Ekaterina Sergeevna ORCID: 0000-0002-1802-4954 Postgraduate Student, Department of Modern and Contemporary History of European and American Countries, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Kolmogorova str., 1 ekaterinaryzikova@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The state of Spain's modern political system is determined by a combination of many factors. Among them are problems of both an internal nature – structural features of the political and institutional system of Spain inherited from the transition period of 1975-1978, the crisis of separatism ^[1], and the global - economic crisis of 2008 and its far from obsolete consequences ^[2]. All this has prepared fertile ground for the emergence of new political parties at the national level – "Citizens" and the ultra-left "Podemos" in 2015, the ultra-right "Vox" in 2018. The transformation of the Spanish party system, which for 30 years was dominated by two national forces – the People's Party (NP), (they are conservatives), and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), (they are Socialists), led to a protracted government crisis in 2015-2019.^[2] The instability of the executive power is associated with a long the period of formation of a new government, and a vote of no confidence in the ruling conservatives (June 2018). During the crisis period, the "Citizens" turned into the main political force and took initiatives related to discussions of the budget and anti-crisis social legislation, claimed to participate in various inter-party agreements. Therefore, the activity of "Citizens" testifies to the changes taking place in the political system of Spain.

Despite its activity and obvious specifics, the Citizens Party has not become the object of either historical or political research. In Russian Spanish studies, mentions of it are fragmentary and only in the context of comparison with other Spanish national parties, as a rule, with the ultra-left "Podemos"^[2]. Spanish researchers paid attention to the party at the time of its appearance; they saw in "Citizens" an important actor in the political process, especially in solving Catalan and government problems^[3-4]. However, at the moment, the interest of Spanish political experts in the party is weakening. Even the activity of the party during the crisis of executive power (2015-2019) – one of the most significant periods in the history of the "Citizens" – remains out of the sphere of attention, although it was then that the features of its political "face" were especially pronounced. The purpose of this work is to fill this gap, especially since the source basis for such a study is solid – journalistic materials (party-political documentation, inter–party agreements, the press), and allows you to analyze the ability of new players - "Citizens" to adapt to "challenges"; to understand how effective the chosen party tactics.

The emergence of "Citizens" was a reaction to the growth of Catalan nationalism^[1]. Created in 2005, the "Civic Platform of Catalonia", having received the support of a part of the population of the autonomy, organized itself into the political party "Citizens – Citizenship Party". The name of the party reflected the program goal of its creators – the preservation of the status quo of the administrative-territorial model of Spain, the fight against regional nationalism and separatism. "Citizens" formed and promoted the idea of national citizenship as a basis for the formation of social unity of all Spaniards^[5]. Therefore, at the stage of formation (2005-ser.2015), the goal of the party was to become the main opposition force in Catalonia. To draw attention to the Catalan problem, the party chose the tactics of participating in elections at different levels (municipal, autonomous, national, to the European Parliament) and tried to form electoral coalitions with ideologically close political forces.

Reacting to the problems of the Spanish scale, the "Citizens" have developed a socio-economic program based on the synthesis of social democracy and liberalism^[5]. The program, developed by the party in 2009 (the project has not undergone drastic changes), was aimed at low-income and middle-class segments of the population, in particular, young people, who suffered most from the economic crisis, and therefore focused on social initiatives. Against the background of corruption scandals involving representatives of leading parties, "Citizens" put forward the thesis of "political revival". The party proposed to change the judicial and electoral system, to create an Anti-Corruption Investigation Committee in the authorities and the main parties ^[5]. NP and PSOE, the leading parties, unlike the "Citizens", opposed such transformations, since the existing political system provided them with leading positions.

The "citizens" also declared their organizational principles: striving for intra-party democracy, economic transparency (in particular, by limiting the number of party functionaries), openness and accessibility through a multi-level system of membership and territorial representation^[5]. The chairman of Citizens, Alberto Rivera, and most of the party members were not professionally engaged in politics until 2015. This allowed the "Citizens" to declare themselves as a party unrelated to the political establishment.

The ideological peculiarity of the "Citizens" was also the absence of a clear political identity. It is not surprising that their target audience was people not only with pronounced Hispanic and dual (in particular, regional) self-identification, but also of different political views."Citizens" gradually formed their image and claimed to be an alternative to traditional parties. He justified himself. During the 2014-2015 election race, the party managed to gain support almost all over the country^[6].

"Citizens" decided to participate in the national elections in December 2015, seeking to oust the traditional parties of the country^[7]. The party refused to cooperate with the NP and PSOE and claimed political independence. As for the new Podemos party, the Citizens did not consider the possibility of cooperation with it because of fundamental differences on the escalated Catalan problem. "Citizens" defended the ideological values of the current constitution of Spain – the unity and indivisibility of the country, and "Podemos" maneuvered on the verge of legislative norms ^[8]. In addition, cooperation with Podemos could hardly become lasting, since both parties claimed the same role on the Spanish stage – the role of an alternative to the leading forces.

Before the general Spanish elections of 2015, the leading parties failed to solve the key problems in the country – the social consequences of the economic crisis and the Catalan conflict. In this situation, the new parties managed to assert themselves – the "Citizens" took third place, but were unable to oust both the traditional forces and the opponent "Podemos" ^[9]. The electoral results of 2015 testified to the crisis of bipartisanship and the entire traditional political system, that is, "its unstable transitional state, which is the result of the interaction of both internal and global factors" ^[10-11].  In the current situation, the problem of forming a government came to the fore, which, contrary to tradition, was supposed to be a coalition, not a one-party one. This has become a political challenge not only for the leading forces, but also another test for the "Citizens".

"Citizens" first announced the need to create a "grand coalition" consisting of two leading parties, the NP and PSOE, and "Citizens" ^[12]. However, such a coalition turned out to be impossible, since the "Citizens" underestimated the long-term ideological and political confrontation between the NP and PSOE. Therefore, the "Citizens" began to focus on partnership with one of the leading parties, and it was necessary to decide which of them would be an ally.

After the elections, King Philip VI of Spain proposed to the head of the NP Mariano Rajoy, the winner of the elections, to form a government, but he refused. The orientation of the "Citizens" towards the PSOE was logical, especially after the Socialists received a royal mandate to form a government. The basis of cooperation was, firstly, mutual interest - the "Citizens" aspired to become a party in power; the PSOE needed a partner to resist the NP, and secondly, a real opportunity to agree on two positions – the social platform and the Catalan problem. For "Citizens", social initiatives were a priority, for PSOE – the prospect of strengthening its position in Catalonia with the help of "Citizens".

In February 2016, a joint "Agreement on the Government of Reforms and Progress" was concluded with an emphasis on the social sphere ^[13]. PSOE conceded to the "Citizens" on the following points: not to raise personal income tax for the population with average incomes, to reduce VAT on cultural events (cinema, ballet, theater). The "citizens" made a compromise: instead of reforming the health and education systems, they agreed to a significant increase in government spending on these areas.

After the December elections, the country lived without a government (until November 2016), because the main parties were unable to form and approve it. The union of "Citizens" with PSOE did not reflect the balance of power in parliament, where the Conservatives had the majority of seats. As a result, the PSOE and Citizens bloc was defeated in a vote in the Congress of Deputies on the approval of the new government due to its blocking by the political opposition (in March 2016). This testified to the growth of internal political rivalry, since at that stage the possibility of creating other party coalitions disappeared. Another new party, Podemos, was not considered a partner by either the NP or the Citizens, and its attempt at an alliance with the Socialists was unsuccessful. This led to the organization of early elections in June 2016, that is, six months after the previous ones.

The election results again raised the question of creating a coalition government. Having lost, the "Citizens" failed to bypass the ultra-left bloc "Unidas–Podemos" ("Together we can!"), represented by the union of two parties – "Podemos" and communists from the "United Left", the partnership with the PSOE failed, the chairman of the party considered the prospects of a tactical alliance with the leader of the 2016 election race - conservatives. By joint efforts, the NP and the "Citizens" could try to solve the problem of primary importance – to form a government. In addition, the "Citizens" intended to use the authority of the NP to achieve tactical tasks – to promote a number of projects in the interests of their electorate, to neutralize the permanent opponent of "Podemos".

This time the initiative came from conservatives who decided to use "Citizens", including to normalize the Catalan problem. In August 2016, the agreement "150 commitments to improve Spain" was signed^[14] between NP and "Citizens", which became the basis of a common platform – the "Investment Pact". The parties agreed not to raise the personal income tax rate, to improve the situation of the self-employed through tax benefits, to create 500,000 jobs for the purpose of economic stimulation, to reform the judicial system, to reduce government spending on the activities of the Senate. In exchange for the support of the conservatives, the "Citizens" put forward a number of demands: to conduct an anti-corruption investigation in the NP and the government, to limit the term of M. Rajoy's rule to 8 years, to help poor families^[14]. These points were fundamentally important for the "Citizens" not only because they corresponded to their ideological attitudes, but because of the reputation of the NP, which was at the center of political scandals. The Conservatives were forced to promise to fulfill these requirements. If the government approved, the "Citizens" counted on the implementation of the "Pact". The agreement with the NP did not fully satisfy the "Citizens", and fundamental differences between the parties over the implementation of reforms in the political and legal sphere persisted.

The Union of NP and "Citizens" did not have the necessary number of votes in the Congress of Deputies to approve the new government. In the current situation, the "Citizens" played the role of mediator between the traditional parties – they called on the Socialists to abstain during the next parliamentary vote, because the king again instructed M. Rajoy to form a government. At the end of October, the government headed by M. Rajoy was approved, since the NP managed to get a majority of votes in parliament in the second round of voting. As expected, M. Rajoy was supported by members of his party and "Citizens", as well as the Canarian Coalition (a regional nationalist party that spoke with a moderate position – did not raise the issue of separation of autonomy), the Socialists abstained, as a result of which the protracted government crisis was overcome.

Despite the support provided to the NP, the "Citizens" withdrew from the implementation of the "Pact", refusing to join the government coalition^[15]. In the conditions of growing public discontent with the election of M. Rajoy as head of government, there was a clear desire of "Citizens" to preserve freedom of maneuver, while not losing their place in the political system. At the same time, the refusal to join the government testified to the unwillingness of "Citizens" to bear responsibility and directly participate in overcoming the consequences of the economic crisis. At the same time, it was the crisis situation that contributed to the emergence of "Citizens" on the Spanish stage, and it, in fact, will become a litmus test for the party, since it was unclear whether it would be able to improve the situation in the country under the current conditions.

From November 2016 to May 2018, the partnership with NP was still maintained. In the context of the activation of Catalan separatists – the regional authorities held a referendum on the separation of autonomy in October 2017 – the "Citizens" were unable to resolve the situation without relying on the NP, so they tried to play the role of a stabilizer of inter-party contradictions. Thanks to joint actions, the Catalan crisis was temporarily "frozen" – to preserve the status quo of autonomy. Along with this, the Conservatives needed the support of "Citizens" at the parliamentary vote on the approval of the new budget. Both parties were interested in this: The "citizens" sought to implement the "Pact" through a budget project, and the NP would be able to retain power in Spain in this way.The price of such a partnership was the internal party crisis, which began synchronously with the "Citizens" and the NP. As a result, both parties revised their strategic course, in particular, tactics at the national level. At that stage, the cooperation had exhausted itself, since there were constant disagreements in the union. The Socialists took advantage of the internal political situation.

When the parliament passed a vote of no confidence in the Conservatives in the summer of 2018, and the PSOE came to power, the "Citizens" outlined their plans to hold early elections and lead a new government in Spain to solve urgent problems: Catalan and "budget". The chairman of the Citizens, Alberto Rivera, was not satisfied with the government course of the Socialists, since it contradicted their program settings. It was about the concessions of the Socialists to the Catalan separatists, a significant increase in the tax rate on medium-sized businesses and digital technologies, and an increase in the size of pensions.

In the current situation, the "Citizens" reoriented themselves again and made a conditional "right" turn. To implement their strategy, the "Citizens" needed the support of opposition parties – the NP and the far-right Vox. The Conservatives were also not happy with their current situation, and therefore the partnership of "Citizens" with NP resumed from autumn 2018 to September 2019. The blocking of the PSOE budget by the parties of the conditional right bloc – Citizens, NP and Vox - led to the holding of the third early elections in the last four years and another problem of forming a government (from February to December 2019).

The results of the "Citizens" in the April 2019 elections confirmed the transformation of the party "to the right" – the influx of the center-right and right-wing electorate. Along with this, the chosen tactics did not justify themselves – the "Citizens" took the third position. At the same time, internal party confrontation intensified, as a result of which many influential members left the party. After the elections, the "Citizens" began to maneuver: they declared their readiness to enter into a government coalition with the NP with the support of Vox. The initiative of the "Citizens" was ignored by both parties, most likely due to the growing contradictions within the conditional right-wing bloc. The negotiations of the Socialists, the winners of the elections, with its ultra–left partners have also reached an impasse.

In this situation, Alberto Rivera revised his political course, took a risky step: he declared his readiness to abstain from voting in parliament ^[16]. This would allow the PSOE, the winner of the April elections, to form a minority government. In return, the "Citizens" demanded that the Socialists fulfill fundamental requirements: to stop cooperation with the separatists and abandon the idea of raising taxes. Thus, by participating in the solution of the government problem, the "Citizens" sought to influence the position of the Socialists on other important issues not only for the party itself, but also for the whole country. However, the proposal of the "Citizens" was rejected by the PSOE. As a result, the second early elections in a year were scheduled in Spain.

Taking into account previous experience, since October 2019, the "Citizens" have been trying to fight simultaneously on several fronts – against the PSOE and former partners – the NP and the far-right, and have stated that they take a centrist position. According to the results of the November elections, the "Citizens" suffered a crushing defeat, taking sixth place. The phenomenon of the political failure of the "Citizens" can partly be explained by the return of the party to a clear political positioning, which did not meet modern realities. By that time, Spanish society was even more divided into supporters of the conditionally left and conditionally right bloc, so the middle position of the "Citizens" had lost its appeal and was incomprehensible^[16]. The strategic miscalculations of the "Citizens" also contributed: a perfect turn to the "right", then an attempt to help the PSOE, which caused reputational damage to the party. In addition, we are talking about the disappointment of the electorate, because the "Citizens", carried away by political maneuvers, have not been able to achieve the implementation of their socio-political program, in particular, the final solution of the Catalan problem. At the same time, the coalition projects of "Citizens" did not lead to overcoming the crisis of the executive power. Meanwhile, the Socialists, the leaders of the election race, and Unidas-Podemos still managed to come to a compromise. As a result, in 2020, for the first time, a government left-wing coalition was approved in the Congress of Deputies with the support of some regional parties, including separatist ones.

In contrast to the national level, in 2015-2016, in the regions, "Citizens" continued to focus on coalition tactics with the main parties – PSOE and NP, except for Podemos. The maneuvering of the "Citizens" was justified by the desire to prevent destabilization in the regions, the desire to assert themselves in autonomous communities, and in the future to extract their own benefit – to influence the pan-Spanish policy. "Citizens" signed inter-party agreements with conservatives in those autonomies where their support was needed to form a new government (Madrid, La Rioja, Castile-Leon, Murcia). In return, the NP had to make concessions to the "Citizens" in accordance with the terms of the inter-party "Pact". The Socialists have enlisted the support of the "Citizens" in Andalusia by signing an agreement similar to the terms of the union for the formation of a government coalition in 2016. Consequently, the political tactics of compromises in the regions have developed faster than at the national level.

After the regional elections of 2018-2019, the "Citizens" acted according to the same logic – "reaction" – "response", realizing the strategic importance of autonomies as a political resource. There were also new features of the tactics of "Citizens" – the requirement of cooperation "on an equal footing". For the first time, the party joined the coalition government in Madrid, Murcia, Castile-Leone and Navarre, which was headed by the NP^[17]. Of these, the first three autonomous communities were regions of the old influence of "Citizens". This testified to the desire of the "Citizens" to strengthen their positions through partnership with the conservatives, since according to the results of the elections, the party had no opportunity to form independent governments in the autonomous regions. Along with this, the "Citizens" broke off relations with the socialists in Andalusia and formed a government with the NP, which corresponded to the planned course of the party at the national level. However, in two new regions – Castile-La Mancha and Melilla - the "Citizens" formed a coalition government with the Socialists and the regional electoral alliance, and also agreed on alternate governance^[18].The tactics of the "Citizens" were explained by the desire to expand their sphere of influence against the background of the strengthening of the internal political struggle with their partner at the Spanish level – the conservatives.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that from 2015 to 2019, the activity of "Citizens" transformed the party system, which became both one of the indicators of crisis phenomena and an important incentive for changes in the political system. During the formation of the government in 2015-2016, the party developed an idea of a compromise with the leading forces and followed situational political tactics in choosing coalition partners: it preferred either socialists or conservatives. And thus she managed to temporarily solve the problem of executive power. The party has tried this tactic in practice in the regions as well. The vague positioning of the "Citizens" provided them with freedom of maneuvering. At the same time, the position on the Catalan problem served as a permanent ideological marker for the party on the issue of potential cooperation with political forces, which is why an alliance with Podemos, which was inclined to support the separatists, turned out to be impossible.

On the other hand, the maneuvers of the "Citizens" also contributed to the development of the crisis of executive power in Spain. In 2019, Citizens abandoned the role of a stand-in party for the approval of a government coalition, since the creation of Citizens' blocs with opposing forces led to the loss of their own political face, the outflow of the electorate and the party leakage of personnel. Other destructive features were also clearly manifested in the "Citizens" – a frequent change of political positioning. Objectively, at the time of the formation of the executive power, the "Citizens" nevertheless represented a centrist force of a liberal kind.

Along with this, the "Citizens" set the vector of transformation of the political system: confrontation and alternation of conditionally right and conditionally left government coalitions. "Citizens" remain an element of the political system, as they have potential in a strategically important region – Catalonia. Given the mutual influence and interdependence of the course of the separatism crisis on the Spanish situation, the dynamic development of the party system, the inability of conservatives and socialists to solve key problems, in addition to forming a government, political turbulence in Spain will continue. For this reason, the "Citizens" have chances in the future to take advantage of the situation and form a coalition government with an acceptable political force. In many ways, the tactics and potential of the party depend on the political flair of the new chairman of Citizens Ines Arrimadas, her ability to adapt to the prevailing realities, to take political risks – to reorganize the party, to develop a clear ideological position. However, at the moment it cannot be said that she has achieved significant success in this field.