Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 7.2.
General Elections: Distribution of Seats in the Spanish Central
Parliament - Lower Chamber (Total Number: 350)
1977
1979
1982
1986
1989
1993
1996
PCE/IU
12
23
4
7
17
18
21
CiU
2
8
12
18
18
17
16
PNV/EA
2
7
8
6
7
6
6
EE
1
1
1
2
2
-
-
BNG
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
UV
0
0
0
1
2
1
1
ERC
1
1
1
0
2
1
1
UPC/AIC/C
0
1
0
1
1
4
4
PA
0
5
0
0
2
0
0
CDS
-
-
2
19
14
-
-
UPN
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
PAR
-
1
0
1
1
1
0
UCD
165
168
12
-
-
-
-
PSOE
103
121
202
184
175
159
141
AP-CD-CP-P
16
9
106
105
106
141
156
Source:
Ministerio del Interior (Secretary for Home Affairs), official publications of electoral results.
periods 1993-96 and 1996-2000 the political capacity of certain nationalisms
has increased remarkably. Due to a combination of several factors, which we
will discuss later, region-based nationalist parties have become a key factor in
achieving a stable government when neither the socialist nor the conservative
party has an absolute majority. As Linz and Montero (
1999
) have pointed
out, PNV, CC, and CiU share the double condition of having strong coalition
potential in the central parliament and holding office in their regions.
Absence of Institutionalized Cosovereignty: Regions Do Not Formally
Participate in the Production of National Legislation
Traditional and well-established definitions of federalism present it as a mix of
self-rule and shared rule (Elazar
1987
). At this point we may safely argue that
after twenty years of permanent decentralization, Spain qualifies as “federal”
in all respects related to the first dimension. But it can also be argued that,
in terms of shared rule, Spain does not qualify as federalist at all. Shared
rule implies a systematic, coordinated, and institutionalized means for making
all those decisions affecting both realms of power in such a way that both
nationwide and regionally bounded interests are represented and protected. Yet
unlike Germany or Canada, to cite just two examples, there is no institution
performing such a function in the Spanish political system. There is a fairly
limited number of arenas for cooperation. The Fiscal and Financial Policy
Council, and the regular meetings of all national and regional ministers for
