Spain govt drops 2024 budget bill, opts for extension

Spain’s left-wing government will not present a bill for the state’s 2024 budget and will instead extend the current one for the rest of this year, a government source told AFP. The decision was taken following Wednesday’s announcement of snap elections in the Catalonia region, which could spell problems for the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to muster the necessary parliamentary support to ensure the budget passes.

With the Catalan elections “the political conditions change” and “parliamentary arithmetic is key to advancing the state budget,” admitted Juan Espadas, spokesman for Sanchez’s Socialist party.

Speaking to Cadena Ser radio on Wednesday night, Treasury Minister Maria Jesus Montero said the government was trying to be “realistic” in light of the changing political panorama and would instead “work on the budget for 2025”. The 2024 budget should have been approved by the end of last year but was delayed due to an extended period of uncertainty following last July’s general election which resulted in a hung parliament.

Sanchez eventually secured a new four-year term in November following months of talks which involved the key support of two Catalan separatist parties, the hardline JxCat and its more moderate rival ERC. His minority government relies on a fragile network of parliamentary allies to pass legislation.

The 2023 budget was initially extended on Jan 1. Catalonia’s snap elections, which will take place on May 12, will monopolize the attention of JxCat and ERC and likely condition any parliamentary support they might offer to Sanchez’s Socialist party, which will also be contesting the regional vote.