Re-elected Rajoy unlikely to introduce term limits for Spanish PMs, despite promises

Even avowedly non-political people know that politics is a dirty business, where handshakes and gentlemen’s agreements are chucked around like confetti but often end up being next-to-useless…

So it should come as little surprise that the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced that he is unlikely to uphold a pre-election promise he made with rival party Ciudadanos last year.

Re-elected as leader of the People’s Party (PP) at the weekend – and thus retaining his role as Spain’s Prime Minister – Rajoy said in an interview with Spanish TV on Monday that he does not plan to introduce term limits for Spanish Prime Ministers, instead telling the press that such limits are more suited to Presidential systems.

“It should be voluntary, that’s my opinion,” Rajoy said. This view runs counter to alleged promises made by the Prime Minister in the aftermath of last year’s election deadlock, where Rajoy won the support of Ciudadanos in exchange for agreeing to change the rules to limit the amount of times a PM could stand for re-election.

His about-face on this issue comes on the back of encouraging polling trends that suggest Rajoy’s position is stronger than ever. Despite heading up a minority government having twice failed to win the requisite number of votes to rule with a majority, the polls show that the PP would actually improve their position if a snap election was held today.

Spain’s strengthening economy is largely the reason for this increase in support and confidence, with Rajoy’s “tough love” measures appearing to have worked as the country emerges from austerity. According to the polls, support for the PP is at 33%, while the socialist Ciudadanos party has seen its backing fall from 22.7% at the last election to just 18.6%.

Rajoy stressed that he won’t be calling any elections – a decision most analysts agree with.

“Rajoy’s party is in power without facing a proper opposition,” said Antonio Barroso, a political expert at London-based Teneo Intelligence. “That creates incentives for cohesion.”