The Fate Of Algerian-Spanish Relations Is Pending Until Further Notice 

As expected, the head of the Spanish government and leader of the Socialist Workers’ Party, Pedro Sanchez, lost to his rival, the right-wing Popular Party led by Alberto Nunez Viejo, in the pre-legislative elections held on Sunday, July 23. However, the results were not decisive enough to allow either party to form a government on its own, leading observers to expect a re-run of the elections next November.
The Spanish legislative elections would not have been important for Algeria if bilateral relations had not experienced an unprecedented rupture due to the deviation of the position of the Madrid government by a personal decision of Pedro Sanchez on the Sahrawi issue last year, which led Algeria to withdraw its ambassador from Spain, followed by the imposition of economic sanctions against Madrid, which had a disastrous impact on the Spanish economy.
The importance of the Spanish parliamentary elections for Algeria stems from the decision of President Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune to break off all contacts with the Spanish government under Pedro Sanchez because of its “unfriendly attitude”. Will these results lead to what Algeria has been waiting for?
The Popular Party, which won 136 seats favored by Algeria, and its ally, the far-right “Vox” party, which won 33 seats, will have to obtain 176 seats to lead the government without trying to form alliances with other small parties, because it and the “Vox” party together won 172 seats with the support of some small parties, while Pedro Sanchez’s party won only 122 seats and its ally “Sommer” won 31 seats, i.e. 153 seats.
The proposal of the Popular Party is considered the best for Algeria because it promised during the electoral campaign to restore relations with Algeria and also to correct the Spanish position on the Sahrawi issue by returning to international law, which is what the Algerian side was waiting for. In fact, the results of the legislative elections authorize the King of Spain, Philip VI, to invite the leader of the party, Alberto Noez Viejo, to form the next government.
Spain-based political analyst Taleb Ali Salem told Echorouk: “The key to forming the next government is a small Catalan party that won seven seats and has a separatist tendency. If this party decides to support the Popular Party, it will easily form the next government. The problem with this party is that its secretary-general is in Brussels as a political refugee and is being pursued by the Spanish judiciary for his positions calling for secession from Spain”.
And he adds: “The condition that he put forward in his statement from Brussels, which is an alliance with those who accept the holding of a referendum in Catalonia for its secession from Spain, and this is of course rejected by the right-wing Popular Party, because it sanctifies the territorial integrity of Spain, and opposes the acceptance of this condition, and therefore the alliance with it remains very difficult. As for the Socialist Party (Sanchez’s party), it also rejects this condition because the independence referendum in Catalonia is unconstitutional, and even if Sanchez accepts this condition in order to remain in office, the King will intervene to protect the Constitution, to withdraw the mandate from the head of the Socialist Party, and even the army may intervene in case Sanchez tries to circumvent the Spanish Constitution.
And the political analyst based in Spain believes that “the situation is very complicated and we will see in the coming days how the negotiations between the parties will take place”. Observers of Spanish political affairs believe that the Catalan party will not support either of the two main parties, the Popular Party led by Nunez Viejo and the Socialist Party led by Pedro Sanchez. Taleb Ali Salem says that this means going to another general election, which is expected in November.

Regarding the possibility of Sanchez remaining at the head of the Spanish government and its impact on relations with Algeria, Salem believes: “If Sanchez is able to form the next government, it will be a precedent in modern Spanish history, as the Spanish press says, which is that a losing party in the elections forms the government with the support of small parties. “.
Our interlocutor concluded with the conviction that “the Popular Party will be the best for the Sahrawi cause, even if it does not support it, but rather because it is in favor of restoring relations with Algeria and intends to review foreign policy with Morocco and return to international law with regard to the Sahrawi issue”.