The Solemn Opening of the legislature will be held four months after the general elections of July 23, in which the current deputies and senators were elected, but this ceremony is usually delayed until the formation of the Government.

After the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez, the new coalition Government will debut the blue bench of the hemicycle in an institutional ceremony, since the ministers were still in office for Princess Leonor’s oath. And now there will no longer be members of Podemos in those seats reserved for the Executive, since the coalition will be represented by Sumar’s five ministers.

Investiture partners

As in February 2020, the independentistas will once again distance themselves from this act by not recognizing the figure of the Head of State that is regulated in the 1978 Constitution. Republican Left (ERC), Bildu and the Galician Nationalist Bloc, Pedro’s investiture partners Sánchez, already told Europa Press that they do not plan to attend this event and in their absence it is foreseeable that Junts will be added, the other group that declines to attend the rounds of consultations at the Palacio de la Zarzuela.

At that solemn opening of the legislature, these parties staged their rejection with a joint appearance in Congress asking the Monarchy to “step aside” from politics. And both the Catalan and Basque independentists and the Galician nationalists declare themselves republicans and do not usually participate in any event related to or in the presence of the King.

In recent times, none of them have attended the different rounds of consultations that Felipe VI has called to find a candidate for the Presidency, and on October 31 they did the same with the constitutional swearing-in ceremony of his daughter, Princess Leonor. .

Who will be represented this Wednesday is the PNV, which a few weeks ago was deleted from the oath of the Princess of Asturias. Of course, it will be a limited presence because the Basque nationalists intend to go to the chamber, but not to the military parade, since they consider that it makes no sense for the Armed Forces to participate in a parliamentary event.

Unlike Leonor de Borbón’s swearing-in ceremony, Sumar’s presence is expected this Wednesday, as they maintain that this solemn opening is a parliamentary and not a monarchical act. In February 2020, members of Unidas Podemos were also present, and even his ministers applauded the King when he asked to face the legislature with “dialogue” and even the then spokesperson for Podemos, Pablo Echenique, praised his “bravery.” .

And the central act of this ceremony is the speech of the Head of State with which he declares the legislature open. It is an intervention with a high political content, given the setting and the audience, and on this occasion it comes after the pacts of the PSOE with Sumar, independentists and nationalists that included the approval of an Amnesty Law for all those prosecuted for the consultation sovereignty of 2014 and the illegal referendum of 2017 and other episodes of the last ten years.

Sánchez boasts of an extraordinary relationship with Felipe VI

On his recent trip to Israel, journalists asked Pedro Sánchez about his relationship with the Head of State, after there had been speculation that the monarch is upset with his electoral pacts and the amnesty law due to the serious expression he showed when he again promised the position of president. The socialist leader said he had an “extraordinary relationship” with Felipe VI and wanted to recognize “his work” in these years and praise the King’s “absolutely scrupulous role.”

Since its proclamation, Wednesday will be the third time that Felipe VI presides over this event. The first time was in 2016 and the last on February 3, 2020, when the Head of State inaugurated that legislature in a ceremony in which Podemos premiered on the blue bench.

The event will begin with the arrival of the Kings and the Princess of Asturias at the Carrera de San Jerónimo, where President Sánchez and the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD), Teodoro Esteban López Calderón, will be waiting for them. After receiving military honors, Felipe VI and Doña Letizia will go to the steps of the Congress Palace, where they will be received by the presidents of the Congress and the Senate and the members of the Boards of both chambers.

Again, the canopy

For the occasion, the baldachin or gala canopy will be replaced on the main façade of the Congress Palace and the Lions Gate will be opened, which is only used in events attended by the Head of State and in the Days of Open doors.

Once inside the Plenary Hall, which the Kings and their eldest daughter will access via the main staircase that is installed expressly for these occasions, the National Anthem will be played, and the president of the Congress, the socialist Francina Armengol, will open the Solemn Session giving a speech, after which he will give the floor to Felipe VI, who will address the Cortes Generales to begin the XV Legislature.

Once the event in the chamber is over, the Royal Family will return to the Conference Hall to greet the authorities and guests in protocol order. After the greetings, the authorities will go to the Carrera de San Jerónimo and the Kings will be placed on the podium of honor to attend the military parade in their honor by the Group of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard.

Given the development of this institutional act, it is foreseeable that an extensive security device will be organized that will have the Parliament headquarters buildings cordoned off and access to the area cut off, as was done with Leonor’s swearing-in. Especially after the daily protests that are being organized against the Amnesty Law that the PSOE agreed with its partners from ERC and Junts.