Resisting calls to step down from parliament, Ábalos has spent the past year sitting with the “Mixed Group” of lawmakers from smaller far-left and nationalist political parties, but has consistently voted in favor of draft laws submitted by the Socialists. His continued support has given Prime Minister Pedro Sa´nchez and his left-wing allies a crucial one-vote edge over the 171-seat opposition bloc made up of the center-right People’s Party, the far-right Vox group and the Navarrese conservatives.
Although Ábalos’ imprisonment implies the automatic suspension of his rights as a lawmaker, he retains his seat until he has exhausted all possible appeals. With the left- and right-wing blocs in Spain’s 350-seat parliament evenly matched for the foreseeable future, the fate of legislation now exclusively depends on the votes of the seven lawmakers representing the Catalan separatist Junts party.
That’s bad news for Sánchez, because last month Junts distanced itself from the Socialists and said it would no longer back legislation put forward by the government, as it had in the past. Unless Sánchez can reconcile with Junts, he will have no reliable way to pass legislation during this term, which is set to conclude during the summer of 2027.