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It's time to elect a new Presidente de la Republica
April 1987
The new left-wing partners, PSE and IU, must choose
a ceremonial President for the next seven years
CONTEXT: Alfonso Guerra, the Spanish King of the Ashes, was put between a rock and a hard place by the results of the 1987 General Election. He'd lost votes and seats, and had been pushed to the verge of being surpassed by the insurgent Izquierda Republicana. Luckily for him, its leader Antonio Gala meant it when he advocated for a coalition of the left. All the same, a PSE-IR coalition with Guerra as premier again was still 21 seats short of a majority. The solution, once again imposed by Gala on Guerra, was to bring back the moderate Catalan (CiU), Basque (PNV) and Andalusian (PA) nationalists. Their price for confidence and suppy was extremely high.
All the same, the shaky coalition faces its first big test at the Cortes after the successful investiture of Guerra: as per the Republican Constitution of 1987, a President of the Republic must be chosen for the 1987-1994 term. The President, while a mostly ceremonial figure, nonetheless wields significant power and influence in matters like government formation, a potentially vital role in such a dysfunctional party system. Whoever the coalition puts up is all but guaranteed to win against hopeless bids by Areilza, Carlos Hugo and the Communists, which means the real election takes place as Guerra and Gala stare down each other to designate the government candidate.
The Candidates:
Nicolás Redondo (PSE): Combative and iron-willed, the 60 year old has been one of the major syndicalist and union leaders since the 60's, having presided over the General Union of Workers for a decade while securing major gains for the labor movement. A lifelong Socialist, he was almost designated party leader back in 72', only to strike a murky deal with Felipe González. Through his Basque heritage and union roots, Redondo would be expected to appeal to the labor-friendly left and the moderate nationalists, and, while no friend of Guerra, be seen as firmly enshrining the PSE's leadership of the coalition.
Enrique Tierno-Galván (PSE): Adaptive, rational-minded, and slightly populist, the 68-years old "Old Professor" has survived a health scare to remain the visible head of the socially liberal wing of PSE. Also posessing anti-Francoist credentials after leading university protests in the 60's, Tierno-Galván would be expected to appeal to the socially liberal left and in the particular to the youth, while extending an olive branch of sorts to IR given its previous alliance (1979-1985). More pragmatic minded than the alternatives, Tierno-Galván could also be a more impartial President, but he could also prove unpredictable.
Antonio García Trevijano (IR): Owing to the lack of "big names" in the revived IR, Gala has been forced to improvise. Same age as Redondo, and a relentless, highly opinionated polemicist, García Trevijano had been a committed anti-Franco activist who rose to the heights of coordinator of the old Platajunta, the united opposition in 1976, and an advocate for "rupture" as opposed to "reform". Sidelined by a reformist PCE and PSOE, the deeply republican García Trevijano is back for vengeance as IR's candidate, decrying the Transition thus far (76' to 87') as a false start. His victory would be seen as compensation to IR for allowing Guerra to remain in power, though it remains unknown whether he could prove to be an activist President.
Two days.
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1.) Original Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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