The politics of Spain takes place under the framework established by the

Constitution of 1978. Spain is established as a social and democratic sovereign

country[1] wherein the national sovereignty is vested in the people, from which the
powers of the state emanate.[1]

The form of government in Spain is a parliamentary monarchy,[1] that is, a social

representative democratic constitutional monarchy in which the monarch is the head
of state, while the prime minister—whose official title is "President of the
Government"—is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the
Government, which is made up of the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers and
other ministers, which collectively form the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers.
Legislative power is vested in the Cortes Generales (General Courts), a bicameral
parliament constituted by the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. The judiciary is
independent of the executive and the legislature, administering justice on behalf
of the King by judges and magistrates. The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest
court in the nation, with jurisdiction in all Spanish territories, superior to all
in all affairs except constitutional matters, which are the jurisdiction of a
separate court, the Constitutional Court.

Spain's political system is a multi-party system, but since the 1990s two parties
have been predominant in politics, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and
the People's Party (PP). Regional parties, mainly the Basque Nationalist Party
(EAJ-PNV), from the Basque Country, and Convergence and Union (CiU) and the
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), from Catalonia, have also played key roles in
Spanish politics. Members of the Congress of Deputies are selected through
proportional representation, and the government is formed by the party or coalition
that has the confidence of the Congress, usually the party with the largest number
of seats. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, when parties failed to obtain
absolute majorities, the tendency was to form minority governments. However, this
tendency was broken in 2020 with the formation of the Second government of Pedro
Sánchez, formed by members of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and Unidas
Podemos, as well as independents proposed by both parties. This was the first
nationwide coalition government to be formed in Spain since the Second Spanish
Republic.

Regional government functions under a system known as state of autonomies, a highly

decentralized system of administration (systematically ranked 2nd in the world
after Germany at the Regional Authority Index, since 1998).[2] Initially framed as
a kind of "asymmetrical federalism" for the regions styled as "historic
nationalities", it rapidly evolved into the creation of regions throughout Spain
and the devolution of powers to all, widely known as "coffee for everyone".[3]
Exercising the right to self-government granted by the constitution, the
"nationalities and regions" have been constituted as 17 autonomous communities and
two autonomous cities. The form of government of each autonomous community and
autonomous city is also based on a parliamentary system, in which executive power
is vested in a "president" and a Council of Ministers, elected by and responsible
to a unicameral legislative assembly.

The Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded Spain from full democracy to "flawed
democracy" in 2022, because of concerns about its judicial independence, given the
"political divisions over the appointment of new magistrates to the General Council
of the Judiciary (CGPJ)".[4] Spain returned to the label of full democracy in 2023.
[5]

According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, in 2023 Spain was the 11th most
electorally democratic country in the world.[6]

The Crown
Main article: Monarch of Spain
The King and his functions

King Felipe VI of Spain

The Spanish monarch, currently, Felipe VI, is the head of the Spanish State, symbol
of its unity and permanence, who arbitrates and moderates the regular function of
government institutions, and assumes the highest representation of Spain in
international relations, especially with those who are part of its historical
community.[7] His title is King of Spain, although he can use all other titles of
the Crown. The Crown, as a symbol of the nation's unity, has a two-fold function.
First, it represents the unity of the State in the organic separation of powers;
hence he appoints the prime ministers and summons and dissolves the Parliament,
among other responsibilities. Secondly, it represents the Spanish State as a whole
in relation to the autonomous communities, whose rights he is constitutionally
bound to respect.[8]

The King is proclaimed by the Cortes Generales – the Parliament – and must take an
oath to carry out his duties faithfully, to obey the constitution and all laws and
to ensure they are obeyed, and to respect the rights of the citizens, as well as
the rights of the autonomous communities.[9]

According to the Constitution of Spain, it is incumbent upon the King:[10] to

sanction and promulgate laws; to summon and dissolve the Cortes Generales (the
Parliament) and to call elections; to call a referendum under the circumstances
provided in the constitution; to propose a candidate for prime minister, and to
appoint or remove him from office, as well as other ministers; to issue the decrees
agreed upon by the Council of Ministers; to confer civil and military positions,
and to award honors and distinctions; to be informed of the affairs of the State,
presiding over the meetings of the Council of Ministers whenever opportune; to
exercise supreme command of the Spanish Armed Forces, to exercise the right to
grant pardons, in accordance to the law; and to exercise the High Patronage of the
Royal Academies. All ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives are
accredited by him, and foreign representatives in Spain are accredited to him. He
also expresses the State's assent to entering into international commitments
through treaties; and he declares war or makes peace, following the authorization
of the Cortes Generales.

In practical terms, his duties are mostly ceremonial, and constitutional provisions
are worded in such a way as to make clear the strict neutral and apolitical nature
of his role.[11][12] In fact, the Fathers of the Constitution made careful use of
the expressions "it is incumbent upon of the King", deliberately omitting other
expressions such as "powers", "faculties" or "competences", thus eliminating any
notion of monarchical prerogatives within the parliamentary monarchy.[13] In the
same way, the King does not have supreme liberty in the exercise of the
aforementioned functions; all of these are framed, limited or exercised "according
to the constitution and laws", or following requests of the executive or
authorizations of the legislature.[13]

The king is the commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces, but has only
symbolic, rather than actual, authority over the Spanish military.[12] Nonetheless,
the king's function as the commander-in-chief and symbol of national unity have
been exercised, most notably in the military coup of 23 February 1981, where King
Juan Carlos I addressed the country on national television in military uniform,
denouncing the coup and urging the maintenance of the law and the continuance of
the democratically elected government, thus defusing the uprising.[12]

Succession line
The Spanish Constitution, promulgated in 1978, established explicitly that Juan
Carlos I is the legitimate heir of the historical dynasty.[14] This statement
served two purposes. First, it established that the position of the King emanates
from the constitution, the source from which its existence is legitimized
democratically. Secondly, it reaffirmed the dynastic legitimacy of the person of
Juan Carlos I, not so much to end old historical dynastic struggles – namely those
historically embraced by the Carlist movement – but as a consequence of the
renunciation to all rights of succession that his father, Juan de Borbón y
Battenberg, made in 1977.[15] Juan Carlos I was constitutional king of Spain from
1978 to 2014. He abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI.

The constitution also establishes that the monarchy is hereditary following a

"regular order of primogeniture and representation: earlier line shall precede
older; within the same line, closer degree shall precede more distant; within the
same degree, male shall precede female; and within the same sex, older shall
precede the younger".[14] What this means in practice, is that the Crown is passed
to the firstborn, who would have preference over his siblings and cousins; women
can only accede to the throne provided they do not have any older or younger
brothers; and finally "regular order of representation" means that grandchildren
have preference over the deceased King's parents, uncles or siblings.[15] Finally,
if all possible rightful orders of primogeniture and representation have been
exhausted, then the General Courts will select a successor in the way that best
suits the interest of Spain. The heir presumptive or heir apparent holds the title
of Prince or Princess of Asturias. The current heir presumptive is princess Leonor
de Borbón.

Legislature
Main article: Cortes Generales
Legislative power is vested in the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales
(literally "General Courts",[16] but rarely translated as such). "Cortes" has been
the historical and constitutional name used since Medieval Times. The qualifier
"General", added in the Constitution of 1978, implies the nationwide character of
the Parliament, since the legislatures of some autonomous communities are also
labeled "Cortes".[17] The Cortes Generales are the supreme representatives of the
Spanish people. This legislature is bicameral, made up of the Congress of Deputies
(Spanish: Congreso de los Diputados) and the Senate (Spanish: Senado). The General
Courts exercise the legislative power of the State, approving the budget and
controlling the actions of the government. As in most parliamentary systems, more
legislative power is vested in the lower chamber, the Congress of the Deputies.[12]
The Speaker of Congress, known as "president of the Congress of Deputies" presides
a joint-session of the Cortes Generales.

Each chamber of the Cortes Generales meets at separate precincts, and carry out
their duties separately, except for specific important functions, in which case
they meet in a joint session. Such functions include the elaboration of laws
proposed by the executive ("the Government"), by one of the chambers, by an
autonomous community, or through popular initiative; and the approval or amendment
of the nation's budget proposed by the prime minister.[11]

The Congress of Deputies

Main article: Congress of Deputies (Spain)

Façade of the Palace of the Cortes, seat of the Congress of Deputies

The Congress of Deputies is made up of a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400
deputies (members of parliament) – currently 350 – elected by universal, free,
equal, direct and secret suffrage, to four-year terms or until the dissolution of
the Cortes Generales. The voting system used is that of proportional representation
with closed party lists following D'Hondt method in which the province forms the
constituency or electoral circumscription and must be assigned a minimum of 2
deputies; the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, are each assigned one deputy.

The Congress of Deputies can initiate legislation, and they also have the power to
ratify or reject the decree laws adopted by the executive. They also elect, via a
vote of investiture, the prime minister (the "president of the Government"), before
being formally sworn to office by the King.[11] The Congress of Deputies may adopt
a motion of censure whereby it can vote out the prime minister by absolute
majority. On the other hand, the prime minister may request at any time a vote of
confidence from the Congress of Deputies. If the prime minister fails to obtain it,
then the Cortes Generales are dissolved, and new elections are called.