1980 vote of no confidence in the government of Adolfo Suárez

Spanish parliamentary vote Adolfo Suárez recibe los aplausos de los diputados de su grupo tras su intervención en la sesión plenaria del Congreso de los Diputados (1980-05-21).jpg 300px Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez (seated bottom right), with the UCD parliamentary group during the parliamentary debate on 21 May 1980 in which the motion was announced 28–30 May 1980 (1980 5 28 1980 5 30) Congress of Deputies, Spain Motion of no confidence The government's alleged mismanagement, parliamentary solitude and inability to tackle the country's economic situation UCD PSOE PCE–PSUC PSC CD CiU PNV PSE PSA–PA HB FN ERC EE UPC PAR UPN Independents Motion rejected A motion of no confidence in the Spanish government of Adolfo Suárez was debated and voted in the Congress of Deputies between 28 and 30 May 1980. It was brought by Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) leader Felipe González.EFE 25 May 2011 https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/05/24/espana/1306235420.html Así fueron las cuestiones de confianza y mociones de censura de la Democracia Spanish El Mundo Madrid 29 July 2020Martínez Concejo Ana 13 June 2017 https://cadenaser.com/ser/2017/06/07/politica/1496853917_172261.html Las otras mociones de censura de la democracia española Spanish Cadena SER Madrid 29 July 2020Vírgala Foruria Eduardo 1 April 1988 La moción de censura de marzo de 1987: segunda práctica aplicativa del artículo 113 de la Constitución https://revista.cortesgenerales.es/rcg/article/view/324/1148 Spanish Revista de las Cortes Generales 13 159–177 0213-0130 10.33426/rcg/1988/13/324 30 July 2020 free While the motion was defeated—it was supported by 152 deputies and opposed by 166 of the governing Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)—it revealed the government's solitude and loss of support since Suárez's investiture in the aftermath of the 1979 general election, not receiving the backing of its erstwhile allies and seeing its management under heavy criticism by other parties throughout the debate.De la Cuadra Bonifacio 31 May 1980 El Gobierno Suárez no contó con el apoyo de ninguna minoría parlamentaria https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/31/espana/328572008_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020 Concurrently, the motion's debate provided a platform for Felipe González to present and defend his political programme to society, as it was broadcast live on radio and deferred on television, which was regarded as leading to an increase in González's credibility and political stand as well as to a favorable dynamic of growing popular support for the PSOE.Maravall José María 1984 La política de la transición Spanish 187 Taurus 978-8-4306-1247-5Julve Rafa 13 June 2017 Así contó la prensa las mociones de censura a Adolfo Suárez y Felipe González https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20170613/portadas-diarios-mocion-censura-suarez-gonzalez-6071761 Spanish El Periódico de Catalunya 1 August 2020 Legal provisions The Spanish Constitution of 1978 required for motions of no confidence to be proposed by at least one-tenth of the Congress of Deputies—35 out of 350. Following the German model, votes of no confidence in Spain were constructive, so the motion was required to include an alternative candidate for prime minister.Torres Muro Ignacio 9 October 2017 La moción de censura constructiva. Una respuesta alemana, y española, a la inestabilidad gubernamental https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/FORO/article/view/57537 Spanish Foro: Revista de ciencias jurídicas y sociales, Nueva época 20 1 279–292 1698-5583 10.5209/FORO.57537 30 July 2020 free For a motion of no confidence to be successful, it had to be passed by an absolute majority in the Congress of Deputies. A minimum period of five days from the motion's registration (dubbed as "cooling period") was required to pass before it could come up for a vote, but no maximum was established. Other parties were entitled to submit alternative motions within the first two days from the registration.Santaolalla López Fernando Galindo Elola-Olaso Fernando Miranda Luis Manuel 2018 https://app.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/sinopsis/sinopsis.jsp?art=113&tipo=2 Constitución española, Sinopsis artículo 113 Congress of Deputies Spanish 31 July 202022 May 1980 El voto de censura, según la Constitución https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/22/espana/327794412_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020 1. The Congress of Deputies may challenge Government policy by passing a motion of censure by an absolute majority of its members.2. The motion of censure must be proposed by at least one tenth of the Deputies, including a candidate for the office of President of the Government.3. The motion of censure may not be voted on until five days after it has been submitted. During the first two days of this period, alternative motions may be submitted.4. If the motion of censure is not passed by the Congress, its signatories may not submit another during the same session. Article 113 of the Spanish Constitutionhttps://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/1978/BOE-A-1978-40001-consolidado.pdf The Spanish Constitution Official State Gazette 18 December 2025 Concurrently, the Prime Minister was barred from dissolving the Cortes Generales and calling a general election while a motion of no confidence was pending. If the motion was successful, the incumbent prime minister and their government were required to submit their resignation to the Monarch, while the candidate proposed in the motion was automatically considered to have the confidence of the Congress of Deputies and immediately appointed as prime minister. If unsuccessful, the signatories of the motion were barred from submitting another during the same session. Events Prelude The motion was announced by González during a parliamentary debate in the Congress of Deputies on 21 May and registered that same day, in a move aimed at obtaining a "moral censure" of the government that caught it and most deputies by surprise.22 May 1980 Felipe González sorprendió a la Cámara con el anuncio de un voto de censura https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/22/espana/327794401_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020De la Cuadra Bonifacio 22 May 1980 El voto de censura al Gobierno presentado por los socialistas dio un vuelco al debate politico https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/22/espana/327794404_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020Prieto Joaquín 23 May 1980 La dirección del PSOE se propone obtener una "censura moral" del Gobierno Suárez https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/23/espana/327880802_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020 Among the motives given to justify the motion's tabling were the alleged lack of a coherent political project in the government's programme for the construction of the democratic and autonomic state, its inability to tackle the economic situation of the country, its refusal to comply with agreements reached with other political projects or with non-law proposals passed by parliament and its growing parliamentary weakness.22 May 1980 Texto de la moción de censura del PSOE https://elpais.com/diario/1980/05/22/espana/327794411_850215.html Spanish El País 1 August 2020 Debate and vote Motion of no confidenceCongress of DeputiesNomination of Felipe González (PSOE) Ballot → 30 May 1980 Required majority → 176 out of 350 15 Yes • PSOE (97) • PCE–PSUC (23) • PSC (17) • PSE (6) • PSA–PA (5) • ERC (1) • EE (1) • UPC (1) • Independent (1) 152 350 green 125px No • UCD (166) 166 350 red 125px Abstentions • CD (9) • CiU (7) • Independents (2) • FN (1) • PAR (1) • UPN (1) 21 350 gray 125px Absentees • PNV (7) • HB (3) • CiU (1) 11 350 black 125px SourcesLozano Carles https://www.historiaelectoral.com/congresovota.html Congreso de los Diputados: Votaciones más importantes es Historia Electoral.com 25 August 2025Lozano Carles https://www.historiaelectoral.com/inv.html Presidentes del Gobierno: Votaciones de investidura, mociones de confianza, mociones de censura, aprobación de la Constitución es Historia Electoral.com 25 August 2025 Opinion polls Shown in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication (except in cases where the fieldwork dates are unknown): + Opinion on the motion of no confidence Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Support Reject Neither CISMoción de censura al Presidente del gobierno D. Adolfo Suárez (Estudio nº 1.231. Mayo 1980) http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/1220_1239/1231/Es1231mar.pdf Spanish CIS 30 May 1980 30 May 1980 1,188 26.0 28.0 30.0 16.0 References Category:1980 in Spain Category:May 1980 in Spain Category:Votes of no confidence in Spain