The Judiciary elects unanimously the magistrates proposed by the conservative sector for the Constitutional

Plenary session of the CGPJ on December 20. CGPJ (CGPJ/EFE)

The Plenary Session of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has unanimously agreed this afternoon to appoint the president of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court, César Tolosa, of a conservative tendency, and the former president of the Fourth Chamber of the high court, as magistrates of the Constitutional Court, Maria Luisa Segoviano, progressive.

They are the two magistrates proposed by the conservative sector and both have gone ahead with the vote of the 18 members of the body, including the eight progressives, who have resigned their candidate, magistrate José Manuel Bandrés.

Sources from this group point out that the eight members have adopted this decision "by institutional sense."

The election of Tolosa and Segoviano implies the immediate renewal of the guarantee court and will foreseeably lead to the decline of the legal reform promoted by the Government to reduce the majority necessary for these appointments and which has caused the first precautionary suspension of a legislative process in the Constitutional Court.

The pending renewal of the Constitutional means appointing four magistrates: two are chosen by the Government and two by the CGPJ.

The Executive appointed their own (Juan Carlos Campo and Laura Díez) on November 29, but the Constitutional Court refused to allow them to take office without the CGPJ choosing their two names because there were doubts about the legality of the partial renewal.

With the decision adopted this Tuesday,

The Executive has applauded the result of the vote of the governing body of the judges and the change in the Constitutional majorities.

“The Government values ​​very positively the appointment of the two Magistrates of the TC by the CGPJ.

This is what we had been expecting for months and what was required by law since September.

Despite the delay and the blockade caused by the PP, today the CGPJ has complied with its obligations, the Law and the Constitution", the Executive said in a statement sent to the media in which it did not mention the change of candidate from the progressive sector.

“The two magistrates appointed are, as has always happened with the appointments of the CGPJ, one with a conservative sensibility (César Tolosa) and the other with a progressive sensibility (María Luisa Segoviano).

Now,

the TC will also have to validate the other two new magistrates of the TC appointed by the Government (Professor Laura Díez and magistrate Juan Carlos Campo)", adds the text, in which the Government ensures that the unblocking of the Constitutional makes this Tuesday in "a great day for Spanish democracy, for its institutions and for the Constitution."

"The PP will never be able to impose its blockade against the normal functioning of democracy," says the Executive.

The popular ones have also reacted to the appointment of the two Constitutional magistrates, selling it as a success of the conservative sector and a failure of the Government.

"It is good news that the General Council of the Judiciary has unanimously reached an agreement for the appointment of two magistrates to the Constitutional Court," says a statement sent to the media.

“It has been shown that those whom the government seriously insulted, accusing them of blocking the constitutional bodies, have materialized the proposal that has finally facilitated the agreement.

The least the Executive should do is apologize to each and every one of the members it has insulted in recent weeks," the text adds.

in which the popular slip that the Executive should change the name of its two chosen as new magistrates of the guarantee court.

“The Council has fulfilled its duty and has chosen two independent profiles.

Now, it is up to the Government to fulfill its duty and choose two profiles of proven exemplarity and not two senior officials of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez ”, they maintain.

The decision of the progressives to vote for Segoviano was agreed this Tuesday by the eight members of this group and they had not communicated it to the conservatives, who found out about the march once the plenary session began.

The surprise of these, say sources of the organ, has been unanimous.

The Conservatives had presented the candidacy of Segoviano, a progressive Supreme Court magistrate who retired in October, to stop that of Bandrés, the official candidate of the Progressives, who was rejected by the Conservatives as the government's preferred candidate.

The 10 councilors proposed by the PP needed only one vote to add the 11 necessary to designate Tolosa and Segoviano and all eyes were on the member proposed by the PNV, Enrique Lucas,

the only one attached to the progressive sector that did not subscribe to Bandrés' candidacy.

But the progressives have surprised the conservatives en bloc by giving them the eight votes of this group.

Before voting, several progressive members have explained that they were renouncing their candidate and accepting the proposal of the conservatives "out of an institutional sense", as an "exercise of responsibility" and to end the blockade situation.

"We had to get out of this loop," says a member of this sector.

Another member consulted explains that the priority was to end the current institutional crisis and renew the Constitution.

“It is a transfer, but this situation was unsustainable.

And they are two very good candidates, Tolosa is a moderate conservative and Segoviano a progressive who is going to ensure progressive principles in court”, affirms this member.

Some councilors of this group believe that the conservatives did not really want this duo to succeed and their intention was to continue delaying the election,

Until now, the appointment of magistrates for the guarantee court by the CGPJ had always been made by agreement between the two blocks and both groups also agreed to do so last September, when they began to negotiate the pending renewal.

But the majority of the members proposed by the PP from the beginning put obstacles to some appointments that imply that the conservatives will lose the majority that they now enjoy in the guarantee court.

For weeks, they maneuvered to block any possible agreement, which ended up precipitating the resignation of the president of the CGPJ, Carlos Lesmes.

After his resignation, the conservatives, now without the margin to continue refusing to negotiate, focused their strategy on stopping Bandrés's candidacy,

for which they first demanded that the progressives put more names on the table and, faced with their rejection, they chose to present candidates related to this group in the hope that some member would give their support.

Finally, they have achieved their goal.