Pedro Sánchez makes an urgent appeal for dialogue and the search for political and social consensus in order to face the great challenges facing Spain

Sánchez recalled that this is the fourth time that the Assembly has been held in Spain, since 1933, when our country hosted it for the first time "during the government of the Second Republic, and before the Civil War and a long dictatorship".

For Pedro Sánchez, it is an "international priority" to care for and strengthen our parliamentary systems in a coordinated and multilateral action to face global challenges. Most notably climate change, coupled with growing inequality, the erosion of trust in institutions or threats to peace and security.

"Strengthening and developing our democracies undoubtedly involves strengthening our parliaments," said the President of the Government of Spain, while calling to "make parliaments more innovative, effective, inclusive, representative and accountable to citizens".

In this context, Pedro Sánchez has made an "urgent call for dialogue and the search for political and social consensus" to tackle the great challenges we must face in the coming decades.

The President of the Government of the Spain has identified the challenge of politics as "overcoming divisions, strengthening dialogue, reducing polarisation and hate speech, and reconnecting citizens with democratic institutions".

"If constant disagreement and lack of dialogue persist", Sánchez added, it will not be possible to respond effectively to these challenges. "Because polarisation carries risks for our democracies: mistrust grows, respect and empathy for those who are different is lost, and citizens distance themselves from institutions".

The president gave examples of great consensus such as the recent agreements reached by Parliament to relaunch the Pact against Sex-based Violence or the approval in the Lower House of Parliament of the Budget for 2022. This Budget provides the Pact with more measures and more funding to guarantee its stability, underlining that the fight against sex-based violence is a real State issue.

Pedro Sánchez also recalled the "special effort" made by the Government of Spain to reach agreements and find common ground. Specifically, 12 agreements reached with social partners - which have enabled the hardest part of the pandemic to be overcome and a fair recovery to begin - together with 18 meetings of the Conference of Presidents - which brings together the presidents of all Regional Governments and Cities - to exercise co-governance.

"Because adding up, seeking common ground and working to achieve majorities is the key," stressed President Sánchez. "Not to have more, but to have better policies and improve the lives of people and our countries".

Pool Moncloa / Fernando CalvoIn this context, President Sánchez highlighted the value of the Inter-Parliamentary Women's Forum, because "the feminisation of politics is one of the best recipes that exists against polarisation and in favour of dialogue".

The Government of Spain has the highest number of female ministers in the EU - 14 women and 8 men - 63% of the Executive. Women also occupy the three vice-presidencies, because "both in parliaments and in governments, it is not only a question of adding women and ministers, but also of them holding positions of the highest executive responsibility", the President of the Government of Spain stressed.

The current role of women in the political, economic and social life of Spain is "the greatest change we have fortunately experienced", with parliaments without women being "inconceivable" or "a real representative democracy if we leave half of the population out of the institutions". All "thanks to the actions of the Government and civil society".

"No country today can do without the ideas and perspectives that you women bring to public service", said the president, for whom "gender equality is in the DNA of our Government and is a cross-cutting theme in all our actions" with, for example, the approval of a new education law that introduces the gender perspective in schools (LOMLOE); the adoption of the first comprehensive law to protect children against all forms of violence; the draft Comprehensive Law on Sexual Freedom; or a record allocation of more than 500 million euros for the Ministry of Equality in the 2022 General State Budget.

In spite of all this, the president has advocated continuing to promote this transformation as the "real challenge" of our societies: "Real equality between men and women in all aspects of public life and our private lives. The development of democracy is impossible if half of citizens are not represented in it.

In this sense, he insisted that "none of the progress achieved is immovable", stressing that the degree of vulnerability has increased "and it is essential to not lower our guard in the fight for equality", particularly in those areas in which "women's inequality is combined with other causes of discrimination, such as poverty, job insecurity and, especially, male violence".

The President of the Spanish Lower House of Parliament, Meritxell Batet, was elected by the members of the Assembly as President of the Forum. In her speech, Batet thanked Pedro Sánchez for his participation and for the "absolute priority" of the fight against discrimination in his government's agenda, as a "clear demonstration of Spain's commitment to equality".

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