Despite its public reluctance to review the law, UP is discussing with the PSOE legal formulas to end the trend of sentence reductions — for example, by raising jail terms for sex offenders again. However, UP is concerned that changes to the law proposed by its partner could undermine the notion of consent enshrined in the legislation. Sánchez has suggested that his party will seek parliamentary support from elsewhere — possibly even from the opposition PP — if an agreement is not reached.

 

This is the latest in a series of issues over which the PSOE and UP have clashed since forming the first coalition government of Spain’s modern era, in 2020. The supply of weapons for Ukraine, transgender legislation, and the monarchy have all generated tensions between them in the past, but this crisis is particularly damaging.

 

“This is part of an ongoing rivalry — at times explicit, at other times less so — between PSOE and UP for control of the feminist issue,” said Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University.

 

“It’s clear that this is seriously bad for the government,” he added. “The reduction of sentences for sex offenders due to this law is having an impact on the electoral prospects of the left in general.”

 

Although the coalition is expected to survive this latest storm, its political impact could soon become apparent, with regional and municipal elections in May and a general election by the end of the year.