«Variable Geometry»: Minority Governments of Spain in Spatial Perspective

Abstract

This article develops, in the case of Spain, the analysis of a specific type of minority government, the substantive minority government, from a spatial perspective, with the aim of studying the origin, viability and formation of this type of cabinet, as well as the political conditions necessary for their stability and effectiveness. Likewise, it studies the different subtypes of substantive minority government, including the most interesting variant, the minority cabinet, developing the distinction between “variable geometry” and “stable geometry” minority governments . This conceptualization allows us to show that the central parties are better able to constitute and stabilize minority governments, both formal and substantive, and, especially, to make “variable geometry governments viable. The cases of Spanish substantive minority governments, from 2004 to 2019, are analyzed from this perspective, with special attention to the cabinets of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy. The study also explores the political conditions for the development of “variable geometry” minority governments and some of their characteristic elements, such as the development of "packaging strategies" or the dynamic changes in alliances and support parties of this type of cabinet.