Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis
This article offers a theoretical contribution to the study of political opposition during the Covid‐19 pandemic crisis. In liberal democracies, the crisis often amplified executive dominance, thereby weakening the institutional opposition’s key role in providing scrutiny on government policies. Whi...
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Cogitatio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9788 |
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| author | Taru Haapala Andreu Teruel |
| author_facet | Taru Haapala Andreu Teruel |
| author_sort | Taru Haapala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article offers a theoretical contribution to the study of political opposition during the Covid‐19 pandemic crisis. In liberal democracies, the crisis often amplified executive dominance, thereby weakening the institutional opposition’s key role in providing scrutiny on government policies. While governmental emergency powers during the pandemic have been previously critically assessed, the strategic deployment of contestation by opposition actors has received less attention. Given the foundational role of “opposition” in liberal democratic theory, this oversight is notable. Recent scholarship has increasingly emphasised the importance of opposition as a pillar of democratic resilience. In the context of global democratic backsliding, the fundamentals of liberal democracy are at stake. This article examines a case from Spain, where Madrid’s regional government positioned itself in direct opposition to the central government. Our conceptual analysis shows that parliamentary questions in the Madrid parliament were used by the incumbent, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, as a platform for what we call “cross‐level opposition.” The research question is: How did this regional leader discursively construct political opposition by challenging the central government during the pandemic, and what does that mean for liberal democracy? Our findings reveal two key dynamics: the use of conceptual nodal points in Ayuso’s rhetoric and the irregular nature of her parliamentary questions, without the prime minister facing her in the same parliamentary space. We argue that such forms of cross‐level opposition, while seemingly consistent with democratic contestation, can ultimately erode the norms and institutional integrity that underpin liberal democracy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6492f4b2b9024df3a03163a1959737a5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-6492f4b2b9024df3a03163a1959737a52025-08-21T09:23:08ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-06-0113010.17645/pag.97884218Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic CrisisTaru Haapala0Andreu Teruel1University of Jyväskylä, Finland / Department of Political Science and International Relations, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, SpainDepartment of Constitutional Law, Political and Administrative Sciences, Universitat de València, SpainThis article offers a theoretical contribution to the study of political opposition during the Covid‐19 pandemic crisis. In liberal democracies, the crisis often amplified executive dominance, thereby weakening the institutional opposition’s key role in providing scrutiny on government policies. While governmental emergency powers during the pandemic have been previously critically assessed, the strategic deployment of contestation by opposition actors has received less attention. Given the foundational role of “opposition” in liberal democratic theory, this oversight is notable. Recent scholarship has increasingly emphasised the importance of opposition as a pillar of democratic resilience. In the context of global democratic backsliding, the fundamentals of liberal democracy are at stake. This article examines a case from Spain, where Madrid’s regional government positioned itself in direct opposition to the central government. Our conceptual analysis shows that parliamentary questions in the Madrid parliament were used by the incumbent, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, as a platform for what we call “cross‐level opposition.” The research question is: How did this regional leader discursively construct political opposition by challenging the central government during the pandemic, and what does that mean for liberal democracy? Our findings reveal two key dynamics: the use of conceptual nodal points in Ayuso’s rhetoric and the irregular nature of her parliamentary questions, without the prime minister facing her in the same parliamentary space. We argue that such forms of cross‐level opposition, while seemingly consistent with democratic contestation, can ultimately erode the norms and institutional integrity that underpin liberal democracy.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9788crisisliberal democracymulti‐level polityoppositionparliamentary questionsspain |
| spellingShingle | Taru Haapala Andreu Teruel Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis Politics and Governance crisis liberal democracy multi‐level polity opposition parliamentary questions spain |
| title | Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis |
| title_full | Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis |
| title_fullStr | Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis |
| title_short | Undermining Liberal Democracy? Cross‐Level Opposition in Madrid Regional President's Speeches During the Pandemic Crisis |
| title_sort | undermining liberal democracy cross level opposition in madrid regional president s speeches during the pandemic crisis |
| topic | crisis liberal democracy multi‐level polity opposition parliamentary questions spain |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9788 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT taruhaapala underminingliberaldemocracycrossleveloppositioninmadridregionalpresidentsspeechesduringthepandemiccrisis AT andreuteruel underminingliberaldemocracycrossleveloppositioninmadridregionalpresidentsspeechesduringthepandemiccrisis |