Spanish politicians are arguing over judges

for control over courts, stand-offs over judicial nominations and rumblings of a constitutional crisis. These are things many associate with America, or in the with difficult members like Poland or Hungary. But the same problems have also dogged Spain, which is suffering a years-long stand-off over its most senior judges.The General Council of the Judiciary () is the governing body of Spain’s judges and courts. It not only plays a supervisory role but nominates some judges to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. Its membership (12 judges and eight other experts) is meant to be renewed every five years. But the current group has been serving with an expired mandate since 2018, because Spain’s two biggest parties cannot agree. Things came to a head on September 13th, when the missed a deadline to nominate two judges to the Constitutional Court. The has refused, saying it will not do so until its own mandate is renewed.