This article was originally published in Deutsche Welle
Several former high-ranking People’s Party (PP) officials are facing trial in the country’s largest corruption case since the party’s foundation in 1976. Santiago Saez reports from Madrid.
This article was originally published in Deutsche Welle
Several former high-ranking People’s Party (PP) officials are facing trial in the country’s largest corruption case since the party’s foundation in 1976. Santiago Saez reports from Madrid.
Politics
It’s been PSOE day in Spain today. No other topic has made headlines (even with Puigdemont confirming a referendum on Catalan independence for September 2017).
It’s like a supernova event: we’re witnessing the implosion of one of Spain’s historical parties. The longest governing political group seems to be committing suicide, after its two halves (pro-establishment and pro-gressive) have started a total war which seems to be leading the socialists down the way of PASOK. But still, Pedro Sánchez is holding on, and while his chances are slim, he may still make it through the storm. What will become of his ship, that’s another story.
While everyone (me included) expected it to go this way:
It has been more like this:
So now it’s not clear whether Pedro Sánchez is still Secretary General or not. In any case, his group has proposed a schedule to bring the socialist bases to the polls and choose a new leader (vote would be on 23 October, and a Federal Congress would be held on 23 November).
Sánchez’s rivals says he has no legitimacy to propose anything. He has been referred to as the “former secretary general”. The rules seem to be on Sánchez’s side, though, as there is no explicit reference to him or his team having to step down, even after 17 members of the board resigned yesterday (which counting two previous resignations and the unrelated death of a member a time back, makes more than half of the executive organ).
All this responds to the dual nature of PSOE I’ve been talking about in previous posts. Internal tensions have finally ripped the party apart, but they’ve been there for a long time. PSOE has two types of voters:
Although the last (terrible) results of PSOE in Galicia and the Basque Country have helped accelerate the times, the true reason behind this rupture is the party’s nature.
Rajoy will reap the highest benefits: Broken PSOE’s party discipline, he will have it easy to collect the 11 abstentions he needs from among the party’s MPs.
PSOE Wars
Catalan independence process
Hi again!
Well, it’s been a while. Sorry for my long absence. Unfortunately, the previous Day in Spain model was not sustainable timewise. I couldn’t keep up with my daily work and those long posts, and the quality of both was starting to go down. I was also struggling as a journalist, having to leave out some topics that I consider of paramount importance.
So, although I’d love to keep on doing political analysis, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do it on a daily basis. I’ll try other periodicities. Keep tuned.
But I’ve decided to keep on coming here on a daily basis, and leaving you some headlines on Spanish news. You will see that I include smaller and less mainstream stories. If you need help or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out using the comments below or through email, Twitter or Facebook.
THE DAY IN SPAIN #24
Politics
Corruption
Cities
Human Rights