European Politics > Spain's Sanchez trounced in regional elections - calls a federal election

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Spain PM calls snap election after local poll drubbing

Daniel SILVA

Mon, May 29, 2023, 11:14 AM PDT·4 min read

Yahoo News

Pedro Sanchez has had a rollercoaster political career characterised by his propensity to take risks

In a surprise move, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Monday for a snap election on July 23, a day after his Socialist party suffered a drubbing in local and regional polls.

Widely seen as a dress rehearsal for a general election that had been expected at the end of the year, Sunday's polls saw the main opposition group, the Popular Party (PP), chalk up the largest number of votes.

The right-wing PP also scored significant gains at a regional level, seizing six regions that had been led by Socialists, including Valencia in the east and the Balearic Islands, which includes the holiday island of Ibiza.

But as pundits were mulling over the Socialists' drubbing in the polls, Sanchez stunned the political establishment by saying he had informed King Felipe VI of his decision to dissolve parliament and call a general election on July 23.

"I take responsibility for the results and I think it's necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people," he said.

Sunday's results "require a clarification from Spaniards about.. which political forces should lead this phase," he said.

Opposition leader Alberto Nunez-Feijoo, still jubilant from Sunday's success, welcomed the snap election announcement saying: "the sooner the better".

Spain, he said, "has begun a path of change that is already unstoppable".

- 'Support for Vox will grow' -

Oriol Bartomeus, a politics professor at Barcelona's Autonomous University, said Sanchez was "facing a dismal defeat and now he's changed the playing field".

"The alternative was six months of governmental bloodletting and he has decided to gamble it all," he told AFP.

But in Madrid, many were doubtful about his snap election call.

"I don't think it was a good decision, he lost this time around and if he brings it forward, it won't change people's opinion much," 30-year-old Carla Gimenez told AFPTV.

"For me, the fear is a PP-Vox government," said Iris Hernandez, a 65-year-old jeweller, referring to the party's need to rely on the far-right Vox, Spain's third largest political force.

Although the PP seized power from the Socialists in six regions, it will only be able to govern there with support from Vox -- posing a major headache for Nunez-Feijoo.

But 76-year-old Juan Jose Garcia Gonzalez, who voted for Vox, said Sunday's results merely reflected "what a lot of us have been saying in the streets".

"I think support for Vox will grow" ahead of the election, he said.

- Feijoo's dilemma -

In office since 2018, Sanchez has struggled with public fatigue with his left-wing government as well as voter disenchantment over soaring inflation and falling purchasing power in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.

He has also been hurt by the repeated crises with hard-left coalition partner Podemos, which also saw its support collapse in Sunday's vote.

Sanchez's reliance on the support of Catalan and Basque separatist parties to pass legislation has also harmed his standing.

The PP secured more than seven million votes (31.52 percent) in the municipal elections, compared with nearly 6.3 million for the Socialists (28.11 percent).

The other big winner was Vox, which is hoping to become an indispensable partner for the PP -- both at a regional level and, ultimately, nationally.

Since taking over as PP leader last year, Nunez-Feijoo has sought to moderate the party's line while keeping Vox at a distance. He will now have to enter negotiations with Vox on its role in regional and local governments.

"The Socialists will probably try to use these upcoming talks to mobilise left-wing voters against a potential PP-Vox government on the national level," said Antonio Barroso of the Teneo political consultancy.

It was not immediately clear how such negotiations would "affect the tendency to vote for the PP", he said.

Despite Sanchez's high-stakes gamble, "the odds of a right-wing government taking over in July are high, a 70 percent probability," said Eurasia Group analyst Federico Santi.

Diversity of Thought and Reporting Disappearing from MainStream Media - Vox Co-founder Abandons His Own Journal

Vox co-founder Yglesias becomes latest prominent journalist to flee media job for opportunity to report & speak independently

14 Nov, 2020 20:19

The mainstream media's problems with diversity of thought and reporting on off-limits subjects seem to have prompted yet another journalist to flee for a chance to speak freely – this time it's Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias.

"Parting is always bittersweet, and I'll miss so many colleagues so very much, but I'm looking forward to really telling everyone what's on my mind to an even greater extent than I do now," Yglesias told his 486,000 Twitter followers on Friday.

Yglesias, a former blogger, said he will reclaim his "independent voice" with a new blog hosted by Substack. That means he will be following in the footsteps of Glenn Greenwald, who left the Intercept late last month after editors there spiked an article that alleged wrongdoing by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden; and Andrew Sullivan, who said he was pushed out of his job as a columnist at New York Magazine last July because his management and co-workers wouldn't tolerate disagreement on many issues.

Also in July, New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss resigned after failing to comply with the consensus thinking of "an enlightened few."

New York Magazine is owned by Vox. Sullivan said mainstream media outlets have become so ideologically intolerant that writers who are "not actively committed" to so-called "critical theory" in questions of race, gender, and other identity issues are seen as "actively, physically harming co-workers merely by existing in the same virtual space."

To at least some degree, Yglesias experienced some of the same at Vox, which he co-founded in 2014. For instance, he signed a group letter, published in July in Harper's magazine, that spoke out against illiberal cancel culture and ideological conformity. Co-worker Emily VanDerWerff responded by saying she was "deeply saddened" to see that Yglesias signed the letter, and that it made her feel "less safe" as a trans woman at Vox.

The Intercept, which Greenwald co-founded in 2013 after breaking the Edward Snowden NSA whistleblower story, is billed as offering "fearless, adversarial journalism that holds the powerful accountable." But Greenwald said he and other journalists, such as former Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi, are publishing their work at Substack because of the "increasingly repressive climate that is engulfing national mainstream media outlets across the country."

Veteran Reporter Quits NBC with Biting Critique of Corporate Newsroom

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Far-Right Rising in Spain; Far Left Falling in Bolivia

'Catalan independence push & weakness of old parties propelled rightwing Vox to its best ever result in Spanish election'

FILE PHOTO © Global Look Press / Juan Carlos Rojas

The Spanish voters are so tired of the traditional parties being unable to solve the Catalan and migrant issues, that they gave their voices to Vox, despite its rightwing agenda and lack of any actual policy, the experts told RT.

Vox unexpectedly came third in the Spanish general election on Sunday, claiming 52 seats in the country’s 350-seat parliament and more than doubling their results from previous elections.

The reason for that is the “weakening” of the traditional parties, said Vladimir Shveitser of the Moscow-based Institute for Europe.

The ruling Socialists (PSOE) “remain deadlocked between the interests of the working class and the domestic capital. And they aren’t very successful in promoting their policies in such a tight space,” he said. Another major player, the People’s Party (PP), is still unable to recover from the corruption scandal, which led to the downfall of Mariano Rajoy's government last summer.

The Spanish voters are now in a dubious state when they understand that supporting the old parties is pointless, but see no new parties, capable of providing an alternative.

And that’s where Vox comes in – with its hash rhetoric on such pressing issues as Catalonia’s push for independence from Madrid and the rising migration to the country. Its leader, Santiago Abascal promised to build a “patriotic alternative,” although he didn’t give any details of how this would work. 

When PSOE and PP are talking about giving Spanish autonomies more rights to avoid their succession, “Vox expresses belief that any and all home rule should be annulled, especially the one in Catalonia, so that there would be one unitary Spanish state… without any separation into historic regions,” Shveitser said.

Alejandro Quiroga, Spanish history scholar from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, also said that “the situation in Catalonia has had a nuclear effect in terms of the rise of the far-right in Spain.”

Another reason for the success of Vox is “the refugees and migrants, especially, from North Africa that started to actively make their way into Spain in recent years,” upsetting the locals, Shveitser pointed out. “Historic Spanish nationalism keeps working even in the 21st century.” 

But Quiroga had a different view, arguing that “the level of sociability in Spain – with migrants and foreigners in general – is quite high so that’s not really a problem.” Vox did especially well in the richest parts of the country where there aren’t too many migrants altogether.

Quigora believes that now Vox would make “a political issue,” despite it not being a real social problem in Spain. 

However, both experts agreed that party led by Abascal has little to offer to the Spanish people besides empty declarations.

“They don’t have much of a policy. They have a rhetoric, which is basically xenophobic and anti-women and anti-equality, but in terms of policies, really not much there,” Quiroga explained.

The arrival of Vox will also “provoke turmoil and chaos during the formation of the Spanish government,” Shveitser warned, saying that they’ve snatch a lot seat, but no other party will be willing to engage in a coalition with them.

Bolivian President Evo Morales resigns

amid election protests

Bolivian President Evo Morales has resigned after nearly 14 years in power, amid turmoil following his disputed re-election last month.

The head of the army had called on him to go after protests over his election win.

Auditors found irregularities with the poll but Mr Morales said he had been the victim of a coup.

He said he was leaving to help protect families of political allies, after their homes were burned down.

In a televised address, Mr Morales urged protesters to "stop attacking the brothers and sisters, stop burning and attacking".

Power vacuum

The biggest criticism of Evo Morales was his lack of respect for Bolivia's democracy - accused of overstaying his welcome and refusing to step down.

But the fact that the military has called the shots on the president standing down does not do much for Bolivia's democracy either.

Now Evo Morales has gone, there is a power vacuum. Increasing numbers of his Mas party are resigning, and it feels like there is a need for retribution - for Evo Morales and his people to pay the price for the mistakes they made while in power.

His supporters have called this a coup - his detractors the end of tyranny. The priority now is to choose an interim leader, call new elections and bring a polarised Bolivia together or face yet more unrest and violence in the coming weeks.

Vice-President Alvaro García and Senate President Adriana Salvatierra also resigned.

Protesters took to the streets to celebrate, chanting "yes we could" and setting off fire crackers.

How did we get here?

Bolivia has been rattled by weeks of anti-government protests, following the reports of election fraud.

Tensions first flared on the night of the presidential election after the results count was inexplicably stopped for 24 hours. The final result gave Mr Morales slightly more than the 10-percentage-point lead he needed to win outright in the first round of the race.

At least three people died during clashes that followed. Some uniformed police officers also joined the protesters.

On Sunday, the Organization of American States, which monitored the elections, said it had found evidence of wide-scale data manipulation, and could not certify the result of the previous polls.

Pressure continued to build on Mr Morales during the day, as several of his political allies resigned, some citing fears for the safety of their families.

The army chief, Gen Williams Kaliman, urged Mr Morales to resign "to allow for pacification and the maintaining of stability".

The military also said it would conduct operations to "neutralise" any armed groups that attacked the protesters.

What reaction has there been?

Opposition leader Carlos Mesa - who came second in last month's poll - thanked protesters for "the heroism of peaceful resistance".

In a tweet, he described the development as "the end of tyranny" and a "historical lesson", saying, "Long live Bolivia!"

However, the Cuban and Venezuelan leaders - who had previously voiced their support for Mr Morales - condemned the events as a "coup".

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described it as a "violent and cowardly" attempt against democracy, while Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro said tweeted: "We categorically condemn the coup realised against our brother president."

Mexico says it is considering granting asylum to Mr Morales.

Who is Evo Morales?

Bolivia's first indigenous president, he had served as leader since 2006.

He ran for a fourth consecutive term in the October elections after a controversial decision by the constitutional court to scrap presidential term limits.

In a 2016 referendum, a majority had voted "no" to dropping the limit of term numbers that Bolivians could serve.

However, Mr Morales' party took the issue to the constitutional court, which abolished the term limits altogether.

Spanish Socialist Party Wins Most Seats in Snap Elections

Far-right VOX party wins 24 seats, but conservative influence

in congress significantly reduced

By Daniel Uria

Spanish Prime Minister and Secretary General of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Pedro Sanchez,

celebrates after the party won the most seats in the country's general elections Sunday.

Photo by JuanJo Martin/EPA

(UPI) -- Spain's ruling Socialist Party was declared the winner of the country's snap election Sunday, a government spokeswoman said.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, or PSOE, won 122 of the 350 seats in Spain's Congress of Deputies, leading all other parties but failing to win an outright majority.

Sunday's results indicate Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will likely enter into negotiations to form a coalition with Pablo Iglesias' Podemos party, which won 42 seats, and will still require support from other parties to form a 176-seat majority.

The far-right Vox Party also won 24 seats in the election, becoming the first far-right party to win more than a single seat since the country returned to democracy in 1975.

The conservative People's Party, or PP, saw its control of Congress weaken, as it won just 66 seats compared to the last election in June 2016 where it won 137.

PP leader Pablo Casado said the election was one of the most decisive in recent years, adding his party's results were "very bad."

Voter turnout reached a record high of 75.8 percent, up from 66.5 percent during the previous elections.

"My feeling is that in Spain there is an ample progressive majority and when there is high participation that becomes very clear," said Iglesias.

Not really, Iglesias, the PP Party's corruption was reflected in the cutting of their support by more than half. These people didn't suddenly become socialists.

Sanchez called for the snap general elections in February, after he failed to pass his 2019 budget deal.

After voting on Sunday, Sanchez said he hoped the election would provide a parliamentary majority to allow him to pass social and political reforms.

"After many years of instability and uncertainty, it's important that today we send a clear, defined message about the Spain we want," Sanchez said. "From there, a broad parliamentary majority must be built that can support a stable government."

If you continue down this socialist, pro-globalization path, you will find your support weaken significantly over the next couple years and your opposition becoming more and more hardened.

A Far-Right Party is Poised for a Breakthrough in Spain's Elections for the First Time Since Franco

Vox is projected to win about 10 per cent of the vote

in Sunday's election

CBC News 

Spain's far-right party, Vox, appears to be headed for a major breakthrough in the country's parliamentary elections Sunday. 

Currently polls show that the party, lead by Santiago Abascal, could capture about 10 per cent of the vote. It's a significant development because the far-right hasn't won more than a single seat in Spain's national parliament since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

But Spanish voters feeling the pinch of austerity measures are being drawn to Vox's anti-immigration messaging, joining other countries across Europe where citizens are turning to far-right populist parties. 

Edward Koning is an associate political science professor at the University of Guelph and he specializes in far-right politics in Europe. He spoke with Day 6 host Brent Bambury about what the election means to Spain's future. 

Here's part of that conversation.

Populist parties are rising in a lot of countries across Europe. Why would it be surprising that Vox is poised to win seats in Spain?

If you look at the what political scientists have to say about it they usually point out a couple of explanations. First, the fact that the history of Francoism doesn't really give a good taste to add to the ... extreme right experience. And second, that Spanish politics are being so dominated by controversy about nationalism versus separatism, and in particular the Catalonian and Basque issue, that voters don't really use immigration as an issue to make up their mind [about] which party they will vote for.

So it's not so much that they ... might not be concerned about immigration, but it's not really one that will determine their their vote for one party or another.

Vox banners hang from a bar in Brazatortas, on the edge of the Alcudia valley in central Spain. Spain is preparing

for its third parliamentary election in less than four years, and the far-right Vox party is projected to win seats.

(Bernat Armangue/The Associated Press)

Obviously that's been the situation since Franco. But what's happened in recent years that's adjusted the way people are thinking now?

Spanish politics are really in a state of turmoil and this is usually what we see that when anti-immigrant parties first do well. [It's] always in unusual elections; and these elections are really looking to be very unusual in Spain. 

First of all, there are socioeconomic conditions that are very unusual. The country is still struggling with the ... aftershock of the economic crisis and the austerity measures. The aftermath of the refugee crisis [has also] led to a ... quite significant increase in the number of asylum seekers that entered the country.

But then the political conditions are also very unusual. For one thing, there's still a constitutional crisis about the status of Catalonia. 

What you usually see in countries where anti-immigrant parties do well is that

there is a weird election where they establish themselves.

- Edward  Koning , professor or political science

And on top of that .. the message that populists always want to voice — which is, there is a corrupt and self-serving and politically correct elite that doesn't care about the interests of real ... Spaniards — seems particularly appropriate today.

On the one hand, you have the centre right party, the Partido Popular, which has been embroiled in a massive corruption scandal. This corruption scandal was so damaging to the party that the incumbent government had to step down.

The current prime minister is a man by the name of Pedro Sanchez who is basically everything that a populist likes to criticize. He has a PhD in economics; he's an intellectual. When he's asked about his opinion on immigration, he tends to answer in at least 10 sentences, with nice subordinate clauses.

So if you're a populist and you say the elites are either [corrupt] or don't care about the views of ordinary Spaniards, you have two very easy examples to draw from.

People walk past a billboard of Spanish Prime Minister and Socialist Party candidate Pedro Sánchez in Madrid, Spain. Appealing to Spain's large pool of undecided voters, top candidates on both the right and left are urging Spaniards to

choose wisely and keep the far-right at bay in Sunday's general election. (Andrea Comas/The Associated Press)

You study far right movements in Western Europe. Where does what's happening in Spain fit into the broader trend that you're seeing in that part of the world now?

What you usually see in countries where anti-immigrant parties do well is that there is a weird election where they establish themselves. And then once weird times are over say, so to say, when the conditions stabilize, these parties stick around because by that time they have familiarized the electorate with their presence.

They have established themselves as some sort of credible political player. They have built up some party organization, so they won't go away.

The timing is different because it requires one of those unusual elections.  For example in the Netherlands, where I'm originally from, it was the elections of 2002 that marked this type of watershed.

Since then the Netherlands have been marked by anti-immigrant politics quite significantly and so we can tell a similar story for almost every country where anti-immigrant parties have broken through.

So Spain fits in this story quite neatly.

Edward Koning is a professor of political science at the University of Guelph. He says once far-right parties establish themselves through unusual elections in Western Europe, they tend to stick around. (Submitted by Edward Koning)

That means if Vox wins only 10 per cent of the seats, as they're projected to in tomorrow's election, that's still very significant for Spanish politics going forward.

Absolutely. Yes. It will mean that it's unlikely that we will see this type of party disappear anywhere in the near future.

What you see sometimes is that new anti-immigrant parties are so poorly organized or so centred around one particular person that they kind of blow up once they have any type of responsibility, but that never actually leads to a permanent disappearance of these parties in general.

What instead you'll see that quickly another party will appear that learns from the organizational mistakes of its predecessor and then will secure the anti-immigrant vote in the subsequent elections.

So it's absolutely important because these kinds of parties will stick around. And the other reason why it's very important is that these parties always turn out to be quite influential although to varying degrees in different countries.