Fernando González Urbaneja | If it is not easy to give birth to a party, burying it with dignity can be just as complicated… or more so. Ciudadanos was an exciting political project born in Barcelona as a reaction to (unconfessed pro-independence) nationalism and the connivance of the constitutionalist parties, PSC and PP. Ciudadanos was the other, cleaner way (without history). It was accepted in Catalonia and exported the model…
Shaun Riordan | Unless the polls are dramatically wrong, Pedro Sanchez´ socialist party (PSOE) will be by far the largest party after the Spanish general election on 28 April. Given that, there are three key questions for foreign observers: will the right wing bloc of the Partido Popular (PP), Ciudadanos and Vox secure an absolute majority of seats in the parliament? Will the combined vote of PSOE, the left wing Podemos and the Basque nationalists be sufficient to form a government without the support, active or passive, of the Catalan nationalists? How well will the far-right Vox do?
Joan Tapia (Barcelona) | As I write this article, three polls have been published – in three Spanish newspapers ABC, El Periodico de Catalunya and Confidencial – which practically agree. If there are no changes in the twenty days that remain before the elections, PSOE will be the largest party with more than 130 seats, far distant from the PP which will remain on 80-90 seats.
Ciudadanos (37 seats) was the party which won the most votes in Catalonia but will not be able to form a government. The independent block still has control of the Parlament with 70 seats versus the 57 won by the constitutionalists and the 68 needed for an absolute majority. Ciudadanos’ victory is significant, a difficult milestone to achieve given the current electoral law. But the secessionists were able to hold on to their absolute majority in the regional parliament.
The fourth corner of Spain’s new political chessboard is called “Ciudadanos,” a social movement born in Catalonia 10 years ago and fostered by Catalan independence. Their slogans are: liberty, equality, laicism, bilingualism, Constitution. They elected Albert Rivera, a young lawyer from Barcelona, as their leader in a jam-packed meeting held in that city’s Tivoli theatre in July 2006.
Ten million Spaniards watched the most important debate between candidates from the four parties which could form a Government in Spain on Monday night. And yet the participants did not clarify the most important point: Will there be a Government after the elections on June 26?
Last Sunday’s electoral results in Spain have cast a gloomy outlook on prospects for securing a stable government. Markets were deeply disappointed as their bet for a centre-right coalition melted down. Ciudadanos performed worse than expected while Partido Popular scored a win but failed to secure enough support.
Spain will go to the polls on Sunday and expectations have certainly been met for a more interesting race to the finishing point than in 2011. New kids on the block, centre-right Ciudadanos and anti-austerity Podemos, have put an end to the over 40-year two-party dominance of the Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists. The new government could implement more reforms with expected positive economic impact, but the downturn in markets such as Latin America is likely to weigh more on Spain’s stock market.
Miguel Navascués | Junk labour contracts in Spain were created by the former Socialist Prime Minister Felipe González in 1984. At that time, González fought against the trade unions to introduce the temporary work contract. This proved to be of no use, as unemployment had increased to about 23% by the end of his term in office in 1993.
Last night, the leaders of the Ciudadanos and Podemos emerging parties joined forces to deliver a scathing bashing to the Socialist candidate during the debate held as a foretaste of the Spanish General Elections on December 20th. Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy judiciously declined the invitation to assist at the expected slaughtering.