Does Spain need a Government?

295 days or in other words 40 weeks in which Spain is surviving without Government because leaders of the main parties cannot find the way of leading the country.

Spain is in a chaos right now. People on the streets with placards asking for better education or regaining high quality public health service. Mass media with the news influenced by banks, politicians and big companies. And politicians arguing and trying to govern alone even if votes are not with them.

Two elections in less than one year (the first one was on 20th December, 2015, with some controversy because opposition criticised the chosen date was which was chosen to make the voting difficult) show how Spanish are polarized since economical and social crisis.

On 25th September, two of the most relevant and deciding regions voted. “Galician and Vasc country´ elections have only regional importance. Voters know it and use different judgement in respect of general or regional ones. This is the main reason why, in the absence of Spanish government, have not influence”, affirms the ex councilman of the Galician nationalist party, BNG, Aitor Rodriguez. This means when people vote a person, and not a party, people have their own idea and vote. Nuñez Feijoo, the member of the government party, Popular´s Party (PP), won in Galicia with more than 47% of the votes. Mariano Rajoy, acting president from PP, got less than 29%. Why if both are from the same party, have the same ideology and are under the same corruption cases? Because Feijoo has focused on his own person, and he avoided negative connotations from the party. “It has helped the rest of the party to convince them that keeping on working in a modest way get good results”, Popular Party´s member Gerardo Chamorro comments, “it is really important that, at least in Galicia, we have a stabled and well built government”.

Economic crisis (from 2008 until nowadays) has helped Spain in a really important way. Since 2014 Spanish political situation has changed so much. In the previous elections in 2011, there were only two big parties leading the country: Popular´s Party (PP) and Socialist Party (PSOE). Right now, even without a real government party or a agreement with more than one party leading, Spanish politicians can talk, at least, about four big political groups.

International well known left party, Podemos, is the key in this topic because “they woke up to the citizens. Spanish has seen all these younger coming with power and new ideas, who are trying to refresh Spanish politics, ending with corruption and looking for social welfare”, declares the economic´s annalist, Juan Ramon Baliñas.

A new left party means dividing this side even more. But Podemos is trying to unify and create a big left group, although PSOE attempts to keep far away from them.

On the other side, something unusual happened in the right wing. PP is not the only big party any more. Ciudadanos is the other new party which got the fourth position in number of votes (around 13%). And the general idea was a common government between both right parties, but Ciudadanos chose not to help PP if they do not deal with all corruption´s cases they have.

So this is how Spain is nowadays. With four strong parties dealing and having conversations to get any agreement and achieve the national government. But for now, Spanish citizens will not have any leader until, at least, a few more weeks.


Photo: Spanish government is still a mystery after two general elections and other regional one last week. // Source: PP Press

 

 

Sabela González García

 

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