Spanish elections and politics III / Pedro Sánchez faces a new term as PM

[Battista Minola 1616]

With an agreement which sows distrust in the court system of a liberal democracy and explicitly states that the executive and legislative branches of government will investigate the conduct of the judiciary branch, whether this is electorally a bad move for the "good guys" should be the least of one's concerns.

Amnesty is a well-accepted means by which liberal democracies attempt to defuse social tensions so sharp they might otherwise tear them apart. Whether doing so is a good idea or not certainly depends on the specifics of a situation (I'm certainly not a fan of Togliatti's amnesty on fascist officials or Mitterrand's amnesty on the Algiers coup leaders, for example) but it doesn't "undermine the judiciary" in and of itself. The judiciary has done its job, but the will of the people is the ultimate sovereign.

Speaking of amnesties you might not be a fan of... you'd think members of a party founded by Manuel Fraga would be more receptive to this concept.

[Battista Minola 1616]

If we are pedantic, CC and BNG, both with a single seat each, can be dropped. That being said, BNG won't ask for much (basically more money for Galicia) and CC's support really seems a last ditch effort to keep the money tap flowing but they have no leverage over Sanchez

Realistically it's going to come down to Puigdemont. And the next Catalan election will have a lot to do with how the Spanish government evolves

Simultaneously, an agreement was reached with the BNG to reduce tolls on two Galician highways (namely AP-9 and AP-53) and the creation of railway connections in Galicia.[153][154]

The best kind of Spanish regionalism. If only Teruel Existe still held a seat in Congress...

[Battista Minola 1616]

Have to salute Sanchez on being such a crafty and tough SOB.

What I don't get from his particular magic is how he can get away with consistently holding contradictory positions or changing his red lines - or, to put it less kindly, lying through his teeth in an admirably ballsy manner - without encountering punishment from the electorate.

It can't just be his ability to pick the moment for an election or the transparent mediocrity of his rivals, surely?

I doubt he would appreciate the comparison, but that type of politician (exactly what the trick entails differs depending on political systems and contexts, but the skill set is always much the same) is not really a novelty:

It works until it doesn't. That can be a very long time, especially when most opposing forces are inept, foolish or both.

On the one hand, Il Divo had the advantage of a much stronger and "inevitable" party. On the other hand, the... tricks... he pulled... went much further than Sánchez would even consider.

[Battista Minola 1616]

Also now that the election is finally officially over, should the Spanish politics discussion be moved to the International General board?

This thread has contained general political discussion while being in this board in the past, so I don't see why this should not continue. On the other hand it might be time for "Spanish elections and politics IV".