Spanish elections and politics II: Catalan elections on February 14, 2021

[Velasco]

I would gladly embrace republicanism, but I don't think this moment is so perfect. Right now Spain is embattled by multiple crises: health emergency, dire economic situation, deteriorated prestige of parties and institutions (once upon a time, the monarchy was the most valued), the Catalan mess... Like the journalist Enric Juliana says, the country stands up thanks to the unequivocal democratic will of a majority of the population (most of the people was born after Franco) and the European safety net (the EU's reconstruction deal is vital for Spain, literally). This context is not the best to shake up institutional stability, so I understand that the socialist part of the government is backing king Felipe right now. Also, constitutional reforms need a consensus that is impossible to reach in a context of political polarization (Spain's perennial problem). I'm far from being a monarchist and l think it's no longer possible refusing to discuss the matter, but I don't see Spain proclaiming the Third Republic tomorrow (maybe the following day)

[Velasco]

I wonder if this is gasoline to the fire that is the Catalonia issue and its upcoming election.

The monarchy was massively unpopular in Catalonia already, so who knows. The speech of King Felipe after the sham referendum in October 2017 didn't help. He spoke in defence of the State and the rule of the law, but many people inside and outside Catalonia think he wasn't empathetic with the victims of the police brutality (he didn't say a word about them). Felipe and his daughter speak Catalan, though.

I've just just read this article by Javier Pérez Royo stating the obvious: this is not a family affair. The Constitution says that the Crown belongs to the Nation , so the Congress must have a say as the representative of the popular sovereignty. It's time that the royals become fully transparent and accountable and the Congress should decide what to do with them in the present circumstances

https://www.eldiario.es/contracorriente/momento-cortes-generales_132_6145838.html

[Velasco]

According to La Vanguardia, Juan Carlos is taking up temporary residence in the Dominican Republic. The 'emeritus' king left the royal residence of La Zarzuela on Sunday, then moved to Sanxenxo in Galicia and spent the night there. On the following day, he drove south and crossed the Portuguese border towards Porto. There he took a flight to the Caribbean country. Juan Carlos will be hosted by the rich Fanjul family (sugarcane growers) at Casa de Campo complex in La Romana

[Velasco]

This context is not the best to shake up institutional stability, so I understand that the socialist part of the government is backing king Felipe right now.

In the light of recent news, I'd like to nuance a little:  

Despite I'm not monarchist and I'm not in love with the Bourbons, I can understand that Pedro Sánchez or the PSOE are backing king Felipe, for the sake of institutional stability, because the country is facing many problems. However, by no means I approve the secrecy and the opacity surrounding the exit of the allegedly corrupt 'emeritus king'. One of the main problems of the Spanish monarchy is the lack of transparency and accountability, as well the pact of silence that allowed Juan Carlos to develop his irregular activities with total impunity for many years, until the Botswana incident opened the Pandora's box. Sadly I'm getting the impression that the attitude of Sánchez towards the royal family is not very different from the attitude of the preceding PMs

[Velasco]

Blocked all the legal paths, apparently the only effective ways to change a political systen are: war, revolution, or a dictator dying in his bed (Franco did not die peacefully, because the 'Official Medical Team' opted for therapeutic obstinacy)   Interesting

[Velasco]

According to La Vanguardia, Juan Carlos is taking up temporary residence in the Dominican Republic. The 'emeritus' king left the royal residence of La Zarzuela on Sunday, then moved to Sanxenxo in Galicia and spent the night there. On the following day, he drove south and crossed the Portuguese border towards Porto. There he took a flight to the Caribbean country. Juan Carlos will be hosted by the rich Fanjul family (sugarcane growers) at Casa de Campo complex in La Romana

The new theory is that he's in Quinta do Perú, a luxurious golf club/neighborhood in the Peninsula of Setúbal, in a house owned by the Espírito Santo family.

That... doesn't look good.

Can you tell us something about the Espirito Santo family?

[Velasco]

How the departure of Juan Carlos was planned

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-08-05/how-the-departure-of-spains-former-king-was-planned.html

The departure from Spain of former king Juan Carlos I was decided at a face-to-face meeting between himself and his son, the reigning Felipe VI.

On Monday it emerged that Juan Carlos, who reigned for nearly 40 years and guided the country through a peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco, had left Spain for an unknown destination (...)

The Spanish government was aware of the conversations, but the final decision was in the hands of Felipe VI

The downfall of Juan Carlos

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-08-04/the-downfall-of-spains-juan-carlos-i.html

The annus horribilis of the Spanish monarchy began in April 2012 in Botswana, 7,200 kilometers from Zarzuela Palace, Spain’s royal residence. But it lasted much longer than 365 days. Indeed, it hasn’t ended, despite the fact that Spain’s emeritus king, Juan Carlos I, announced on Monday that he would leave Spain to ensure his reputation would not continue to harm his son, King Felipe VI, who became head of state in 2014. Juan Carlos’ trip to Botswana was not his first safari, nor was the woman he was photographed with, Corinna Larsen, his first female friend. But the royal household would soon discover that this trip would mark a “before and after” for the monarchy  

[Velasco]

Lol no https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/amp/casas-reales/2019-06-20/monarquia-encuesta-vanitatis-votantes-psoe-aprueban-rey_2077678/

Great news! I see that poll is one year old and there's another released by Publico this year saying republicans win by a landslide. The question is who do you trust

https://www.publico.es/politica/sondeo-espanoles-prefieren-republica-monarquia-mayoria-absoluta.html

As far as I know, the most recent polls on the monarchy have been conducted by Invymark (La Sexta) and Sociometrica (El Español). Both say the king's approval rates are at the lowest point in recent times.

On July 14 this year (La Bastille day*), it was released an Invymark poll asking some questions related to the monarchy. On the question "how do you feel to this day?" results were the following: 31.2% monarchist, 39% republican and 29.3% neither

https://electomania.es/invymark14jul20/

There are two recent Sociometrica polls. The poll released by El Español in July said that republicans were winning by a narrow margin (49.3% to 48.9%). In the following month the same pollster assures the support for the monarchy skyrocketed due to the departure of the former king (40.8% republic, 54.9% monarchy), which is honestly hard to believe.

https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20200806/salida-espana-juan-carlos-provoca-vuelco-monarquia/510700195_0.html

There are polls for internal consumption commissioned by the royal household, while the CIS raises criticism because the public institute ceased to ask about the monarchy with the access to the throne of Felipe VI.

The lack of reliable polls is another sign of the opacity surrounding the monarchy, in my opinion. I tend to think (as the invymark result suggests) that the monarchsit feeling is increasingly weaker, but republicans are not strong enough and there's a big pocket of undecided and indifferent

* The anniversary of the Spanish Second Republic is on April 14

[Velasco]

El País reports today the decision to move Juan Carlos out of the country, "at this point in time", was made by king Felipe. The main motivation was not pressure from the government, but the collapse in prestige of the monarchy shown by the polls for internal consumption commissioned by the royal household. Pedro Sanchez and some ministers advised the king to distance from his father (Sanchez said that recent revelations were "disturbing"), but the PM would have preferred the 'emeritus king' to remain in the country

https://elpais.com/espana/2020-08-08/la-decision-de-juan-carlos-i.html

In the unlikely eventuality of a referendum, I gather at this moment king Felipe would have a good chance to lose

[Velasco]

Anyway, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has already said this report is madness and any sensible and intelligent person would realize he's the last person in Portugal to intervene in this situation.

Indeed. I know little about the constitutional attributions of the presidency, but it makes no sense that Rebelo de Sousa intervenes. I would have felt embarrassed reading that news


According to first rumours, Juan Carlos went from Porto to the Dominican Republic. Now there's a picture of the emeritus king allegedly taken at his arrival to Abu Dhabi airport on past Monday. I've read in La Vanguardia yesterday that his stay in the Persian Gulf Emirates is provisional and he might be considering New Zealand, a covid-free paradise for sailors, but the journalist is careful enough to say that's only a speculation. Regarding Juan Carlos' passion for sailing, it seems well established that he moved from La Zarzuela (the royal residence near Madrid) to Sanxenxo (a coastal town in Galicia) on Sunday. Juan Carlos has a 'court' of loyal friends there, a reduced circle including a local businessman and members of the Sanxenxo yacht club. People in that town is apparently convinced that Juan Carlos will be back in September to participate in the sailing regattas. Juan Carlos would have said to his close friends the departure is provisional and he "will be back soon", but possibly that's the kind of statements you can expect from someone who is assimilating his new condition. From what I'm gathering, I think it's not correct to say the emeritus king has fled the country escaping justice. I believe, concurring with the last article I linked from El País, that Juan Carlos has been forced to leave the country against his wishes. But Juan Carlos is not going to be obedient in 'exile' and he will go wherever he pleases, even if his movements are embarrassing for the government or the royal household. Expect all kinds of incredible stories

[Velasco]

The stories about are becoming very silly and this whole secrecy is becoming stupid. There's no reason, right now, for not announcing where he is and Juan Carlos could easily give a written, or even a in person, statement describing his reasons to do this and that he will return to Spain several times in the future. Prolonging isn't going to help.

I agree, but it's not clear that Juan Carlos is going to return unless he's requested to appear in court. Keep in mind that apparently Juan Carlos was persuaded to leave Spain, because members of the royal household found this arrangement the least bad in order to try to save the institution. I don't think Juan Carlos accepts his 'sacrifice' willingly, it's just that he's been 'persuaded' in a similar manner he had to apologize grudgingly for his hunting incident in Botswana. It's not easy for a person that has been sanctified in life -thus allowed to do whatever he pleased, protected by the country's elite- to accept his current situation. Personally I would have preferred that the aged Juan Carlos was just allowed to retire in Sanxenxo, but apparently that's not in the best interest of the monarchy

Regarding the mythicizing of the Hero of the Transition, I think it's interesting this interview with the historian Julian Casanova in La Voz de Galicia. Personally I consider he puts the things right. Juan Carlos was not the man sent by the providence to guide us towards democracy, but a man who played a very important role as the head of the state designated by Franco. He made correct and transcendental decisions, such as appearing on television dressed in full uniform by February 1981. Quite possibly he had the history of his family in mind, as well as the precedent of his brother-in-law Costantine of Greece (who sided with the Greek junta and later had to leave his country). Maybe the root of his late problems and bad decisions is the aura of sanctity his supporters bestowed upon him

https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/espana/2020/08/08/julian-casanova-juan-carlos-i-dio-aureola-santidad-sacralizacion-permitia-/00031596875297517553495.htm

[Velasco]

The article is quite neutral and it gives a good assessment of Juan Carlos. He did in fact good , actually for Spain but that doesn't meant he was a"saint", no one is. There's many examples across history of good leaders that by the end did many mistakes as they thought they were untouchable.

There's a difference between neutrality and objectivity. Nobody is neutral, actually. Anyway we have been taught in this country that Juan Carlos was a person of great virtues and vision, a providential man who guided his country through the transition. Any deviation from that narrative may be deemed heretic by certain people. The fact is that he wasn't alone in that journey, as Casanova remarks, but accompanied by a certain Francoist elite willing to transition and opposition leaders unwilling a violent confrontation. Juan Carlos was neither a saint nor a genius, but he made some correct decisions in the past that were good for democracy in this country.

Thanks, now I know what to say in case I meet a neo-Bourbonist.

(neo-Bourbonists = a small group of crazy revisionist junkies nostalgic for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies)

FTR the full name of the emeritus king is Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias

[Velasco]

For those of us who can't read Spanish, a summary?

Well, that is actually an exaggeration, especially the "Podemos collapses" lol

Anyways, the summary is that the Treasurer and the Campaign Managers from Podemos have been charged with illegally financing the party

This is somewhat reminiscent of the Gürtel case from PP a while back, where the PP tresurer was also accused of illegally financing the party as well. (or if you really care to go back that far, the Filesa case where PSOE was also accused of illegal financing in the late 80s)

In any case, they've just been charged. Now it will take a long while until those charges are actually confirmed or dropped. And if confirmed it will take years until the trial finally ends. So we are here for a long while.

Or a more simpler summary is that Podemos is just another member of the "caste", alongside PP, PSOE and others.

"La Casta" was a popular expression reflective of a particular moment of anger, but it' s a bit outdated now. "Juancarlistas" are a bit old-fashioned, too. I never bought the simplistic vision, but I think that slogan had a raison d'être. It served the purpose of catalyzing a desire for change and as a revulsive against the conformist political elites, in a moment of terrible economic crisis and poverty of expectations (especially for young people). The Podemos momentum passed away and nowadays Pablo Iglesias has become a member of the establishment, something like an Euro-communist

[Velasco]

For those of us who can't read Spanish, a summary?

Well, that is actually an exaggeration, especially the "Podemos collapses" lol

Anyways, the summary is that the Treasurer and the Campaign Managers from Podemos have been charged with illegally financing the party

This is somewhat reminiscent of the Gürtel case from PP a while back, where the PP tresurer was also accused of illegally financing the party as well. (or if you really care to go back that far, the Filesa case where PSOE was also accused of illegal financing in the late 80s)

In any case, they've just been charged. Now it will take a long while until those charges are actually confirmed or dropped. And if confirmed it will take years until the trial finally ends. So we are here for a long while.

Wait. I think there is a difference between "imputar" ("investigate") and "acusar" ("charge"). Judicial inquiry may end in formal charges or not, it depends on the conclusions. Even in the case inquiry leads to formal accusation, I doubt the alleged wrongdoings would be comparable to the colossal corruption scheme known as the "Gürtel case", that ultimately caused the fall of Mariano Rajoy. I'll wait a little to give an opinion, because I haven't paid too much attention and there's too much media noise

By the moment I can tell the inquiry is motivated by the accusations made by a lawyer who was employed by Podemos and sacked on alleged sexaul harassment. I know this particular lawyer has made his accusations against Podemos in some media (for instance, El Mundo), but as I said before I haven't paid attention until now.

[Velasco]

No. Court proceedings have a timing. The Gürtel case" is already over and this one of Podemos is only in a phase pf judicial inquiry. On the other hand, the magnitude of the Gürtel scheme is so enormous, that comparisons seem disproportionate or disingenuous. In case there are proven wrongdoings, there will be a verdict and a sentence

[Velasco]

Wow, I didn't know that we had exported the term "caste" in that sense.
The phrase "X is just another member of the caste alongside Y and Z" sounds just SO Italian.

Worth noting that, during their early and meteoric rise (2014-2015), many Spanish political commentators noted the similarities between the Italian M5S and the Spanish Podemos. The early Podemos essencially called the old parties "the caste", claimed to be "neither left nor right; but the people vs those in power" and was very populist

Of course, unlike M5S, eventually Podemos moved into a more generic left wing populist party, but those similarities were there.

(the other main comparison of Podemos at the time was with the Greek Syriza I think)

Never forget that Podemos was founded by political scientists. You may like or dislike them (I have mixed feelings), but it's undeniable Iglesias, Errejon, Monedero and the others are intelectually more brilliant than the average politicians in this country. They launched Podemos in the right moment and with a clear purpose, and they were astoundingly successful provoking a panic attack to the elites labelled "La Casta". The similitudes between M5S and Podemos are only superficial. The Grillini are anti-political in nature, a pure protest party. The initial Podemos was highly influenced by sophisticated political theories (Ernesto Laclau's theory of populism) and the main advocate of this path was Errejon. They said they were "neither left nor right" to appeal a broader audience, but Podemos was always left-wing and hyper-political. Later there were differences between Iglesias and Errejon (partly strategic and political, party personal). With the defeat of Errejon at Vistalegre II (early 2017), Podemos abandoned the left-wing populist path to become a somewhat more orthodox leftwing organization.

 Anyway the present organizational weakness is one of the main causes of the bad results of Podemos at local and regional level. I don't know if organizational disfunctions are related to that recent inquiry

[Velasco]

They said they were "neither left nor right" to appeal a broader audience, but Podemos was always left-wing and hyper-political.

To put things from a different perspective, back when Podemos was experiencing their meteoric rise, in Venezuela they were immediately linked to chavismo (the ties existed, after all), talking about "chavistas in Spain" was all the rage in pro-opposition circles back then, and among them, many watched the results to the 2015 election nervously.

In other words, in Venezuela, they were seen as far leftists there from the get-go.

I know. Some ties existed and the Podemos founders were sympathizers sometime (and maybe some of them still are). I think they never denied that. There were allegations on Venezuelan funding as well that have never been proven, but made a lot of noise in media. On the alleged chavismo, Iglesias and Errejon have stated the path is following Venezuela is undesirable for Spain. They are smart enough to realize that's a trainwreck and I doubt that embracing chavismo is compatible with electoral success in Spain. A total abjuration would have not been credible (Carmena has labelled Maduro a dictator, Errejon can't do that)  On the alleged and unproven financing, well... I said before they provoked a panic attack. As for their ideological background, it was always clear they came from the left and even from the far-left.

With regard to M5S, it's obvious the Podemos founders noticed their communication tactics and quite possibly adapted some of them ("La Casta!")

[Velasco]

How the fate of Juan Carlos was decided (it's the English version of an article I linked before, worth reading)

https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-08-12/how-the-fate-of-spains-juan-carlos-i-was-decided.html

It’s Friday, July 31 and Spain’s regional leaders are gathering in San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja for the first face-to-face meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in 14 weeks – during the coronavirus lockdown, the weekly discussions had been held via video link.

Sánchez wants to put forward an image of cohesion and unity in the face of an economic crisis of historic proportions, and a growing number Covid-19 outbreaks that are threatening to unleash a second wave of the pandemic. Even Basque leader Iñigo Urkullu – originally reticent to attend – is at the event, making Catalan premier Quim Torra the only absentee.

King Felipe VI, having just finished his tour of Spain’s 17 regions with a visit to Asturias the day before, is on hand to inaugurate the conference. The program has been worked out in meticulous detail, but at the last minute everything changes to accommodate a private meeting between the king and Sánchez. No one knows what it is about (...)  

Twitter storm triggered by a comment of Pablo Iglesias on Plot Against America, a series directed by David Simon (the creator of the legendary 'The Wire')

https://english.elpais.com/verne/2020-08-12/the-weekend-that-the-creator-of-the-wire-spent-arguing-with-twitter-users-about-spain.html

 Pablo Iglesias, the leader of anti-austerity political party Unidas Podemos and one of Spain’s four deputy prime ministers, enjoys a good TV show. A few years ago, he gave a box set of the HBO hit Game of Thrones to King Felipe VI, and has used his Twitter account to rave about the French series Baron Noir, Italian drama Gomorrah and US classic The Wire. Last Friday, Iglesias took to his Twitter account again to recommend another series by The Wire creator, David Simon, called The Plot Against America.

“I just finished watching The Plot Against America. David Simon and Ed Burns never disappoint but the moment in which the series has come out gives it special meaning. Sometimes, the success of fascism seems inconceivable to us, and yet sympathizers are always close.”

(...)

The Twitter storm began on Saturday, when Simon discovered that he had been mentioned in hundreds of messages thanks to Iglesias’s tweet recommending The Plot Against America. Retweeting Iglesias’s message, Simon wrote: “So, if my poor Spanish holds, this fellow liked the bent of a miniseries and tagged me. And so now into a second day, my Twitter feed is full of Francoists and Catalunyans screaming at each other in languages not my own. Well okay. It’s 1937 again.  the fascists. No pasaran [sic]” – a reference to the anti-fascist slogan “They shall not pass.”

But this was not the only message The Wire creator shared; he subsequently spent most of Saturday and a good part of Sunday arguing with Twitter users about fascism. He insulted Franco and the Francoists and criticized the United States for having supported dictators during the Cold War. The matter of Catalan independence was also brought up with Simon saying that a referendum, where leaders are “willing to count votes,” was preferable to the coup of July 1936 (...)

Simon said there's a script for a drama series following the international Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and said calling "fellow" to Iglesias didn't mean anything, claiming that he's not a "commie" but a "socie". He said something about the "fascie madre" of some troll and discussed about Catalan independence with another user...

[Velasco]

José Manuel Calvente, the lawyer who worked for Podemos and filed a complaint for alleged mususe of funds, declared before the judge on July 29 for more than three hours. The full audio was sent to the parties at trial after Vox requested it (the Abascal party is acting as private prosecutor, something that is allowed in Spain for some weird reason). Calvente ratified his accusations, alleging the party billed "false services", paid "unjustified bonus" and transferred money in nontransparent ways. However, when the judge asked him to go into details, Mr Calvente said he has no evidence and is basing his accusations on things he heard to other party employees. They told him about the alleged irregularities, such as the alleged fake billings in favour of Neurona consulting (owned or participated by Podemos co-founder JC Monedero). When the judge asked him about five campaign contracts deemed false in the complaint, Mr Calvente rectified saying "they could be false". "I'm not making a definitive statement", said Calvente to the judge, but talking about "a number of indications" told to him by others. Podemos filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, claiming it's based on "rumours and speculations".

By the moment it doesn't look like theere's a solid case against Podemos, leaving aside that Calvente saw "strange things" and some people told him about alleged wrongdoings. It's true that Podemos is the second party after the PP under investigation* as a legal person, but I don't see anything remotely comparable to the Gürtel scheme regardless what the plaintiff says. Another question is that the inquiry finds evidence of irregularities by other means.

* The current legal term in Spain is investigado ("investigated"), but the press is still using the old term imputado, which is a word not easy to translate as it has a connotation of "accused" without actually meaning a formal accusation

[Velasco]

Lol, is that the real account of Pablo Echenique? It's not that I'm a fan of Echenique and Monedero (actually I can't stand them), but re-tweeting lame impersonators to back your arguments is not a great idea. As for the caja de solidaridad ( "solidarity fund"), my qualified opinion as a comunista de chalé ("villa Communist") is that there's no case

[Velasco]

But there's nothing wrong with that. Neither wage ceiling nor the solidarity fund are illegal.

 I find the comparison between the Podemos "solidarity fund" and the PP's "B fund" (parallel accounting) quite disingenuous, to be honest. I see El Mundo is trying to involve Manuela Carmena, too (I suspect it's based on speculations, without actual evidence). On the one hand it's funny because the relationship between Podemos and the former Mayor of Madrid became so strained, on the other hand I dislike very much sensationalism and partisan journalism.

 It is well established with actual evidence that the Vox leader Santiago Abascal earned a good salary as the chairman of a public foundation without employees or real functions, funded by the Madrid regional government under Esperanza Aguirre. But reaching the top heights of hypocrisy, one of the main Vox banners is crying for the waste of public funds. Vox leaders are notorious for their absolute disregard of truth -as good pupils of the Trump's academy- and part of the Vox success is due to the fact that voters don't care at all about the truth. Vox was funded by an obscure Iranian group, as Javier Ortega Smith admitted, but now it's acting as a private prosecutor against Podemos...

I think it's alright the judiciary investigates alleged wrongdoings, but I don't like double standards

[Velasco]

Two weeks after the departure of former king Juan Carlos, the government's discomfort increases due to the secrecy surrounding his whereabouts. Pedro Sanchez is committed not to reveal where is Juan Carlos, claiming it's up the royal household or the emeritus king himself to inform the public

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2020-08-13/spanish-pm-refuses-to-reveal-whereabouts-of-emeritus-king-juan-carlos.html

Since August 4, the whereabouts of the father of the current monarch, Felipe VI, have been unknown, something that is becoming an uncomfortable issue for the central government. Questioned by reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that the responsibility for providing information as to the former king’s whereabouts lie with the royal household and Juan Carlos himself. “We are different institutions,” he insisted

Sánchez went as far as to say he didn't know JC's whereabouts, despite the government provides escort to the former king. Later the PM argued his cabinet and the royal household represent different branches of the government (executive power and head of the state), the same argument used to avoid questions about the Podemos inquiry (in more recent news, El País reports the government closes tanks before the accusations). Basically government sources think the secrecy and the subsequent rumours and speculations don't benefit the monarchy at all. The more likely reason for that secrecy is the personal interest of the former king, who does not want to be disturbed. Maybe king Felipe respects his wishes because his father's sacrifice going to 'exile' is hard enough. Sooner or later some photographer will take a picture somewhere, or some journalist will discover the whereabouts of Juan Carlos

[Velasco]

The Royal Household has finally confirmed the whereabouts of former King Juan Carlos: He's been in the United Arab Emirates since August 3, which is the same place where the photo of him disembarking a plane was allegedly taken.

Excellent news! I hope our friends in the Emirates are treating him like a king!

Welcome to the forum, btw

[Velasco]

Wow. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo is a hardliner and a free verse, too. She has been advocating a "concentration government" with the PSOE at her own peril and despite she has been very harsh with Sánchez. The current Mayor of Madrid has a better public image and is less controversial than the Madrid premier. Cuca Gamarra is a former mayor of Logroño and has been the PP's Deputy Secretary for Social Affairs until now. Ana Pastor is a former Health minister, quite moderate in her manners and a Rajoy loyalist. It's up to see what is going to be the tone and the strategy of the PP from now on...

[Velasco]

Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo just held a very belligerent press conference, coherent with her style. She harshly criticized the leadership of the PP and revealed details about her private conversation with Pablo Casado (who she kept referring to as "Mr. Casado") this morning and about internal affairs of the party (she revealed that she wanted to allow a conscience vote on moral issues for MPs and that the parliamentary leadership lacked autonomy due to the personal interference of General Secretary Teodoro García-Egea, among other things).

She stated her clear opposition to Pablo Casado's decision to sack her, which according to her is bad for the party and the country. She said that Casado told her he was unhappy about her outspokenness (which he considers a challenge to his authority) and her opposition to talks with the Government on the Budget and the appointment of judges (from which she was completely excluded). She also claimed that he disliked her focus on "culture war" issues like feminism and the legacy of Franco's dictatorship.

In regards to her future, she didn't say whether she would resign from her seat or leave the party. She will spend a couple of days with her daughters before making any decision.

I mean, I do believe party members don't need to behave in a monolithic manner, but if you are a party's spokesperson in Congress, your statements probably need to reflect the direction the party leaders want.

Sure, but remember that Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo was personally chosen by Pablo Casado (as well the Madrid premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso). Casado picked the Marchioness of Casa Fuerte (that's the nobility title held by the sacked spokeswoman) due to ideological affinity, because both are hardliners and heirs of José María Aznar and Esperanza Aguirre. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo is an educated woman, articulate and good in rhetorics. But she's also a radical rightwinger sometimes too close to Vox, as well too outspoken and undisciplined for a party spokesperson. Now Casado finds out that Álvarez de Toledo, the woman he called "the Messi of the PP", is a free verse that is challenging his authority while reading an interview in El País

https://elpais.com/espana/2020-08-15/urge-un-gobierno-de-concentracion-moral-y-constitucional-en-espana.html

No soporta la etiqueta de verso suelto pero reafirma que necesita la libertad de pensar y opinar dentro de su partido para hacer política, su pasión. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (Madrid, 1974) es la escrutada portavoz del PP en el Congreso, desde hace un año, pero quiere ser el ariete de la “batalla cultural” en la derecha contra la izquierda dominante.  

 

"She can't stand the 'free verse' label but affirms she needs freedom to think and give her opinion to make politics, her passion. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo has been the spokeswoman of the PP in Congress for a year, but she wants to be the battering ram of the right in the 'cultural battle' against the left"

I mean, that's entirely Casado's fault because Álvarez de Toledo has never deceived anyone about her intentions. When you pick someone like her, you must be ready to deal with the consequences. Cuca Gamarra, the new party spokeswoman in Congress, is more disciplined and moderate in tone. The former Mayor of Logroño backed Soraya Sáez de Santamaría in the leadership contest, but she has been loyal to Casado since his election. Ana Pastor replaces Gamarra in her party roles, which is remarkable because the Congress' Deputy Speaker and former Health minister is a staunch Rajoy loyalist. The current Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, was not the Casado's personal choice. He ran in the last local elections because he was the PP's spokesman in the Madrid City Hall by the time, after the retirement of Esperanza Aguirre. He appeals to me as a good public relations, but I suspect he's a staunch conservative like his predecessor Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, who was once the PP member preferred by the left due to his moderate tone.

In sum, these new appointments are not the profiles promoted by Casado when he reached party leadership advocating an "ideological rearmament". After the disastrous election in April 2019, Casado was forced to a somewhat 'moderate turn' by his 'barons'. But he turned again to a harsher tone and a frontal opposition to the government, promoting the hardliner aznarista Carlos Iturgaiz at the head of a failed España Suma experiment in the Basque Country. Possibly Casado has been pressed by his 'barons'' again after the success of Feijóo in Galicia and the catastrophe of his appointee Iturgaiz in Euskadi. My impression is that the PP will continue being erratic and directionless as long as Casado remains, but in politics you never know