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

[CumbrianLefty]

Who could possibly have foreseen this might go wrong for the PSOE?

[CumbrianLefty]

I mean, how can anybody seriously believe such a ludicrously draconian response can end well?

[CumbrianLefty]

Seems like Chega and Vox did well in peripheral suburbs of Lisbon and Madrid respectively.

Well, with Chega "doing well" is something of a relative term tbf.

[CumbrianLefty]

The hard right turn by Cs deserved no better, and now Vox have removed their reason to exist.

[CumbrianLefty]

Well good job Sanchez for wasting 9 months and making his government more precarious than it could have been under the previous election results. Now that that exercise in pointlessness is complete, maybe he can get around to actually governing for a while (not that he'll last long).

And giving a huge leg up to the far right in the process. Apart from that, great job.

[CumbrianLefty]

So, the country seems to be having a 🔥THIS IS FINE🔥 moment regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. How are your cities? Mine is doing fine for now. There are no Coronavirus cases in my province AFAIK. Though I've seen pictures from Madrid that show empty supermarket shelves. I'd rather not go through that again, thanks.

You will probably have to, though.

[CumbrianLefty]

Certainly been a pretty big fall from grace for Juan Carlos.

[CumbrianLefty]

Clear divide between East/West, as is the case with a lot of cities.

Is it connected with the prevailing wind direction in this instance, as is often true with the UK?

[CumbrianLefty]

Vox does worst amongst old people - presumably because they actually remember the Franco era?

[CumbrianLefty]

Vox does worst amongst old people - presumably because they actually remember the Franco era?

Maybe but I do not think this is the entire truth as plenty of old people would have a positive opinion of the Franco era.

Actually, roughly what proportion of Spaniards *are* positive about Franco?

Its a sensitive topic I know, but surely some polling has been done on it down the years.

[CumbrianLefty]

So not that much of a "virus rally" for the Spanish government, like the US but unlike many others.

[CumbrianLefty]

So not that much of a "virus rally" for the Spanish government, like the US but unlike many others.

Indeed, if anything there is a slight "reverse virus rally" where the government is losing votes. Then again I cannot think of any event in modern Spanish history that actually was followed by a "rally with the flag" effect.

The most famous example of the Madrid bombings infamously resulted in the incumbent party losing but that is also because of Aznar's massive mistake with the handling of the attacks, blaming ETA and not Al Qaeda despite the evidence to the contrary.

Yes, you do wonder if things *might* have been different had he been honest then.

[CumbrianLefty]

Apparently there is a Spanish version of the Canada/Israel meme, so enjoy I suppose!

I am personally at the quad point between socialist, leftist cuñado, republican and europist

Why are the Basque Nationalists on the far right?

I have absolutely no idea tbh. I suppose that "because they care only about money" or something like that lol

Either way I did not make this.

How many Hapsburg nostalgics, CNT-FAI anarchists and Carlists remain in Spain nowadays? I would argue close to zero, even though I have met some anarchists (but they are very few). There are plenty of 'cuñados' and bad internet memes, that's for sure

36 different categories, so a few will be fairly niche by definition

[CumbrianLefty]

It must feel strange for the 1% to not be totally getting their way on everything, tbf.

[CumbrianLefty]

and worsened after the Madrid bombings of 2004 (the PP launched a campaign against Zapatero resorting to conspiracy theories)

Tbf it can't have been pleasant to have been caught red-handed days before an election like that.

[CumbrianLefty]

and worsened after the Madrid bombings of 2004 (the PP launched a campaign against Zapatero resorting to conspiracy theories)

Tbf it can't have been pleasant to have been caught red-handed days before an election like that.

I don't think "caught red-handed" is the right expression. The Spanish government decided in those tragic moments not to face the Al Qaeda authorship, believing that PP could win the election telling people it was ETA. People felt cheated and a wave of indignation spread through the country. Instead of admitting that error and assuming responsibility, the Spanish right launched a campaign aimed at delegitimizing Zapatero. Aznar wasn't "caught red-handed" as he didn't put the bombs in the trains, but tried to mislead people and is fully responsible for that. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the unsuccessful PSOE leader who lost to Rajoy in 2011, made a sentence in those days that still upsets the PP: "we deserve a government which doesn't lie to us". The Rubalcaba sentence had a devastating effect because it was said in the right moment. Pablo Casado repeated that sentence recently to tell Pedro Sánchez that he's a liar, but it sounds out of comtext. It's pretty obvious the PP is still resentful for that defeat

In this instance "caught red-handed" referred to the fibbing of course. I'm not one of the fringe cranks who suggests governments routinely bomb their own people in "false flag" operations

[CumbrianLefty]

Final results from Galicia. The PP failed to win the 42nd seat by 45 votes in Pontevedra.

48.0% PP, 41 seats
23.8% BNG, 19
19.4% PSOE, 15
  3.9% GeC, 0
  2.0% Vox, 0
  0.8% C's, 0
  0.5% PACMA, 0
  0.2% Mareas, 0
  0.5% Other parties, 0
  0.9% Blank ballots

58.9% Turnout

Only three parties winning seats much be pretty unusual in Spanish elections these days?

[CumbrianLefty]

Just the one PSOE enclave as well I think?

[CumbrianLefty]

Simultaneously UP failed in surpassing the PSOE as the main party of the left

Yes, its easy to forget now but there was a time when that seemed not just possible but even likely.

[CumbrianLefty]

why is criminal allowed to leave?

Well for one thing, however damning the evidence he hasn't actually been convicted of anything - or indeed yet charged? If that had happened, things would doubtless be different.

[CumbrianLefty]

A good argument against monarchy, if so.

[CumbrianLefty]

I suppose the monarchy is partly "entrenched" in that way for historical reasons.

[CumbrianLefty]

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

Oh, there must be little doubt there.

Being quasi-sanctified as "the man who saved democracy" would likely go to most people's heads tbf.

[CumbrianLefty]

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

[CumbrianLefty]

Will PP / Cs / Vox vote against the bill?

Well I know they have moved to the right, but I would still be surprised if Cs did at least.