HOW NOT TO BE A DUCHESS FOR LONG: Perpetual Nobles Wiped Out in One Fell Swoop »
"The perpetuity of the Spanish nobility is no empty phrase but it could become meaningless when the title that has been created and granted by a fascist is on a collision course with a legitimate government bent on righting a historic wrong"
HISTORIC DROP IN UNEMPLOYMENT: FAKE NEWS? »
The Government of Spain's good news: Unemployment, which stood at 14.1 % in November 2021, with youth unemployment at a staggering 29.5%, dropped from its 15-year perch of plus-three million jobless to 2.92 million in May 2022. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz are elated about the startling phenomenon. Opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo has accused the Government of massaging the figures.
WHERE TO, SPAIN? Is the Country Headed for New Elections? »
Uncertainty assails Spain these days. It is possible that a new parliamentary election will be held before the year is out because of the deadlock in investing the President of the Government. I asked a dozen young Spaniards in Puerta del Sol about it and ALL of them said there's going to be an election indeed. Surprisingly, most of them also think it's a good thing.
THE BATTLE OF THE BAD AIR IN MADRID »
One of the very first things Madrid's new rightwing government has done was to impose a moratorium on the fines on unauthorized vehicles that enter Madrid Central, thereby allowing that low-emissions area to revert to the free-for-all area it used to be. Fortunately, last week the court stepped in and suspended the moratorium as a precautionary measure. The court ruling will remain in force until a new decision is made. What will the fate of Madrid Central be?
HOW THE GOOD OLD SPANISH TWO-PARTY SYSTEM GOT CLOBBERED »
In just a decade, the predictable two-party environment in Spain fractured into a wide breadth of parties and ideologies and may never revert to the what-had-once-been. This will certainly make for a more chaotic system, but a more interesting one as well.
SPAIN IS HEADED FOR AN ACRIMONIOUS SNAP ELECTION. CLASHES! »
Following the rejection by the Parliament of the national budget for 2019 proposed by the socialiat government of Pedro Sanchez, the President called snap election on 28 April. Hot on the campaign trail already, the leftist parties inisist on "dialogue" with separatist Catalonia as the only "commonsensical" solution to the escalating Catalan secessionism while the conservatives vow to "defend Spain from its enemies" by implementing indefinitely the harsh Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. On another plane, the left vows to recover the debilitated welfare state system while the right seeks to implement a liberal economic model.
DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN: IT WORKS! »
One might say that the Vote of No Confidence launched by Pedro Sanchez and the PSOE stemmed from a spur-of-the-moment decision, the direct result of the untenable situation brought about by the then incumbent Prime Minister’s failure to heed the national mood. Moreover, everyone agrees that it’s bumpy road all the way for Sanchez, the new President. But, hey, the democratic Constitution worked!
NEW SPANISH PRIME MINISTER IS INVESTED BY ABSTENTION »
After 315 days of a caretaker government, Spain can finally get on with
the business of truly running the country
WHY YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO WATCH BULLFIGHTS IN BARCELONA AGAIN »
The Constitutional Tribunal of Spain has ruled on 20 October 2016 that in nixing bullfights the regional government of Catalonia has overstepped the bounds of its jurisdiction