Fernando González Urbaneja | The crisis that most resembles the current one, although history does not repeat itself, was that of 1973 when Arab oil exporters decided to use a barrel of oil as a weapon of war against the West and, in particular, Israel. The rise in the price of oil, irreplaceable and indispensable for all advanced economies, imposed an unprecedented cost and supply crisis. Supply shocks bring inflation,…
Fernando González Urbaneja | It is like a creditors’ meeting, which never comes at a good time. The government has too many bills coming due for which it is short of liquidity, i.e. votes and parliamentary and social support. The weekly control session in Congress demonstrated the loneliness and, above all, the feeling of incomprehension, mental fatigue and surprise of a Prime Minister who is not short of self-esteem. Nothing…
Fernando González Urbaneja | With these three words (values?) Morocco is convincing the countries that count that its plan to integrate the Sahara into its territory is worthwhile. That it is the best option for resolving a problem entrenched in the United Nations for half a century. One of the last stages of the decolonisations which have taken place in the 20th century with bloody and dramatic conflicts. Decolonisation processes…
Fernando González Urbaneja | Sánchez’s speech in Parliament on Wednesday could go down as one of the most consistent and substantive speeches of his term in office. Then he remained in the debate on the arms shipment to Ukraine, which was an important aspect, but not the most important or the only one. The arms shipment was a rectification, not unusual for Sánchez, of the position he had maintained 48…
Fernando González Urbaneja | Recent polls show that Spaniards’ appreciation of NATO has taken a decisive turn; whereas previously there was a high level of mistrust of a defensive and armed military organisation, with a rejection rate of close to 50 per cent, acceptance now stands at over 70 per cent. Rejection of the invasion is overwhelming, more than 90%, compared to an irrelevant and extravagant 1% who see it…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The European and US deployment to help Ukraine and stifle Putin’s Russia is not as rhetorical or irrelevant as some imagined a week ago. Putin’s unilateral and criminal war is being met with the patriotism of Ukrainians, determined to defend their country and their freedom, but also with the active revulsion of most of the community of nations. The debate in the United Nations Extraordinary Assembly…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The PP’s current crisis, with an uncertain outcome as yet, as there is still much to be done, is a good case study of the role of the media in the evolution of politics and events. The basic function of journalism is to inform with a diligent search for the truth. Reporting after verifying sources and protagonists with transparency, admitting some exceptions, but not many. Sources…
Fernando González Urbaneja | It is a speculative but interesting question to take the political temperature of these liquid times. The Sánchez method in the face of government alliances is none other than to do what the mathematics indicate… apart from a German-style grand coalition. Sánchez made a pact with Unidos Podemos, with the addition of ERC, Bildu and others, contrary to all his repeated and emphatic statements of the…
Fernando González Urbaneja | Elections in Castilla y León: 31 seats for PP, 28 seats for PSOE, 13 for VOX, 3 for Unión del Pueblo Leonés, 3 for Soria Ya, 1 for Podemos Izquierda Unida, 1 seat for Ciudadanos and 1 seat for Por Ávila… The Castilla y León voters have not left any of the candidates happy, with the exception of VOX. It has consolidated its position as third…
Fernando González Urbaneja | Wages are set by the market, by hook or by crook. But behind this axiom there are exceptions or nuances. Wages are set by agreement, often asymmetrical, between the payer and the payee. Either through a verbal or individual contractual agreement or through a collective bargaining agreement of any range. In this dynamic, the State intervenes, of course, with mandatory rules. The most typical intervention is…