ABC | This past Tuesday, January 18, ABC was excluded from a briefing given by several high-ranking government officials on the management of European funds. Media such as Cadena Cope, Onda Cero, El Mundo, La Razón, The Objective, Libertad Digital, Agencia Servimedia and Agencia Colpisa were also not invited to the meeting, which was attended by more than a dozen media outlets whose representatives had the opportunity to listen and…
Clemente Polo | Living in Catalonia is becoming increasingly oppressive. Even for those of us who decided one day to pack our bags and move to an Autonomous Community that stood out from the rest for its social and cultural dynamism and its cosmopolitan vocation. When I was offered a place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona after giving a seminar in June 1984, nobody thought to ask me where…
J.P. Marín Arrese | Politicians coming into office usually trust the advice of professional and seasoned civil servants, thus preventing ill-judged decisions or blunders likely to ruin their careers. Top aides excel at dismissing fancy ideas while pretending to obey them. That is the case in Germany, the UK or France. Alas, in Spain, they seldom follow that pattern, preferring to surround themselves with friends and inexperienced party fellows. If…
The Valladolid municipality of Camporredondo, near Medina del Campo (Valladolid), is presided over by the mayor Javier Izquierdo García. He has signed a letter of response to the President of the Senate, María Pilar Llop Cuenca (*), defending his municipality against the request of the Upper House to remove the name of the street Calvo Sotelo from that municipality. The letter is as follows: PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF SPAIN…
Since 2013 it has been possible in Spain for two municipalities to merge. In that year the law to “rationalise the structures and reduce the atomisation of the municipal map” came into force. The first mergers of villages in Spain took place in 2013 and 2017, respectively, in two small municipalities of Galicia. Now the town councils of Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena (province of Badajoz, in the region of Extremadura) will open the process of merging to popular consultation, an operation that has aroused particular interest due to the size of both localities.
Renta 4 | One of the US regulators could be questioning Iberdrola’s acquistion of PNM Resources. The Regulatory Commision of New Mexico has recommended that the operation, (EV 6.9 billion euros), carried out by the Spanish firm’s subisidiary Avangrid, is done again. The regulator has found that there are more disadvantages for customers than initially estimated. And it is calling for conditions to be attached if the deal is finally…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The Congress will have a hearing for the 4 jurists chosen by Pedro Sánchez and Félix Bolaños (PSOE) and Pablo Casado and Teodoro García Egea (PP), managers of the two majority – necessary – parties to fill the vacant posts in the Constitutional Court. And then the MPs will vote in a disciplined manner so that the proposal gets the green light with a qualified majority…
Fernando González Urbaneja | Someone must have told Pablo Casado that by being a grump he does not gain political space or win more votes. This has been noticed in the week’s control session, when Sánchez was surprised by the offer to agree on the renewal of the pending institutional bodies (except for the General Council of the Judiciary). In this way, the Socialists’ accusation that the Popular Party is…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The latest poll published by La Vanguardia shows 39% of Catalans in favour of independence and 53% against. With these figures, it is understandable that ERC is opting for the slow road, to continue to stir up public opinion in order to achieve its goal, to reach its Ithaca. There was also a question on the language spoken at home: Spanish 41%; Catalan 29%; indistinct 30%. Everyone will draw their own conclusions, but the claim that Catalan society is unanimous or clearly in favour of the “indepes” proposals does not enjoy sufficient support. Conllevanza rather than coexistence.
Fernando González Urbaneja | In Brussels, the leaders of the European Commission do not understand, do not share, the Spanish debate on the renewal of the Council of the Judiciary. They do not say what should be done, it does not fall within their remit. However, they warn that it sounds bad, smells bad and damages the reputation of Spanish democracy. It seems this well-known and publicised opinion does not…