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Camporredondo

Spanish Politics 22nd December 2021

The Mayor Of Camporredondo Takes The Senate To Task Over The Law Of Democratic Memory

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…

villanueva donbenito

Spanish Politics 22nd November 2021

The Merger Of Municipalities In Spain Is Boosted By The Proposed Union Of Two Leading Towns In Extremadura

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.

ibedrola renewables

Spanish Politics 4th November 2021

New Mexico Regulator Questions Iberdrola’s Financial Health; Considers Condition Buy Of PNM Resources

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…

SpainConstitucionalCourt

Spanish Politics 2nd November 2021

Renewal Of The Constitutional Court: If The Deputies Voted In All Conscience…

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…

PabloCasado

Spanish Politics 14th October 2021

What If The PP Were To Offer To Agree The 2022 Budget?

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…

Spain Catalonia

Relevant News Item, Spanish Politics 28th September 2021

What Catalans Think

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.

CGPJok

Spanish Politics 21st September 2021

Brussels Does Not Understand The Blocking Of The CGPJ

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…

CGPJ

Spanish Politics 14th September 2021

CGPJ: The Problem Is Not One Of Procedure

Fernando González Urbaneja | The deadlock to renew the institutions (more than a thousand days of delay in the CGPJ) indicates that the quality of Spanish democracy is mediocre. And it is not because of the regulated procedures, but because of the application of those procedures by the responsible (or rather irresponsible) politicians. Those in government (socialists and partners) accuse the opposition of being unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the latter’s response is…

PabloCasado

Spanish Politics 9th September 2021

All-Or-Nothing Politics

Fernando González Urbaneja | Politics is the art of the possible; democracy requires mediation, containment, explanation, persuasion, convincing… None of this characterises Spanish politics, which are sliding towards the opposite, towards the impossible, towards exaggeration, simplification and polarisation. Politics based on brinkmanship (all or nothing) instead of pragmatic possibilism, gradualism, is heading for failure. The PP requires the PSOE (Casado to Sánchez) with non-negotiable demands to renew the institutions. And…

CGPJ

Spanish Politics 6th September 2021

A Mediator For The General Council Of The Judiciary

Fernando González Urbaneja | In Europe we know of cases where governments have been blocked for up to a year or more and states have continued to function reasonably normally. The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and even Germany have maintained deadlocks to form coalition governments for many months. The same happened in Spain during the electoral agony/anomaly of 2019, so we already have experience. But these difficulties being transferred from the…