The two parties that are about to form the next Italian government are driven by a profoundly anti-democratic culture. Their claim to so-called direct democracy exercised via the web on a platform owned by a private company is not just a staple of populism, but an attempt to fuel general discourse against any party in the name of the people.
Today Mariano Rajoy has been sworn in as Prime Minister after Saturday’s investiture session. He obtained a simple parliamentary majority with 170 votes in favour, 69 abstentions, 111 votes against and 1 absentee. So at last the period of uncertainty which had lasted since December 2015 is over.
The outcome of the recent general elections in Spain was such a patchwork that the job of forming a cabinet has become a nightmare. The Socialist leader taking on this awesome task finds himself trapped. Both the middle-of-the-road Ciudadanos party and the extremist Podemos movement flatly refuse any joint agreement to secure enough support in Parliament.
The political parties in Spain seemed unwilling to break the deadlock one month after the general elections had taken place. Then there was a dramatic emergence from the doldrums last Friday, when Podemos made a surprise call for a left-wing coalition headed by the Socialists.
JM Martí Font via Macropolis | Spain is not Portugal, although we cannot completely rule it out. Brussels and Frankfurt want Spain to look like Germany. A grosse coalition will reassure the markets, guarantee the prevalence of budgetary orthodoxy and, on the surface, maintain at least the status quo, something very important to the European institutions, the financial powers and the European political class who doesn’t like changes.
Many people feared that the outcome of the December 20 elections in Spain would be difficult to manage. But the final situation is much worse than expected. As soon as the recount began after the voting, the conservatives of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party (PP) lost their hopes of forming a majority government with Citizens (Ciudadanos). Spain is now, undeniably, facing a period of difficult coalition-building after yesterday’s elections. And this is a very worrisome situation for the country as uncertainty is likely to increase, affecting the mood of investors and companies.
Spain’s public deficit ranks as the highest one in the eurozone, with the exception of Cyprus. Up to now, a set of exceptional circumstances has allowed for a stance of benign neglect at visible cost. But dangers loom ahead if fiscal rectitude is not firmly enforced.
MADRID | The Corner | The economy is stagnant, the confidence of businesses and consumers continues to decline and unemployment is touching new highs. France is being forced to carry out reforms from all sides, hence François Hollande and Manuel Valls have chosen the social democrat Emmanuel Macron as Minister of Economy, confirming their willingness to pursue the economic reform agenda.
MADRID | By Álex García.
MADRID | The Corner Team | Bankia’ listing in Madrid Stock Exchange was cancelled up to 10 A.M on Friday. One hour later it was known that Spain sold 7.5% of the entity’s capital announced on Thursday at a value of 1.51 euros per share, which amounts a total of €1.3bn and also a discount of 4.4% against yesterday’s closing prices. Furthermore, the sale allows Spain to earn €136 million. With figures aligning with analysts’ estimations, the start of Bankia’s privatisation proves external confidence in Spanish financial sector recovery.