Although the annual rate of inflation moderated in November to 6.8 % – from 10.8 % in July – food prices are still at a record high of 15.3 %. That is why the government will today propose a third support package that will include the extension of some of the measures currently in force, which expire on 31 December, and other new ones, mainly related to the shopping basket….
In a scenario of unprecedented institutional crisis, the Constitutional Court agreed yesterday by a slim majority of its members (6 votes to 5) to paralyse the legal reform promoted by the Government parties in Parliament to change the functioning of both the General Council of the Judiciary and the High Court by express means. This reform allowed the Government majority to reduce the 3/5 majority required until now to appoint…
The Cabinet is preparing to extend the anti-takeover shield that it put in place in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, to protect companies in key sectors from foreign bids, according to government sources. The measure, which gives the government the power to veto the entry of foreign capital into these sectors, was due to expire on 31 December this year and is being extended until 31 December 2024….
In an interview granted yesterday to the newspaper La Razón, the socialist leader explains that he speaks “from his conscience” for “many other socialists” who have the same opinion but do not have a voice. Q- What is the cost to Spain of repealing the crime of sedition? asks La RazónA- The current president of the Generalitat set 2030 as the date for a new illegal referendum, if I remember…
Fernando González Urbaneja | The ECB’s non-binding considerations on the “temporary levy on banks (an economic benefit that is not a tax) could have merited a silent response from the government, an “informed but not concerned” or something similar, but they have produced an irritation with disqualifications and scorn that can only be the result of irresistible arrogance. It is well known that this government, especially the president, does not…
The coalition government led by Pedro Sánchez has decided to implement a 4% pay rise for next year, above the 3.5% planned for civil servants and MPs. With this, Prime Minister Sánchez’s annual salary will be 90,010.20 euros a year, which means a monthly salary of 7,500 euros. The Ministry of Finance agreed with unions Comisiones Obreras and UGT a salary increase for civil servants of up to 3.5% in…
J.P. Marín-Arrese | The ruling coalition in Spain faces a dim prospect in the coming elections next year. According to the polls, the main Opposition party, bolstered by its new leadership, is poised to snatch a comfortable victory. It seems even close to securing an overall majority, counting on a helping hand from the extreme right and some minor partners. To ward off the danger of a crushing defeat, the…
Fernando Gonzalez Urbaneja | I don’t want to assign the role of Richard III in the Spanish political drama, but the main contenders, Pedro Sánchez and Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, although with different intensity, are doomed to opt for whatever it takes to succeed and fail, like Richard III. The recent debate (combat) in the Senate between the two politicians with pretensions to rent La Moncloa showed desperation, obsession, determination to…
The Government plans to hold a meeting this Friday with representatives of the banking sector in which it will address, among other issues, the new temporary tax on the sector announced by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, which will last for two years and will seek to raise a total of 3,000 million. Although the meeting does not revolve around this extraordinary tax, the details of which are…
The president of Foment has raised the tone against the Government during his investiture speech with respect to the already critical statements after last week’s state of the nation debate. The employers’ leader considers that Pedro Sánchez is feeding a discourse against companies, of “hidden powers, “cigar lords” and “media conspiracies” that places them as “the bad guys in the film”, thus drawing the dichotomy between “the powerful” and the…