Uncertainty in Spain as Parliament Struggles to Form New Government

Uncertainty in Spain as Parliament Struggles to Form New Government

This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Envoy by Gabriela Taveras

 

(L) Pedro Sánchez (R) Mariano Rajoy

(L) Pedro Sánchez
(R) Mariano Rajoy

The Socialist Workers’ Party of Spain (PSOE) decided earlier this fall to hold a third general election next year, according to Politico.

Political gridlock has besieged the Spanish government since January. 85 members of Parliament from the PSOE have stood by their leader, Pedro Sánchez, in an attempt to remove current Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his Popular Party from power.

In spite of resistance, the only explanation given for what the political alternative would be to Rajoy’s party was given by Iratxe Garcia, a member of Sánchez’s leadership team. Garcia stated that his party had “nothing in common with Rajoy,” and claimed that the Popular Party (PP) was no longer a viable government option after failing to secure a majority in the last two elections, held in December then in June.

In August, Albert Rivera of the centrist Ciudadanos Party engaged Rajoy in talks concerning a potential coalition deal that would bring them up to 169 votes, or seven short of a majority. This seemingly strong union, however, would be overpowered by 180 negative votes from the PSOE and regional forces from the Basque Country and Catalonia.

If Rajoy fails to receive the 176 required votes by October 31, new elections will take place on December 25. In spite of the looming disadvantage, Ciudadanos member Ignacio Aguado considers his party as the “unblocking tool” for the country, as both the potential coalition discussed with Rajoy’s party and the agreement made with the PSOE earlier this year should make it more difficult to justify any objections during subsequent votes.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the newspaper El Mundo in August, many believe that the political gridlock was the result of the PSOE’s decades-long promotion of extreme political partisanship. The indoctrination was done through promotion of the Popular Party as a highly fascist alternative on the far right of political ideology and incompatible with the rest of Europe.

In fact, the 190,000 PSOE party members wield a power that Sánchez has benefited from in the past. For instance, in 2014, he became the first PSOE general secretary to be directly voted in by party members, a rare accomplishment among Spanish political parties.

Because of this political favor, Sánchez has used his opposition to Rajoy to grow even more popular with his party’s membership, said Lucia Mendez, a political analyst for El Mundo.

To avoid that scenario, El Mundo says that Rajoy will have to propose a viable alternative coalition before October 31. There are multiple options he would have to consider, including re-evaluating a three-way deal with Podemos and Ciudadanos, with whom he shares a common vision to combat corruption; striking a deal with the re-founded Partit Demòcrata Català, the party of Carles Puigdemont, president of the Catalan region; or collaborating with the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which is currently in power with PSOE support.

On the other hand, if Rajoy decides to join a coalition with the Basque PNV, he would have 175 seats. This would leave him and the PP at one seat short of an overall majority, and would represent a considerable disadvantage toward the PSOE’s goal of forming a viable coalition. The longer it takes Sánchez and his party leadership to decide their next move, the likelier it seems that the holiday bells will not toll in their favor.

The Nascent Spirit of Solidarity: The Refugee Policies in the Basque Country

The Nascent Spirit of Solidarity: The Refugee Policies in the Basque Country

If we consider the ongoing wars around the world, the question arises if the promise of “never again” has fallen, once more, on deaf ears, threatening to drown out the cries for help of those who continue to suffer, especially the 19.5 million refugees pleading for compassion and salvation worldwide.

We have all heard the old adage: to think globally, and act locally. With this in mind, the Basque Country, in spite of its limited territory, has taken the initiative to alleviate the suffering of those who have fled from everything they have ever known, all in hopes of seeking better destinies in new, unknown lands.

Last year, the Basque Government donated US $257,000 to the UN Relief and Work Agency’s Syria’s Response Plan. Justice counselor and Basque Government Speaker, Josu Erkoreka, announced in September of 2015 that the Basque Country would accept 1,000 refugees over the next two years. Currently, 3 Eritrean refugees are safely residing in Bilbao. According to the quota plan, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Alava will accept 52%, 33% and 15% of refugees that enter Spain, respectively.

Furthermore, the Commission for the Aid of the Refugee in Euskadi (CEAR) has assumed responsibility for the three Eritreans and most of the ongoing refugee asylum cases. Caritas Internationalis, Red Cross and Accem have also agreed to aid them as they transition to a lifestyle in the Basque Country. Social, legal and professional support is available to them onsite, and up until the moment they are fully independent, if they so desire.

Although the Basque Country is known as a land that is proud and deeply nationalistic, in 2003, the Basque Ministry of Housing and Social Affairs released the first Basque Immigration Plan (PVI), signaling the government’s intent to be active in structuring the integration process of foreigners arriving in the Basque Country.

Based on this law, refugees have to undergo a thorough medical examination and will receive temporal housing. Additionally, their educational and legal needs will be covered, with volunteers mostly hailing from the CEAR aiding in this process. According to Teresa Laespada, Bizkaia’s Coordinator for Social Inclusion and Equality, the province has 150 lodging quarters and 500,000 euros available for the aid of refugees.

A main ideological premise of the PVI is the concept of Basque citizenship based on jus domicile – citizenship by residence – to extend equality of civil, social, economic, and cultural rights to everyone, regardless of their place of origin or legality, according to the Spanish immigration law. This is a testament to the Basque society’s cultural and political transformation. Even though only 2.10% of the upwards 4 million foreigners living in Spain reside in the Basque Country, the aforementioned legislatures and integration plans are only part of what underlines the territory’s ongoing progressive path. In 2001, the Basque Country founded a bureau dedicated to the territory’s immigration affairs, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing and Social Affairs. This office has set up programs to promote intercultural coexistence, the social participation of immigrants, and Adult Education Centers with free courses on the Basque language, Euskera.

Some associations of the Basque Country, among them SOS Racismo, organize campaigns requesting the recognition of immigrants through political participation in their towns of adoption as a way of making them full citizens.

In conclusion, it is important to stress that solving conflict does not lie in mindlessly dispensing aid to those in need, but in empowering and giving them the tools so they can take back the life and dignity that they lost in the throes of conflict. After all, as expressed by António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: “What is at stake is nothing less than the survival and well-being of a generation of innocents”, a generation whose downfall will haunt those who could have done something, but refused to.