Posted on 07/30/2023 2:24:06 PM PDT by Tipllub
BARCELONA (Reuters) -Spain's Socialists have emerged with one seat fewer after counts of votes from abroad in last week's election, making it harder for them to be able to form a left-wing coalition as they would need the support of hardline Catalan separatists rather than just their abstention, analysts told Reuters on Saturday.
In Sunday's close-fought election, neither the left or right blocs won enough seats to form a majority and Catalan separatist parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Junts emerged as kingmakers, both controlling seven seats each.
Esquerra is seen as likely to back Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez but with the fresh seat count - confirmed on Saturday evening by the electoral commission - it appears that Junts, the more hardline of the Catalan parties, would also have to actively support him for him to be able to form a government.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I was wondering how this turned out. I closely watched the election but news dropped off after that.
It is a Reuters article, not MSN.
The PP did extremely well. The PP are the equivalent (in a very Euro flavor) of the US Republicans. Their would be coalition partners, Vox, which is rather like the MAGA flavor of US Republicans, did very badly. In part because, it seems, they were cannibalised by the PP. Possibly because the PP also moved right.
The upshot is that it’s up to all the minor parties to give one bloc or the other the majority. And it’s now up to the more or less Conservative pro-independence regional parties (Basques and Catalans) to do that. They are the kingmakers now, and will ask a high price.
The trouble for the Conservative bloc, especially Vox, is that a big part of their program is a unified Spain.
These issues go back almost 200 years, if not more, and are fundamental to Spanish politics.
Those Hispanics are always a troublesome bunch....
And yet Spain has hardly any crime...
Unlike the UK, France, or even Germany.
This just in: Francisco Franco is still dead.
Thanks for the explanation. I now understand where we’re at.
“And yet Spain has hardly any crime...
Unlike the UK, France, or even Germany”
I guess that boils down to your definition of crime? Tourist would disagree. Barcelona and Madrid are the pickpocket capitals of the world....
Why is pickpocketing so prevalent in Spain?
That’s largely because thieves are aware that Spanish law allows them to steal goods worth less than €400 and not face a prison sentence if caught, so they exploit the system. That has resulted in the growth of pickpocketing gangs in big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, where you have to keep your wits about you.
Sounds kind of like California laws. Not working out so well especially San Fransisco.
I am in Madrid often, twice a year at least, and I know it very, very well. And likewise Barcelona, I was there for two weeks last year.
Never seen a pickpocket in either place, nor any notable disorder.
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