Editorial:
Dah da da Dahh.. Have you ever been to a bullfight?
It’s the season for the toros right now, with the Pamplona ‘running of the bulls’ coming up shortly in July. I was there one year – I would have been around 25 – and ended up drinking all night with some locals; and then early the next morning, armed only with rolled-up newspapers, we were chased through the streets by a dozen angry bulls.
I’m never doing that again.
Bullfights are part of the culture here. They are something quintessentially Spanish and, what with anything to do with tradition, flags, the municipal band playing pasodobles, the crowds waving their white handkerchiefs and shouting ¡Olé! every moment there’s a good-looking pass, the matador being taken out of the Puerta Grande on the shoulders of the fans…
…it’s really no wonder that the far-right movement here has taken la corrida as their own, although, in reality, it has support from various sectors of society and besides, is protected as a ‘cultural patrimony’.
We foreigners erroneously call it ‘a sport’, but it’s a cultural event really. Sort of.
Let’s just leave that for a moment and drop by one of Spain’s most beautiful and enlightened regions, to see what’s happening in the levante.
Right now, as the Partido Popular cosies up with Vox thanks to the vagaries of the conservative voters, in Valencia everyone (well, of the right wing persuasion anyway) was shaking hands and slapping each other on the back as the deal was struck last week for the region’s Generalitat, or parliament, for the next four years. The PP leader is the new president while the Vox leader, for some reasons to do with his past, was kicked upstairs to become a candidate for the general elections next month. His second-in-command thus takes over from him as regional vice-president and, why not, secretary for culture.
This august personage is Vicente Barrera, a retired bullfighter.
Putting, as it were, the vox among the chickens.
As the debate rages in Spain about la tauromaquia – whether it should keep its status or be quietly marched off into the pages of history – we have a senior politician, an ex-bullfighter no less, in charge of culture in Spain’s fourth most populous region which includes the country’s third largest city.
One wonders if the post of education will go to a priest, and that of health to a faith-healer.
Housing:
From The Corner here: ‘A study by the Bank of Spain recommends that the government “reviews the procedures for managing land for development” to try to lower the price of housing in Spain, the high cost of which it attributes to the “mismatch between supply and demand” … An analyst at the issuing bank, and published in its latest Boletín Económico, points out that the Spanish property market is characterised by a shortage of supply and strong demand, and that both factors have worsened after the pandemic, which will neutralise any reduction in prices that may result from the rise in interest rates…’
From RTVE (with video) here: ‘Sleeping in a caravan for not being able to pay the rent: "We have no other choice, we have to live like this". In Palma de Mallorca, it is increasingly common to find small communities of people who live in motorhomes and adapted vans. Most have jobs, but say they can't afford to pay rent - where the square meter has increased by 50% in ten years’.
‘Caveman living is seriously chic at this Spanish finca built into a rock face. The unique home, on the island of Mallorca, yours for just four million euros, is rumoured to have been the family home of Christopher Columbus’. Mansion Global brings us this one here.
From ECD here: ‘The new PP-Vox government in the Valencian Community intends to launch a 24-hour anti-okupa telephone-line. They will create a central regional office that will be in contact with the town halls’.
Tourism:
From The Week, an article about the high number of tourist-lets: ‘The tourist tidal wave that’s flattening Europe’s cities. Historic cities are struggling to tackle a flood of short-term rental lets in their city centres’. A nice turn of phrase here: ‘…Today, with visitor numbers back to pre-pandemic levels, it’s a tourist hell. The short-term rental market – catnip to landlords – has pushed tens of thousands of locals out of the historic city centre…’. Later we read, ‘…It’s mayhem. “If blossom is Seville’s characteristic smell, the sound of suitcases wheeled over cobblestones has become its characteristic noise.”…’
Ryanair is to ban booze on certain flights from the UK to some Spanish resorts, such as Ibiza, Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, Palma and Tenerife South following a spate of antisocial behaviour says The Mirror here.
From The Majorca Daily Bulletin here: ‘Britons shun Magalluf, “it’s boring”. Long-time visitors claim current crackdown has taken the heart of the resort’.
Seniors:
Apartment sharing for seniors in Barcelona, helped by a local charity called Llars Compartides. The story at La Vanguardia here (or copy & paste https://archive.ph/dHLAL)
Finance:
‘Don’t say that you weren’t warned’, says El Salto Diario here. ‘The leader of the Partido Popular says he will eliminate many of the economic measures of the last legislature and apply others that will benefit those who earn the most’. From La Sexta here: ‘Even the bankers contradict the PP: they celebrate a "commendable" economy while Feijóo sells a "decline". The PP claims that the economy is stagnating despite the positive forecasts of national and international organizations (with video). Also from La Sexta here: ‘Six effects of the Iberian Exception (here) on its first anniversary: cheaper energy, savings on bills and a slowdown in the Consumer Price Index. The Government's measure is one year old and has allowed families to save more than 5,000 million euros. In addition, there have been more effects such as achieving cheaper energy or a slowdown in inflation’.
Which is why the PP would much rather talk about okupas or Basque terrorists…
Taxes – why do the wealthiest pay the least? From Cinco Días here: ‘The 1,800 largest fortunes that pay Impuesto de Patrimonio barely pay 0.03% tax. Taxpayers with 19 million euros of net wealth pay an average of 5,000 euros per year’.
Politics:
General Elections July 23rd.
Maldita runs the timetable coming up to the elections here.
Following from the town hall results, the message was clear that the upcoming elections will be between the PSOE and its allies, versus the PP and its ally (that’s to say, Vox). The (notorious?) CIS pollsters give the left a diminishing lead over the right in their latest survey says Onda Cero here. El Huff Post says: ‘The polls are in favour of the PP, but not even a pact with Vox would take Núñez Feijóo to La Moncloa (prime minister’s residence)’. It then contradicts itself within the report, making a future PP/Vox government appear likely. It’s all down to the number of people who decide not to vote, whether because they don’t want to, or because it’s the holidays… From The Guardian here: ‘Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned of the dangers of allowing far-right ideology to seep into the political mainstream after the conservative People’s party (PP) struck a series of coalition deals with the radical right Vox party ahead of next month’s general election…’
Núñez Feijóo says that if a future PP government is obliged to seek a partnership with Vox, then the blame lies with the PSOE (because the PSOE could always abstain in the investiture and allow a PP minority government). The story is at El Periódico here. Feijóo also makes an offer to Sánchez (says El Español here) – if you win a simple majority, then we shall commit to an abstention to allow you to govern without the usual suspects… as long as you agree to the same formula if we win… (who needs Vox, right?). Furthermore, in the event that he becomes president, Feijoo says he will revise all recent laws which had the backing of EH Bildu (the Basque left-wing independentist party that is said to be the descendent of Batasuna, the political wing of ETA). The EH Bildu spokesman Arnaldo Otegui is unimpressed in a short video at YouTube here. ‘He’s going to lower the pensions?’ he asks.
A huge poster in Madrid from Vox, ‘Decide What Matters’, with a collection of things that don’t apparently matter, has offended those who are familiar with discrimination. The story and picture at Cadena Ser here. One of Vox’s proposals is the Pin Parental – the right of the parents to decide what can be taught in their child’s school: as it says here at elDiario.es, this flies against the teacher’s program, human rights and the values of the Constitution (sic!). This includes material relevant to climate change, sexual diversity, historical memory or gender equality. In short, it’s ideological censorship. They’ve already got the go-ahead from the PP in Valladolid, the Valencian Community and elsewhere.
In a kind of Red Wedding, the pretender Irene Montero has been defenestrated and the rest of Podemos will apparently support Yolanda Díaz and her Sumar. Público has the story.
By Saturday last week, all (or almost all) of the regional governments and town halls were decided and ratified. In Andalucía, just four pueblos were still unsure – including Mojácar and two others in Almería (sigh!). In the end, the PP have all eight Andalusian capital cities – after Jaén, which was a dead heat between the PSOE and the PP, fell to the later party which made a successful deal with a small local group called Jaén Merece Más. El Mundo reports here. The new mayor of Barcelona is the socialist Jaume Collboni – after a squabble between the three potential winners, and the uneasy support of the PP and the Comuns.
Vox and the PP are now married in over 140 town halls across Spain says elDiario.es here.
A drama in Extremadura though – as Vox felt it wasn’t getting the support it expected from the PP. Thus, says 20Minutos, it pulled back allowing the PSOE the opportunity to potentially take the presidency of the region. The PSOE and PP have the same number of councillors in Extremadura, with Vox holding one more that the left-wing fourth-in-place UPE. The regional parliament will attempt a fresh vote this summer, with PSOE supported by UPE (28 plus 4) against the PP (also 28) and Vox (5). Tricky situation. The version from El Español is quite different (that the PP wouldn’t accept the unreasonable Vox demands and that they want to call for fresh regional elections in the autumn) – but the result is the same. Opinion from elDiario.es newsletter gives us: ‘…So? Why is there to be no alliance in Extremadura yet in Valencia or the Balearic Islands or dozens of other places, everything is fine? There are interpretations of all kinds. There are those who applaud María Guardiola (the Extremadura PP candidate) as if she were the last redoubt of dignity in the PP. There are those who say that the only thing she is going to do is throw herself into negotiations to try to govern alone, because she seems strong and Vox has few seats there. There are those who think that all this is a huge problem for Feijóo in Madrid because he suddenly has a baroness saying that a pact with Vox is indecent – exactly what her own party tolerates in the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and so on. There are those who say, however, that all this is a national strategy to buy time and show that the PP is capable of having its own personality and that voting for the PP in the general elections is not necessarily voting for a coalition with Vox…’. The PP candidate Maria Guardiola explains her position on YouTube here.
Meanwhile, the PSOE candidate Guillermo Fernández Vara calls for the PP to abstain, since the PSOE got the most votes says El Huff Post here. ‘What is happening this week in Extremadura could be a forerunner for the difficulties that the PP will face if, as expected, the result of the general election on July 23rd is inconclusive’ says The Olive Press here.
The outgoing president of the Valencian Region Ximo Puig says that ‘the problem isn’t the far-right, but the Partido Popular which left Valencia ruined last time it held power here’.
Quote from the new president of the Balearic Isles, Gabriel Le Senne (Vox): ‘The reason why women are more belligerent is because they don’t have a penis’ he says somewhere. From Diario de Mallorca here.
Catalonia:
From Catalan News here: ‘…There are over 900 municipalities in Catalonia, and some anecdotes during the opening day of the new term include Socialist Gael Rodríguez becoming the youngest mayor of Europe at just 19 – he got the absolute majority of council seats in his town, Portbou, at the Spain – France border’.
Europe:
‘The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, at the Palacio de la Moncloa, has presented the priorities upon which Spain will focus its rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, which our country will hold from 1 July’. From an official text by the Government here. It is of course unclear whether Pedro Sánchez or Alberto Núñez Feijóo will become the leader of the rotating European presidency (wiki).
Corruption:
From La Vanguardia here: ‘The mayoress of Sitges (Barcelona), Aurora Carbonell, from ERC, was arrested along with four others on Wednesday by the UDEF in an anti-corruption operation. The arrest was made at the town hall of the coastal resort...’
Courts:
For when things go wrong. From Gov.UK here: ‘Guidance on how British nationals can obtain legal aid while in Spain’.
Media:
From Periódicos Digitales: left-wing dailies and digital newspapers in Spain here. Right-wing dailies and digital newspapers in Spain here.
El Mundo wonders why Pedro Sánchez is talking to the very media who most harshly criticise him – appearing soon on El Hormiguero (it’s an entertainment show with a right-wing host called Pablo Motos and his two dolls) and on Monday with Carlos Alsina on Radio Onda Cero - who asked ‘Presidente, why do you lie so much’, while repeatedly covering his mouth with his hand. ECD says that Pedro Sánchez is now looking to meet with Ana Rosa Quintana (who most definitely won’t give him an easy ride).
TV debates between Sánchez and Feijóo are looking doubtful (Sánchez is the better orator). One suggestion from Feijóo that the PSOE have bounced is a three-way debate with Feijóo, Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz. No Santiago Abascal though…
Ecology:
From La Mar de Onuba here: ‘Nine more illegal wells that drink from the Doñana aquifer have been located by Ecologistas en Acción in an estate belonging to the Casa de Alba’.
From Europa Press here, an expert from the University of Sevilla says that 87% of all the water used commercially in the Doñana region is down to just 10% of the farmers.
From BBC News here: ‘A protracted drought in Spain's renowned southern wetlands has forced flamingos to hatch chicks elsewhere. The Fuente de Piedra wetlands in the Málaga province were declared a natural reserve in 1984. But on Saturday, only a few dozen adult birds could be seen in the saltwater lagoon. By mid-May, Spain had received 28% less rain than expected, officials said. Previously more than 200,000 flamingo chicks have hatched at the lagoon, according to Andalucía's Agriculture office’.
Various:
The Lista Robinson – where one can register to not be called by telephone call centres or other ‘spammers’ – has now been rounded upwards. From the end of June, no spammer-calls will be permitted in Spain (not even from English-language newspapers). Those who are caught will be fined. The story is at 20Minutos here.
It’s a kernel for an article about the many con-artists who find their way to Spain from elsewhere. The Guardian has an obituary for ‘Ronnie Knight, the London nightclub owner and criminal who helped fellow crooks evade justice on the ‘Costa del Crime’ in Spain. For many years he acted as an unofficial consul for British criminals seeking a home away from the bothersome gaze of the police…’
A small Spanish electric car is now in production in Barcelona. The two-seater Silence SO4 is rated by Motorbike Magazine here.
The famous painting of Saturn eating his son, by Francisco Goya, is apparently a portrait of King Fernando VII. Goya hated the king, and the picture is an allegory of Fernando mistreating his subjects. El Diario de Teruel has the story here.
From Al Jazeera here: ‘Madrid celebrates its Muslim past in Spain’s new museum. Drawing from the latest archaeological evidence, the museum endorses the narrative that Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba founded Madrid in the ninth century’.
La Copa del Rey 1927. Motherwell beats Real Madrid to take the trophy. Video at YouTube (en castellano) here. The odd story is recalled by The Guardian here.
From Catalan News here: ‘Woody Allen to open Barcelona Jazz Festival September 19. Film director will perform in the Tívoli Theatre with his New Orleans Jazz Band’.
The Chorizo Chronicles blog entertains us here with some ‘Common Spanish Proverbs – life wisdom from Spanish grannies’.
I’ve just had a coffee and now I’m good to go. The Usual at Spanish Shilling here.
See Spain:
20Minutos has fifteen dramatic pueblos erected on the edge of a cliff here. Oddly, they missed my local one, Sorbas in Almería (here).
Finally:
A cute summer song with Cooper – Entre Girasoles – at YouTube here.
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