A View from the Mountains

Is Pedro Gonzalez, arguably the best prime minister Spain has had in nearly 50 years of democracy, following the death of the fascist dictator General Franco, about to be forced to fall on his sword?

The English and Spanish Press is full of speculation after a harrowing seven days for the socialist (PSOE) leader of Spain's fragile coalition government.

    [Photo courtesy of ABC]

Background

Seven years after taking office by ousting corruption-ridden conservatives from government, Pedro Sánchez is fighting for his political life amid investigations into alleged corruption in his Socialist party (PSOE).

On 12 June, an ashen-faced prime minister apologised to Spaniards after audio gathered by civil guard investigators was made public and appeared to show the PSOE secretary, Santos Cerdán, discussing commissions paid by companies in exchange for public contracts.

Sánchez has not himself been directly implicated, but the Socialist leader who came to power promising to clean up politics is now facing calls to resign from an invigorated opposition.

Cerdán, who was party number three, has resigned from the PSOE and stepped down as a member of parliament. He is due to appear before the Supreme Court on 25 June, this coming Wednesday. He maintains he has never committed a crime nor been implicit in one.

The investigation into commissions is part of an ongoing probe which has already implicated José Luis Ábalos, a former PSOE secretary and transport minister. A third person implicated is Koldo García, an advisor to Ábalos. Both men featured with Cerdán in the recently exposed audio. All three say they have done nothing wrong.

The investigation into Ábalos, which began last year, was damaging for the government but his exit from the cabinet and the PSOE secretary post in 2021 put distance between him and Sánchez. However, the implication of Cerdán is more problematic.

Sánchez had repeatedly defended him in the face of claims in the right-wing media over recent months that he was under investigation, and the prime minister even accused the opposition of "slandering honest people" when asked about Cerdán's activities last month.

The party secretary, from the northern region of Navarra, was a trusted confidant of the prime minister, playing a crucial role, for example, in negotiating the support of Catalan nationalists to allow the formation of a new government in 2023.

    Koldo Garcia [RTVE.es]                      Santos Cerdan [ESdiario]                              José Luis Ábalos [El Mundo]

Despite acknowledging that he "should not have trusted" Cerdán, Sánchez has insisted that he will see out the legislature, which is due to end in 2027.

In a letter to PSOE members he apologised again, while doubling down.

"There are many issues that affect the lives of the majority – healthcare, housing, pensions, jobs, fighting climate change and defending equality – and for which it is worth fighting still," he wrote. "Challenges that are not solved with headlines or lynchings."

However, the opposition has presented the investigation as symptomatic of a corrupt regime, pointing to other probes affecting Sánchez and his circle.

Begoña, David and the Attorney General Problem

A judge has been investigating the prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, for possible business irregularities - and his musician brother, David, is due to go on trial for alleged influence peddling in taking up a public post in the south-western city of Badajoz.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, is also likely to face trial for revealing confidential details of a tax evader. All three deny wrongdoing.

    Begoña Gomez [La Razon]                       David Sanchez [El Confidencial]      Álvaro García Ortiz [elDiario.es]

Sánchez and his supporters have cast these three affairs as part of a campaign orchestrated by the conservative People's Party (PP), the far-right Vox, right-wing media and factions within the judiciary. A number of judicial experts have expressed surprise at the zeal with which the investigations have been carried out.

In a raucous parliamentary session this week, opposition MPs chanted "Dimisión" (Resign) at the prime minister, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, accused him of being "a wolf who has led a corrupt pack".

Alberto Núñez Feijóo [El Periódico]    

Paco Camas, head of public opinion in Spain for polling firm Ipsos, sees a Sánchez resignation as "political suicide" for his party, because it would almost certainly trigger elections, allowing the PP to form a government, probably with the support of Vox.

"The overall trend right now is a demobilised electorate on the left, particularly for the Socialist party, and an enormous mobilisation of voters on the right, which is capitalising on the discontent with the government," Camas said.

Even the Socialist president of the Castilla-La Mancha region, Emiliano García-Page, has warned that "there is no dignified way out" for the PSOE.

However, as long as Sánchez can keep his fragile parliamentary majority of left-wing and nationalist parties together there is little the opposition can do to bring him down.

To that end, the prime minister has been frantically trying to reassure these allies, many of who have voiced outrage at the Cerdán-Ábalos scandal. Camas believes that persuading them to support a 2026 budget could be a way for Sánchez to buy some time.

Nonetheless, such plans could be left in tatters were more explosive revelations to emerge, as many in the Socialist party fear.

Such worries will be playing on Sánchez's mind as he heads to the Nato summit in The Hague.

Normally an assured presence on the international stage, he will arrive with serious doubts about his future and under mounting pressure to raise Spain's defence spending.

Although his government has promised to increase military spending to 2% of economic output this year, it has been resisting calls from the United States and the Nato leadership to raise it further. Sánchez has now refused to accept a target of 5% of GDP for military spending, saying it "would not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive".

The Guardian

'The final countdown': Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez fights for his political life.

Sam Jones

Series of allegations facing those around the PM have hit the reputation of the socialist-led minority government

Pedro Sánchez could be forgiven for remembering the autumn of 2018 with a deep and nostalgic sigh. Back then, having been in office for just six months, Spain’s socialist prime minister could afford to mock his opponents’ frequently hyperbolic attempts to depict him and his administration as an existential threat to the country.

“I know you think I’m a dangerous, extreme left-winger who’s trying to break Spain apart,” he told the senate at the end of October that year. “I know that everything I do, and everything my government does, is illegal, immoral and even fattening.”

Almost seven years on, that barb hasn’t aged well. The EU’s last centre-left leader is fighting the most crucial battle of his political life. The events of the past seven days – and, indeed the past year – have battered the reputation of Spain’s socialist-led minority government and of the man who came to power as a self-declared scourge of corruption.

Sánchez, 53, made Spanish political history in June 2018 when he became the first opposition leader to successfully use a motion of no confidence to oust a sitting government and become prime minister. By then, the conservative People’s party (PP) had been in power for seven years, was mired in corruption scandals and had just been irreparably damaged by a court’s ruling that the party had profited from an illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. Its then leader, Mariano Rajoy, had also suffered the ignominy of becoming the first serving Spanish prime minister to give evidence in a criminal trial.

Unveiling his no-confidence motion, Sánchez complained that the PP had “seriously damaged the health of our democracy” and plunged the country’s politics into what he termed a “corruption thriller”.

It is another phrase that hasn’t aged well. Today it is his government and his circle that sit at the centre of a web of alleged plots that would seem too numerous, too unlikely and too convoluted for an airport novel.

The question now is whether the great survivor of Spanish politics will make it to the next general election, scheduled for 2027.

To mangle Hemingway’s line on going bankrupt, how does a government slide into ethical and electoral insolvency? “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

Last week, Sánchez’s right-hand man, Santos Cerdán, the organisational secretary of the prime minister’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), resigned after a supreme court judge found “firm evidence” of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts. His case is tied to those of two other men, the former transport minister José Luis Ábalos – who was Cerdán’s predecessor as the PSOE’s organisational secretary – and Ábalos’s former aide Koldo García.

Ábalos was sacked from Sánchez’s cabinet in 2021 and suspended by the PSOE in February last year after refusing to resign when García was accused of taking bribes to facilitate mask contracts during the Covid crisis. Both men have denied any wrongdoing.

Over the past few days, leaked evidence handed to the Guardia Civil’s anti-corruption unit has purported to show Cerdán discussing kickbacks with Ábalos and García, and Cerdán instructing García to interfere with the 2014 party vote that saw Sánchez elected PSOE leader. Audio of a crude discussion between Ábalos and García in which they appear to discuss the various attributes of different sex workers has also surfaced.

It’s little wonder then that Sánchez proclaimed on Thursday of last week that he should never have trusted Cerdán, who insists he is innocent. The prime minister’s accompanying mea culpa – “I have many shortcomings … but I have always believed in working for clean politics and fair play in politics” – came hours after the PSOE had denied that Cerdán had ever been involved in any conversations about taking bribes.

Those cases are not the only corruption allegations facing those around the prime minister. Both Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez, are also under investigation.

Gómez is being investigated for alleged corruption and influence-peddling after a complaint by the pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a long history of using the courts to pursue political targets. Manos Limpias has accused Gómez of using her influence as the wife of the prime minister to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.

Sánchez has complained of being the victim of “lawfare” and has described the case against his wife as baseless and “an ugly fit-up driven by the far-right groups behind the complaint”.

The emergence of the allegations last year led him to take a five-day break from his public duties while he considered whether to carry on as prime minister.

David Sánchez, meanwhile, is facing trial over allegations of influence-peddling and other offences in a case that also began with accusations from Manos Limpias and other groups. He denies the charges.

It doesn’t end there. A former PSOE member has been accused of trying to wage a smear campaign against the Guardia Civil anti-corruption unit, which is also investigating Begoña Gómez and David Sánchez.

And Spain’s top prosecutor could face trial for allegedly leaking confidential information from a tax fraud case involving the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the populist PP leader of the Madrid region who is also one of Pedro Sánchez’s loudest and brashest critics.

No degree in political science is needed to see just how bad things are for the PSOE. Sánchez’s big worry now is that there could be still more damaging revelations to come about the activities of the “toxic triangle” of Cerdán, Ábalos and García. On Friday morning, Guardia Civil officers visited the PSOE’s Madrid HQ and the transport ministry to clone Cerdán and Ábalos’s email accounts.

Although the PP, now led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, doesn’t yet have the votes it needs to bring a no-confidence vote against the government, the PSOE’s parliamentary allies – who include small Basque and Catalan nationalist parties – could decide that the socialist brand is too radioactive for them to be associated with.

In the meantime, Sánchez, a politician known for confounding expectations and opponents – and a man who famously called his 2019 memoir Manual de Resistencia (Resistance Manual) – is insisting that the PSOE is not institutionally rotten.

“I will not allow you to turn an anecdote into a category,” he told his adversaries during a loud and rancorous session in congress on Wednesday. “The left is not corrupt.”

The PP, which believes it may finally have Sánchez cornered, is not without its own issues. Ayuso – whose eccentric pronouncements tend to eclipse Feijóo’s more muted leadership style – is still under pressure over her boyfriend’s judicial issues with the tax authorities, and over her government’s Covid protocols after more than 7,200 people died in the region’s care homes during the early stages of the Covid pandemic.

The party is also facing continuing scrutiny over its response to last year’s deadly floods in Valencia, another of the regions it governs. Then there is its own well-documented history of corruption, not to mention the inconvenient fact that the PP is all but certain to have to rely on a deal with the far-right Vox party to govern.

But there is a growing sense that what was supposed to be one of Europe’s few remaining beacons of social democracy is dimming, even as the far right is gaining strength around the continent and beyond. If successive conservative and socialist governments in Spain are brought down by corruption scandals, the big winners are likely to be those, such as Vox, who rage against what they say is an old and rotten two-party system.

Recent events over the border in Portugal are also sobering. In last month’s snap election, the Portuguese socialist party – which was forced from government by a corruption scandal in 2023 – finished third behind the far-right Chega party. While a similar outcome in Spain is deeply improbable, Vox’s appeal – especially to young men – is increasing.

As the accusations mount, the achievements of the Sánchez administration risk disappearing under the rapidly accumulating weight of mud.

As well as delivering an enviably strong economy and calming the tensions in Catalonia after the failed 2017 push for independence, the government has, in conjunction with its successive, more leftwing partners, introduced menstrual leave, a minimum basic income scheme, a euthanasia law and updated abortion legislation.

Perhaps most eye-catchingly of all, Sánchez has also bucked the continent-wide political trend by defending immigration and its benefits.

“Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed-off, poor country,” he told parliament in October. “It’s as simple as that.”

The coming weeks will determine the prime minister’s future, but some believe the days of the Sánchez government are numbered.

“As I see it, the legislature is already over,” said Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University. While he acknowledged his view might sound harsh, he said the recent revelations were damaging precisely because they struck at the very heart of the PSOE’s progressive and administrative credibility.

Simón said the allegations of irregularities in the PSOE primaries, the apparent use of sex workers – “which breaks that whole image of a feminist government that believes in equality” – the perceived hypocrisy of a party that professed a zero tolerance approach to corruption, and Sánchez’s repeated cries of lawfare and conspiracy, now added up to a damning whole.

“With those four corners of the government’s narrative demolished, the situation is now terminal,” he said. “We don’t know how the legislature will end or when it will end, but we’re now in the final countdown … No one knows exactly what else could come out.”

STOP PRESS:

At the recent NATO conference in The Hague (Netherlands) Pedro Sanchez appears to have isolated Spain from the other NATO countries over the issue of national contributions.

He is literally out on a limb, being relegated to the fringe in photos of the leaders.

Photo of the NATO leaders in The Hague (Sanchez extreme right) [Reuters]    

Donald Trump, who deigned to turn up, has singled out the Spanish prime minister for special criticism and has threatened to double import tariffs on Spanish imports to the USA.

MY JUDGEMENT:

At first I thought Sanchez had made a major blunder, but with hindsight, and in the light of his statement at a Press conference at the Council of Europe in Brussels, I have concluded that he is being honest and true to Spain, her situation and her needs at this time.

"España es un país solidario, comprometido con los estados de la OTAN, pero también soberano". 

Sanchez at the Council of Europe in Brussels [ABC]    

Sanchez has also criticised Donald Trump for attempting to meddle and peddle influence in the affairs of the European Union. The USA is not a member and never can be, thank God! Whilst the USA has an important stake in NATO (Will Trump really take the USA out of NATO, as he has threatened to do a number of times?), he has nothing to say in the EU. The Orange One really ought to shut up for a bit, and give everybody a break.

And as for Pedro, he has gone up again in my estimation. He is standing up to the bully from Florida, not like Sir Keir Starmer, the UK PM, who is too timid for my tastes, even though I am a supporter.

Links:

Bye, bye, baby - Bay City Rollers (1975) Bing Vídeos

El diario británico 'The Telegraph' define a Sánchez como "la pesadilla socialista española" - Periodista Digital

Sánchez responde a Trump tras su amenaza a España por el gasto en defensa: "España quiere tender puentes, no romperlos. Somos un país solidario"

© Paul Whitelock

Pictures:

ABC, BBC, elDiario.es, ESdiario, El Mundo, Guardian, Huffington Post, RTVE.es, Reuters, Telegraph, Wikipedia

Sources:

Brussels, Cadena SER, Council of Europe, El Confidencial, El Periódico, La Razón, MSN, NATO, Periodista Digital, RTVE.es, The Guardian, The Hague, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph

Tags:

Álvaro García Ortiz, Bay City Rollers, Begoña Gomez, "Bye bye baby", Cadena SER, David Sanchez, El Confidencial, elDiario.es, El Mundo, El Periódico, ESdiario, European Union, Feijóo, José Luis Ábalos, Koldo Garcia, La Razón, MSN, NATO, RTVE.es, Sanchez, Santos Cerdan, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, Trump

White smoke puffed out of the chimney stack of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City at 18.10 yesterday, Thursday May 8 to inform the waiting world that a new pope had been chosen.

Photo of Pope Leo XIV [Photo courtesy of Getty Images]    

After four votes the 133 cardinals from all over the world had made their decision. The new pope was to be Robert Prevost from Chicago, the first ever pope from the USA. He had chosen the name Leo. He will be Pope Leo XIV.

Background

Leo XIV is young, just 69. He was born in Chicago (Illinois) to immigrant parents, a Franco-Italian father and a mother with Spanish roots.

He served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982.

He then moved to Peru in South America three years later aged 30 to be a missionary.

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd in St Peter's Square [Vatican News]

He stayed in Peru for many years gaining Peruvian nationality, and becoming Archbishop of his church.

What did he have to say to the faithful waiting in St Peter's Square, Vatican City, Rome?

In his first speech as pope, Pope Leo XIV stepped onto a balcony in front of a crowd of 40,000 people in St Peter's Square in the Vatican and brought a "greeting of peace", and encouraged people to "Help us, and help each other, build bridges," as well as paying tribute to Pope Francis.

    [Image courtesy of NBC News]

Leo XIV spoke in Italian, but he delivered part of his address in Spanish as a nod to Peru.

"Hello to all and especially to those of my diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, a loyal, faithful people accompanying the bishop and helping the bishop," he said.

Press and media:

In pictures: A new pope is chosen - CNN

León XIV: ¿por qué Robert Francis Prevost ha elegido ese nombre para ser Papa y cuántos más ha habido en toda la historia del Vaticano? - AS.com

Pope Leo XIV live: New American pontiff Robert Prevost to hold first Mass amid claims he’s ‘anti-Trump’ - MSN / The Independent

Pope Leo XIV: Who is the new Pope? - BBC Newsround

Robert Prevost elected as first American pope and takes the name Leo XIV | CNN

© Paul Whitelock

Pictures:

Getty Images, NBC News, Vatican News

With thanks to:

AS, BBC, CBBC, CNN, MSN, NBC News, The Independent, Vatican News, Wikipedia

Tags:

133 cardinals, 40,000 people, 69, altar boy, archbishop, AS, BBC, Chicago, Chiclayo, CBBC, CNN, first ever pope from the USA, Franco-Italian father, Getty Images, "greeting of peace", Illinois, immigrant parents, Italian, Leo XIV, MSN, mother with Spanish roots, NBC News, ordained as a priest, Peru, Peruvian nationality, Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost, Rome, St Peter's Square, Sistine Chapel, Spanish, The Independent, Thursday May 8, Vatican, Vatican City, Vatican News, white smoke, Wikipedia

Victory in Europe Day

Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the World War II Allies of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations.

King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth (l) & Princess Margaret (r), Buckingham Palace, May 8, 1945 [Associated Press]

Commemorations 80 years on

Several countries observe public holidays on the day each year, also called Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day, or Victory Day. In the UK, it is often abbreviated to VE Day, a term which existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory.

Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide on 30 April during the Battle of Berlin, and Germany's surrender was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz.

The administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg Government.

The act of military surrender was first signed at 02:41 on 7 May in SHAEF HQ at Reims, and a slightly modified document, considered the definitive German Instrument of Surrender, was signed on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin at 22:43 local time.

    [Wikipedia]

Celebrations in 1945

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the Western world, especially in the United Kingdom, in North America and in Russia.

More than one million people celebrated in the streets throughout the UK to mark the end of the European part of the war. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by their daughters and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the palace before the cheering crowds. Churchill went from the palace to Whitehall, where he addressed another large crowd.

   VE Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square, London [BBC]

Press coverage:

80 years ago World War II in Europe was over. Celebrating V-E Day is now tinged with some dread - MSN/AP News

BBC to mark 80th Anniversary of VE Day

Churches across England to mark 80th Anniversary of VE Day with commemorations, bell ringing, and prayers for peace | The Church of England

VE-Day: How it unfolded, told through CBC's original reports | CBC News

Europe marks 80 years since VE day as Continent faces new security realities – The Irish Times

The warning of VE Day - New Statesman

VE Day 2025: A moment of joy captured 80 years ago | UK News | Sky News

VE Day 2025 celebrations: King and Royal family watch Red Arrows flypast - The Telegraph

VE-Day: How it unfolded, told through CBC's original reports | CBC News

In the German press and media:

Die letzten Kriegstage 1945 - Bundesarchiv

Die "Stunde null" – das Kriegsende 1945 in Bildern | STERN.de

Kriegsende 1945: Die letzten Tage des Dritten Reichs - Politik - SZ.de

Kriegsende 1945: So endete der Zweite Weltkrieg im Norden | NDR.de - Geschichte - Chronologie - Kriegsende

Kriegsende 1945: Wieso die Wehrmacht zweimal kapitulierte - ZDFheute

Kriegsende vor 80 Jahren: Als Frankfurt zur Frontstadt wurde - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

©  Paul Whitelock

Photos:

Associated Press, BBC, Wikipedia

Acknowledgements:

AP, BBC, Bundesarchiv, Church of England, CBC, CBS, FAZ, Irish Times, MSN, New Statesman, NDR, Stern, SKY News, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Telegraph, ZDF

Tags:

Allies, AP, BBC, Bundesarchiv, Churchill, Church of England, CBC, CBS, Dönitz, Flensburg Government, FAZ, George VI, Germany, Hitler, Irish Times, Karl Dönitz, Karlshorst, MSN, Nazi leader, New Statesman, NDR, North America, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, Reims, Russia, Stern, SKY News, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Telegraph, Trafalgar Square, United Kingdom, VE Day, VE Day celebrations, Wikipedia, World War II, ZDF 

Around mid-day last Monday most of Spain, Portugal and parts of France suffered a major power-cut, named by the Spanish Press as El gran apagón.

It took some eight hours for power to be restored to some areas; other areas had to wait until Tuesday for the power to come back on.
 

It was a strange, yet amusing situation, albeit critical too.

From a personal perspective

I was in a small village in the Serranía de Ronda at the time. Montejaque (pop: 960). I'd just gone to the square after a hard day working on my house in the village.

The Plaza de la Constitución is home to three bars. They were all open. Two promptly closed because without electricity they couldn't prepare hot food nor keep drinks cold. So, with little money to be made, they called it a day. What happened to the concept of "service"?

The one remaining bar, La Melli, stayed open. They had no food, but they did have loads of ice cubes.

Montejaque blackout [Photo: iStock] 

I was sitting with a group of other guiris: Anya, a Dutch resident; two Dutch tourists; three French women who had just arrived; and another Briton, Barry, who owns a house in Montejaque, but lives in Japan with his Japanese wife, Mika. There were just two Spaniards.

What had happened?

We didn't know, to begin with, as it was difficult to access news. No TV; no radio; no WiFi; mobile phone systems down.

Added to that, with no electricity we couldn't pay by credit card; nor could we draw cash from the "cajero" at the bank.

There were no lights in the shops, so you couldn't see what you were buying; the fridges and freezers stopped working, and so did the tills. At the checkout everything had to be written down and added up with pen and paper and a calculator or in the head. And you needed the right money in cash.

Back to our mobile phones, if you had "roaming" you could access some information. Somebody got onto a reputable Press website which told us the France, Germany, Morocco, Portugal and Spain were affected.

People began to joke that it was probably a cyber attack by Vladimir Putin in Russia. But, maybe it really was!?

By Tuesday we knew that the countries affected were Spain, Portugal and parts of France. Apparently, their national grids are linked in some way.

Putin [Wikipedia]    

One Week Later

A week further on and nobody seems to be any the wiser. Investigations are still ongoing.

Typically this has caused a political row in Spain with Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP), the leader of the opposition, taking advantage to blame the government, led by Pedro Sánchez (PSOE).

    Feijóo [Facebook]                              Sánchez [Wikipedia]

It is quite clear that the government is NOT to blame. As in many countries, electricity was privatised some years ago.

These private companies, eg Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and Repsol are more interested in paying their shareholders a dividend than investing in improvements to the electricity infrastructure.

It has become clear that the Spanish system is not fit for purpose.

The sooner the government takes essential services like electricity, gas and water back under its control, the better, in my opinion.

    [El Periódico de la Energía]

How did the apagón affect us personally?

We had no light, no heating and no water - we have a pozo (well), so our underground spring needs electricity to pump it into our deposito. We had no telly, no radio and no internet. 

"We need to buy a generator!" says the missus, Rita. "In case it happens again!"

We'll see …..

Links:

What is a guiri? It's what the Spanish call us foreigners - but is it good or bad?

© Paul Whitelock

Photos:

El Periódico de la Energía, Facebook, Huff Post, iStock, Wikipedia

Acknowledgements:

Facebook, Wikipedia

Tags:

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Anya, Barry, blame the government, "cajero", cyber attack, deposito, Dutch resident, Dutch tourists, El gran apagón, El Periódico de la Energía, Endesa, Facebook, France, freezers, French women, fridges, generator, Huff Post, Iberdrola, iStock, Japanese wife, La Melli, loads of ice cubes, major power-cut, Mika, mobile phones, mobile phone systems, Montejaque, Naturgy, no electricity, no heating, no internet, no light,  no lights in the shops, no radio, no TV, no telly, no water, no WiFi, PP, PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, Plaza de la Constitución, political row in Spain, Portugal, pozo, Repsol, Rita, "roaming", Serranía de Ronda, "service", Spain, Spanish Press, tills, Vladimir Putin, Wikipedia, 

 áéíóú

Pope Francis died this morning, it was announced by the Vatican. He was 88 and had been seriously ill for two months. Now, the first ever South American Pope, Francisco from Argentina, has left us.

[Obituary notice courtesy of ABC News]    

The conclave of archbishops is already in session to choose his successor. Until smoke rises from the chamber where the Archbishops meet and seek guidance from God, the world is pope-less!

This is, of course, of little interest to Muslims, Hindus, atheists and even non-Catholic Christians.

A personal perspective

I am not a Roman Catholic. I was christened in the Church of England, raised as a Methodist and later, as a young adult, baptised in the Pentecostal church.

However, as a young teacher I only taught in Roman Catholic schools in England, three of them in fact. As a form teacher and later Head of Year I found myself obliged to go through the Catholic motions. I led assemblies, said the prayers and delivered a "thought for the day" (like a mini-sermon). I attended school masses, although I didn't take holy communion, strictly speaking not allowed for those not baptised as Catholics.

A C of E christening [Photo: Lightstock]    

Me and Popes

I happened to be in France in 2005 when Pope John-Paul II "popped his clogs". I was staying with my English friend Alan, a converted Catholic, at his French father-in-law´s house in Metz (Moselle).

We both went to the service in Metz cathedral to celebrate the new Pope, Benedict, a German, who was "selected" after just two days of the conclave.

Metz Cathedral [Photo: Wikipedia]    

When Benedict "resigned" in 2013 - unheard of in the history of the papacy - I was aware that the new Pope, Francis, was a Spanish-speaker and allegedly a bit of a reformer. I have to say, as an interested outside observer, Francis turned out to be a disappointment.

Now he's gone and it will be interesting to see who is next. Will they play safe and choose another Italian?

Last word

RIP Francisco. When all is said and done, he was a human being and many will be saddened by his passing. However, he had a good innings.

Being celibate, I assume he has no family to mourn him.

[Image courtesy of Sky News]    

© The Real Inspector Hound

Photos and images:

ABC News, Sky News, Lightstock, Wikipedia

Information source:

Wikipedia

Tags:

2005, 2013, ABC News, another Italian, Archbishops, Argentina, atheists, A View from the Mountains, baptised in the Pentecostal church, Benedict, celebrate the new Pope, celibate, Church of England, conclave of archbishops, converted Catholic, English friend Alan, first ever South American Pope, form teacher, France, Francis, Francisco, German, go through the Catholic motions, Head of Year, Hindus, holy communion, human being, Lightstock, Methodist, Metz, Metz cathedral, Moselle, Muslims, no family to mourn him, non-Catholic Christians, Paul Whitelock, Pope Francis, Pope John-Paul II, RIP Francisco, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic schools in England, school masses, smoke rises from the chamber, Spanish-speaker, The Pope is dead - Long live the Pope, The Real Inspector Hound, those not baptised as Catholics, "thought for the day", Vatican, Wikipedia

The start of the new Tax Year in the UK is always on 6 April and runs until 5 April of the following year. Why? I can't answer that, but I do know that it's out of step with most, if not all, other advanced countries.

I've lived in France and Germany in the past and now live here in Spain. The tax year in those countries is the same as the calendar year, ie January 1st until December 31st.

Preamble

So why I am I posting about this on Eye on Spain? Well, because there are large numbers of British people living here and even more who own property which they visit for up to 90 days a year (since Brexit) and they may/will have tax liabilities in the home country.

So, how many of us are there?

[Photo courtesy of iStock]    

A Google search reveals conflicting numbers - no site in the first ten which appeared as a result of my search agrees on the figure. Numbers range from 293,171 UK nationals who were residents in Spain at the start of 2023, according to padrón census records from town halls across the country (SGM Abogados - a legal firm) to 412,040 Britons who are residents in Spain, according to immigration observatory data, as of December 31st 2022 (Right Casa Estates - an estate agency).

According to the latest figures from Spain’s Ministry of Migrations, there are a total of 409,763 Brits living in Spain. This is over 115,000 more than the figure stated by Spain’s statistics body the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica INE (source - The Local - a news website).

Wikipedia starts with a definition: "British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies."

The online encyclopedia goes on to inform us that there were 262,885 Brits residing in Spain in 2020.

Anyway, whatever the true figure, there are lots of us here, all keen to know what Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has done.

The main fiscal points

[Source: Which? The Consumers' Association]

Stamp duty holiday comes to an end, plus rates hiked on second homes.

Rachel Reeves [FaceBook]    

The current extra stamp duty relief for first-time buyers and home movers in England and Northern Ireland is set to end on 31 March 2025. From 1 April, the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers will drop from £425,000 to the previous rate of £300,000. 

From the same date, home movers will pay stamp duty on purchases over £125,000, rather than the current £250,000.

Council tax rises

Households should brace themselves for higher council tax bills from April 2025.

Most councils in England are able to raise council tax rates by 5% without needing to call a referendum. 

Those rules remain unchanged for the next financial year, so you could see your council tax bill increase by up to 5% again in 2025. Given the average Band D council tax bill in England is currently £2,171, this could mean a rise of £109.

Employer National Insurance increase

The government will increase National Insurance contributions for employers from 13.8% to 15% from 6 April 2025.

In addition, the threshold for when employers need to start paying the tax will be lowered from £9,100 to £5,000.

Although these changes won't affect most people directly, this change could have a knock-on effect on employees, through employers offering lower pay increases or less generous employment benefits in future.

Other financial changes which affect me personally from April 6th

Pensions

- A 4.1% rise is payable on my UK state pension from April 6th. I got the letter informing me yesterday.

- My private pension will get a 1.7% increase. I expect a letter with my P60 any day now.

Whilst these increases are welcome, they are not going to up my spending power.

[MPF]    

Travel

Rail Travel (RENFE) - discount railcard. The last time I purchased one it cost 12 euros for a year.

Tarjetasesentaycinco - free for over-65s. Gives all kinds of discounts and free services. The most interesting benefit for us is 50% off interurban bus travel.

[Ideal]    

Links:

HOW TO ….. do your Spanish INCOME TAX return?

“WHEN I’M 65…”: HOW TO ….. get a tarjetasesentaycinco

5TH TIME LUCKY - IN LOVE WITH SEVILLA AT LAST

Photos and Images:

Facebook, Ideal, iStock, MPF, Right Casa Estates, SGM Abogados, The Local, Wikipedia

© Pablo de Ronda

Acknowledgements/Sources:

Consumers Association, HMRC, Merseyside Pension Fund, Right Casa Estates, SGM Abogados, The Local, Which?, Wikipedia

Tags:

April 6th, Brexit, Brit, British Overseas Territories, Briton, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Crown dependencies, discount railcard, Employees NI contribution, Eye on Spain, Facebook, fiscal, gestor, gestoria, Ideal, iStock, HMRC, Merseyside Pension Fund, Pablo de Ronda, Paul Whitelock, private pension, Rachel Reeves, RENFE, Right Casa Estates, Sevilla, SGM Abogados, Spanish Income Tax Return, tax year, The Local, tarjetasesentaycinco, UK state pension, Wikipedia

The heavy rain and thunderstorms of the last couple of weeks, combined with a lousy infrastructure has left whole areas of the Serrania de Ronda flooded, with roads blocked by rockfalls and houses soaked, gardens waterlogged and frequent power cuts.

Worse still, a major rockfall has blocked the main route from the Costa del Sol and the towns of San Pedro, Marbella and Estepona to the capital and main town of the Serrania, namely Ronda.

Roads into and out of Estación de Jimera de Líbar have been blocked by flood water and mud and rocks washed down from the surrounding mountains.

Further down the River Guadiaro, the village of Cañada del Real Tesoro (Estación de Cortes de la Frontera) has also suffered.

What to do?

According to experts the blockage of the A 376 will take at least nine months to fix. It could be longer. So, what happens next?

The hundreds of workers from the Serrania who race down the San Pedro road to work on that part of the coast, will have to find a new route, which will take them longer and cost them more in fuel. I doubt their bosses will increase their wages to compensate them.

Tourists who come up to Ronda in their coaches will have to find another route or not come.

Ronda residents who need to go to the coast for medical treatment will have to make a detour.

The alternative routes

There are four alternatives, I reckon. All of them will take longer than previously. But it is what it is – we’ll just have to adapt and make the best of it.

Ronda – Gaucín – Casares/Estepona

Ronda – Gaucín – Puerto de Manilva

Ronda – Cortes de la Frontera – San Luque/Gibraltar/Tarifa

Ronda – Ardales – Malaga/Alhaurín El Grande - Fuengirola

[Map courtesy of niamhanddavid.com]    

Other damage in the Ronda area

Benaoján

The Hotel Molino de Cuatro Paradas by the river Guadiaro has been flooded and is closed.

Fuente de la Higuera

The Hotel Ronda Valley (formerly Hotel Don Benito) has been closed for several days because run off from the hills above crossed the road and inundated the cellar, where the beer equipment and the heating system are housed.

The bar re-opened today (Thursday 13 March) but the kitchen, the restaurant and the hotel remain closed.

The Hotel Molino del Puente escaped unscathed and has been open all week.

Our garden at Villa Indiana is a lake. The huge quantities of water have knocked out our boiler, so we have no hot water and no central heating. Thank God we have a chimenea and plenty of dry logs! 

Yesterday we had no running water at all and several electricity circuits were knocked out, including the kitchen and at one point all our lights.

This morning, I managed to get the lights and water back on, but the caldera (boiler) has defeated me. We’re hoping our heating engineer can get to us tomorrow.

If not, we shall decamp to Montejaque (Málaga) where everything is working, despite the constant rain.

Photos and Images:

andalucia.com, Diario Sur, Karl Smallman, niamhanddavid.com, Paul Whitelock, Secret Serrania, SUR in English

© Paul Whitelock

Acknowledgements:

Andalucia TV, Diario Sur, Guardia Civil, Julie Wilkinson, La 1

Tags:

A 376, Alhaurin El Grande, all our lights, a major rockfall has blocked the main route from the Costa del Sol, andalucia.com, Andalucia TV, Ardales, bar re-opened today, beer equipment, Benaoján, blocked by flood water, boiler, caldera, Cañada del Real Tesoro, Casares, cellar, chimenea, constant rain, Cortes de la Frontera, decamp to Montejaque, detour, Diario Sur, dry logs, electricity circuits, Estación de Cortes de la Frontera, Estación de Jimera de Líbar, Estepona, frequent power cuts, Fuengirola, Fuente de la Higuera, gardens waterlogged, Gaucín, Gibraltar, Guadiaro, Guardia Civil, heating engineer, heating system, heavy rain, hotel, Hotel Don Benito, Hotel Molino de Cuatro Paradas, Hotel Molino del Puente, Hotel Ronda Valley, houses soaked, hundreds of workers from the Serrania, infrastructure, Julie Wilkinson, Karl Smallman, kitchen, knocked out our boiler, La 1, main town of the Serrania, Málaga, Marbella, medical treatment, mud, new route, no central heating, no hot water, no running water, niamhanddavid.com, open all week, Paul Whitelock, Puerto de Manilva, restaurant, River Guadiaro, roads blocked, rockfalls, rocks, Ronda, Ronda residents, run off, San Luque, San Pedro, Serrania de Ronda, SUR in English, Tarifa, thunderstorms, tourists, Villa Indiana, 

áéíóú

The situation in Ukraine is at a critical stage, following some bizarre statements and behaviour coming out of the White House at the end of last week. Europe's leaders met at a summit in London on Sunday 4 March to wrest the initiative back. 

Ukraine summit in London on 4 March [France 24]    

The so-called “coalition of the willing”, is the name given by UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to those nations which are in a position to further the four aims of the summit meeting in London without delay.

Which countries are in the “coalition of the willing”?

The UK and France have already confirmed their commitment.

Spain had already made a significant commitment at the conference in Kyiv two weeks ago, although they currently have no further plans to commit funding.

Norway indicated before the London Summit on 4 March that they would be on board.

Summit meeting at Lancaster House [The Guardian]

Germany too, according to outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Countries that border Russia will be especially keen to join the coalition, with the exception of Hungary. Their autocratic president Viktor Orban is a pal of Vladimir Putin. “Kick Hungary out of the EU,” I say!

It was interesting that Turkey was represented – not EU members of course and never likely to be with their human rights record, but clearly concerned about Russia to their north.

Canada was also at the summit, which was good to see. They have been heavily involved in training Ukrainian volunteers.

The Baltic States were conspicuous by their absence. A reason was given but this commentator didn’t understand the reasons. Nevertheless, they must be “quaking in their boots” if Putin decides to invade more former Soviet territories.

Ii is understood that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are fully on board and intend to commit to the "coalition of the willing".

Map of Europe [Wikipedia]

The UK's position

Sir Keir Starmer is quite clear about what the UK government will contribute straightaway. In his remarks ahead of the summit he declared:

“Three years on from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, we are at a turning point. Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position.” 

In the press conference following the summit meeting, Starmer confirmed that the European powers must realise it is “not a moment for more talk, it is time to act.

"Every nation must contribute ..... in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden.

Starmer Press Conference [UNITED24 Media]

The following steps were agreed:

"First, we will keep the military aid flowing and keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now.

“Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the table.

"Third, in the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion.

“Fourth, we will go further to develop a 'coalition of the willing' to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace.”

Whilst acknowledging that "not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can’t mean that we sit back. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency.”

He stated quite clearly that the UK will put "boots on the ground" and planes in the air.

“Europe must do the heavy lifting.”

France

The details of France’s commitment were not made clear in any detail, but they are believed to be similar to those of the UK. Emmanuel Macron is fully committed to taking the lead with Starmer.

Macron was the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House, where the signs were of a positive “relationship” with Trump.

    Emmanuel Macron [El Correo]

France has the largest standing army in Europe and is also a fully independent nuclear power.

Spain

It is being reported that Spain is not on board.

However, the fact that arguably Spain was “first out of the blocks”, announcing increased support last month, surely means it is indeed part of the “coalition of the willing”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in Kyiv on Feb. 24 during the “Support Ukraine” summit, that Spain will deliver a new 1 billion euro ($1.04 billion) military aid package to Ukraine in 2025.

Spain and Ukraine will also set up the “House of Ukraine” in Torrevieja (Alicante).

This centre will cater to the needs of the Ukrainian community in Spain.

    Pedro Sánchez [Agencia EFE]

The “House of Ukraine” will become one of four Reception, Attention, and Referral Centres (Creade) set up by the Spanish government, alongside those in Madrid, Barcelona, and Málaga.

“House of Ukraine”

The decision to place the “House of Ukraine” in Torrevieja is no coincidence. Before the war, the city already had a significant Ukrainian population.

Over the past two years, Ukrainians have become the largest foreign community in Torrevieja, with 9,500 registered residents. They outnumber the Russian and British communities, which are also well-represented.

Local schools have adjusted to the growing Ukrainian population. Since February 2022, additional teachers have been assigned to help Ukrainian students. In schools 14 and 15, the entire class consists of Ukrainian children. These students share classrooms with many Russian students, as Torrevieja is also home to around 6,000 Russian residents.

[Image courtesy of Facebook]

Further updates will be made as soon as they are confirmed by individual nations in the coming days.

© Paul Whitelock

Photos and images:

Agencia EFE, El Correo, Facebook, France 24, The Guardian, UNITED24 Media, Wikipedia

Acknowledgements:

Bing, El Confidencial, EWN, Le Figaro, MSN,

Tags:

Agencia EFE, Baltic States, Bing, Canada, “coalition of the willing”, conference in Kyiv,  El Confidencial, El Correo, Estonia, EU, EWN, Facebook, former Soviet territories, France, France 24, Germany, Hungary, “Kick Hungary out of the EU", Lancaster House, Latvia, Le Figaro, Lithuania, MSN, Norway, Olaf Scholz, Paul Whitelock, Russia, Sir Keir Starmer, Spain, summit in London, The Guardian, training Ukrainian volunteers, Turkey, Ukraine, UNITED24 Media, UK, UK prime minister, Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, White House, Wikipedia

áéíóú

UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has come to the fore this week. After a friendly and successful meeting with US president Donald Trump in The Oval Office on Thursday he has emerged as "the adult in the room" following the disgraceful ambush of Ukraine president Vlodymyr Zelenskyy and childlike temper tantrum from Trump and his co-conspirator, vice-president J D Vance, in the same venue on Friday.

Trump "loses it" with Zelenskyy [Video courtesy of CNN]    

Even Piers Morgan, close buddy of Trump for 10 years, conceded that Starmer has just had his best week in the job of UK prime minister. Words and phrases like "statesmanlike" and "stepping up to the plate" have been uttered across Europe as European leaders have declared their support for Zelenskyy and the beleauguered Ukraine.

On Saturday, in Downing Street, Zelenskyy and Starmer signed an agreement to accelerate $2.8 billion worth of loans to Ukraine. The first tranche of funding is expected to be disbursed next week, according to the UK government. The loan will ultimately be repaid using Russian funds seized by the West in the early stages of the war. Zelenskyy said “This is the fair way: the one who started the war should pay.” 

That so many leaders "downed tools" and flew to London at short notice for this afternoon's summit is testament to the important point Europe, NATO and the world have reached in the last few days. A "once in a generation moment", according to Starmer.

Some 18 dignitories have assembled at Lancaster House for the summit, including Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, whose country is not directly involved. 

    Zelenskyy and Starmer at the London Summit [AP News]

Noticeably absent were the leaders of the three Baltic states, Estonia,  Latvia and Lithuania, but we were given to understand that they are fully behind Ukraine and NATO. These three republcs are deemed to be the most at risk, should Vladimir Putin's expansionist plans not be stopped.

The agenda for the summit has been set by Starmer in consultation with Zelenskyy and French president Emmanuelle Macron, who also had a successful visit with Trump last week. The plan is to thrash out three goals: "Ukraine’s short-term needs; securing a “lasting deal” to end the conflict; and “planning for strong security guarantees.”, according to a statement from Downing Street.

"Family photo" of the delegates at the Ukraine Summit in London [France 24]

Back row (L-R): 

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte; Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof; Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson; Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz; Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store; Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala; Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni; Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan

Middle row (L-R)

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez; Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; European Council President Antonio Costa; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; Romania's Interim President Ilie Bolojan

Front row (L-R)

Finland's President Alexander Stubb; French President Emmanuel Macron; UK Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

In a statement ahead of the London summit Starmer said: “Three years on from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, we are at a turning point. Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position.” 

The delegates at the Ukrainian Summit in London [The Guardian]

STOP PRESS:
 

After the meeting broke up several participants answered questions from the Press, while Vlodymyr Zelenskyy flew by helicopter to Sandringham House in Norfolk for an audience with King Charles III.

Reaction to that meeting and the official Press conference by Sir Keir Starmer to come .....

King Charles III meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Sandringham [SKY News]

UPDATE:

At the official press conference following the summit, Sir Keir Starmer said that the European powers must realise it is “not a moment for more talk, it is time to act.

"Every nation must contribute ..... in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden.

"So we agreed some important steps today.

"First, we will keep the military aid flowing and keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now.

“Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the table.

Starmer's press conference 2 March 2025 [UNITED24 Media]

"Third, in the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion.

“Fourth, we will go further to develop a 'coalition of the willing' to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace.

"Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can’t mean that we sit back. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency, the UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. Europe must do the heavy lifting.”

Starmer declined, when asked, to say which countries were "in", saying that it was their prerogative to announce their intentions themselves in the coming days.

He also announced that the group would reconvene "soon" to keep developments moving at pace.

© Paul Whitelock

Photos and videos:

AP News, CNN, France 24, SKY News, The Guardian, UNITED24 Media

Acknowledgements:

BBC News, CNN, Manchester Evening News, MSN, SKY News, The Guardian

Tags:

"adult in the room", agreement to accelerate $2.8 billion worth of loans to Ukraine, Alexander Stubb, ambush of Ukraine president, Antonio Costa, AP News, CNN, Canadian Prime Minister, "Charmer Starmer", childlike temper tantrum from Trump, close buddy of Trump, France 24, BBC News, CNN, Chancellor, Czech Republic, Danish, Dick Schoof, Donald Trump, Donald Tusk, Downing Street, Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President,  European Council President, Finland, French President, Germany, Giorgia Meloni, Hakan Fidan, Ilie Bolojan, Italy, Jonas Gahr Store, Justin Trudeau, Manchester Evening News, Mark Rutte, Mette Frederiksen, MSN, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, NATO secretary-general, Norway, Olaf Scholz, "once in a generation moment", Paul  Whitelock, Pedro Sanchez, Petr Fiala, Piers Morgan, Polish Prime Minister, President, Prime Minister, Romania's Interim President, SKY News, Russian funds seized by the West in the early stages of the war, Sir Keir Starmer, Spain, "statesmanlike", "stepping up to the plate", Sweden, the one who started the war should pay, The Guardian, The Oval Office, Turkey, Ulf Kristersson, UNITED24 Media, UK Prime Minister, US president, Ukrainian President, Ursula von der Leyen, vice-president J D Vance, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 

According to the highly regarded British newspaper, The Guardian, Spain is “a progressive beacon in dark times”.

In an editorial published on Wednesday 26 February 2025, the paper claims that Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist-led government has welcomed immigration and boosted public spending, with stellar results.

    [Photo courtesy of El Confidencial]

Background

In a week when the seismic election result in Germany has focused on the disturbing rise of the far right party, the AfD, and chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz’s warning that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security, Europe, nay the World, could be forgiven for thinking the worst.

Friedrich Merz (CDU) [Photo: El Periodico]    

But for European progressives, there was also a third depressing takeaway: the comprehensive rejection of Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party, which recorded its worst postwar result.

Across the continent of Europe, centre-left parties have been exiled from the corridors of power, while the radical right has fuelled anxieties over immigration and economic stagnation to extend its influence.

There is, however, one country which stands out as startling exception to this dismal trend – Spain.

Spain’s success

Last year, Spain recorded the highest growth of any major country, at 3.2%.

This was achieved under a Socialist-led coalition government that has welcomed high levels of immigration as a driver of economic prosperity, and which from this year plans to offer residency and work permits to up to 900,000 undocumented migrants.

In 2024, over 400,000 vacancies were filled by migrants and dual nationals, as overall unemployment figures fell to their lowest levels since the 2008 economic crash.

[Graph courtesy of CaixaBank Research]    

The case for migration in a country with one of the lowest birthrates in the European Union – forcefully made by the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez – has been complemented by a commitment to generous public spending that is also at odds with the zeitgeist.

Boosted by EU post-pandemic recovery funds, levels of government expenditure reached an all-time high at the end of last year. Most of the money has gone on upgrading vital infrastructure and green investment, including urban low-emission zones and subsidies for small businesses.

Spain and Europe

On the European stage, too, Spain is blazing a progressive trail.

As crucial negotiations over future EU spending begin, Madrid has proposed a doubling of the next seven-year budget, to be financed by joint borrowing mechanisms pioneered after the Covid-19 pandemic.

In an era in which spending on defence risks diverting resources away from other public goods and the green transition, Sánchez is right to argue that more Europe, not less, should be part of the solution.

Pedro Sánchez [Efe]    

Growth in Spain

An important factor boosting Spain’s growth has been the booming tourist industry, which is creating tensions in cities and resorts “hollowed out” by Airbnb.

A related housing crisis urgently needs to be addressed. And interpreting to what extent impressive GDP figures translate into general wellbeing is far from straightforward.

Nevertheless, at a time when much of the mainstream centre-left appears to have lost faith in progressive political solutions, the Sánchez government’s achievements deserve to be celebrated.

A robustly social democratic approach to economic renewal, and a recognition of what migrants can offer ageing societies, remains the best response to the rise of nationalist, xenophobic politics.

When unveiling his government’s plans last October to make it easier for migrants to settle, Sánchez said: “Throughout history, migration has been one of the great drivers of the development of nations, while hatred and xenophobia have been – and continue to be – the greatest destroyer of nations. The key is in managing it well.”

It has become vanishingly rare to hear political leaders not only making such an argument but also acting on it. This may be a moment of maximum hubris for the Trumpian right across the west. But Spain continues to show that there is another way.

Conclusion

I have been saying for some time that Spain has been getting it right under Pedro Sánchez.

• His severe Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions saved thousands of lives.
• His presence as a towering figure in the European Union has made him an important leader in troubled times
• His steadfast approach to both Ukraine and Gaza make him stand out
• His mastery of English is worth its weight in gold. The first of the seven presidents of the Spanish government to have that advantage, demonstrating clearly that monolingualism is not the way forward in these times.
• And now his turning the immigration problem to Spain’s advantage and the investment in green issues is paying dividends.

Pedro Sánchez [Photo: El Mundo]                  

It is regrettable that so many western countries are lurching to the right, eg France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, and the USA.

Civilisation needs to look to the surviving socialist-run countries, currently the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Spain, and the UK.

Links:

© Paul Whitelock

Photos:

CaixaBank Research, Efe, El Confidencial, El Mundo, El Periodico,

Acknowledgements:

The Guardian 

Tags:

2008 economic crash, Airbnb, Baltic states, CaixaBank Research, Covid-19 lockdown, Covid-19 pandemic, diverting resources, driver of economic prosperity, dual nationals, Efe, El Confidencial, El Independiente, El Mundo, Europe, European stage, European Union, EU post-pandemic recovery funds, France, Friedrich Merz, future EU spending, Gaza, Germany, green investment, green transition, hatred, highest growth of any major country, high levels of immigration, housing crisis, Hungary, immigration problem, impressive GDP figures, investment in green issues, Italy, joint borrowing mechanisms, levels of government expenditure, Madrid, mastery of English, migrants, monolingualism, Netherlands, Pedro Sánchez, residency, Scandinavia, seven-year budget, Socialist-led coalition government, Spain, Spanish government, spending on defence, subsidies for small businesses, The Guardian, tourist industry, USA, UK, Ukraine, unemployment figures, upgrading vital infrastructure, urban low-emission zones, wellbeing, work permit, xenophobia, Zeitgeist,

áéíóú