A View from the Mountains

I suppose this should be a letter to the editor, but I don't know where to do that, so I shall place it here, on a thread which aims to provide news about Spain and elsewhere to English-speaking immigrants and visitors.

Why, I ask, do articles about important matters in Spain, which affect us all, rarely appear in The Weekly Digest?

What do I mean?

Important stories about Sanchez' stance on Europe, on Russia and the Middle East are not featured. Bad weather; corruption allegations against Sanchez, his wife and several colleagues; restrictions against non-EU citizens - all missing.

Flooding in Valencia [Sky News]    

ç

The evidence

In this week's digest, there are four advertisements (Why is that?), and other articles about nice places to visit in Spain, including one from me about tourism, but NO IMPORTANT NEWS!

There was one article about how difficult it's likely to become to enter Spain from a non-EU country, but that's not really news!

[Image courtesy of The Olive Press]    

Last week there were also a number of advertisements; some very interesting articles; but NOTHING NEWSWORTHY! An article of mine was featured about Ronda wines, but that's NOT NEWS!

The week before, the only article which might be classed as NEWS, was mine about Storm Amy, which devastated areas of Europe and Spain. I also had a post about tourism: National Geographic Spain No. 306.

So?

Maybe somebody from Eye on Spain would like to explain this failure to keep us abreast of major news.

Whilst most of the other posts on Eye on Spain are interesting, I still question why blatant publicity is featured in The Weekly Digest.

Do they pay for the privilege?

    [Image courtesy of Sound Cloud]

Links:

El Valle del Genal - La Serrania de Ronda

Ronda Wines - Are they any good?

Amy causes chaos

National Geographic Spain No. 306

[Front cover courtesy of Tienda RBA]    

© The Curmudgeon

Pictures:

Eye on Spain, Paul Whitelock, Sky News, Sound Cloud, The Olive Press, Tienda RBA

Thanks:

Eye on Spàin, National Geographic Spain, Paul Whitelock, Sky News, The Curmudgeon, The Olive Press, The Weekly Digest 

Tags:

Amy causes chaos, El Valle del Genal - La Serrania de Ronda, Eye on Spàin, National Geographic Spain No. 306, Paul Whitelock, Ronda Wines - Are they any good?, Sky News, Sound Cloud, The Curmudgeon, The Olive Press, The Weekly Digest, Tienda RBA

As widely predicted, Donald Trump did not win this year's prize.

He wasn't even on the shortlist of nominees.

He is reported to be livid!

"Serves the arrogant b*****d right", I say.

Trump loses his cool! [Red Bubble]    

Nobel Peace Prize 2025

The winner was announced yesterday, 10 October 2025, in Oslo, Norway. The honour was awarded to a brave and committed champion of peace – to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.

Maria Corina Machado

Maria Corina Machado, leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, works tirelessly to promote democratic rights for the people of Venezuela in her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. 

[Photo of Ms Machado courtesy of El Confidencial]    

Background

Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. 

Most Venezuelans live in deep poverty, as the few at the top enrich themselves. The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens. 

As a result nearly 8 million Venezuelans have left the country. The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of election rigging, illegal prosecution and imprisonment.

As a founder of Súmate, an organisation devoted to democratic development, Ms Machado stood up for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago.

As she said: “It was a choice of ballots over bullets.” 

In political office and in her service to organisations since then, Ms Machado has spoken out for judicial independence, human rights and popular representation. She has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

[Logo courtesy of YouTube]    

Ahead of the election of 2024, Ms Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy.

She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in the election. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers mobilised across political divides. 

They were trained as election observers to ensure a transparent and fair election. Despite the risk of harassment, arrest and torture, citizens across the country held watch over the polling stations. They made sure the final tallies were documented before the regime could destroy ballots and lie about the outcome.

The efforts of the collective opposition, both before and during the election, were innovative and brave, peaceful and democratic. The opposition received international support when its leaders publicised the vote counts that had been collected from the country’s election districts, showing that the opposition had won by a clear margin.

But the regime of Nicolás Maduro refused to accept the election result, and clung to power.

The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. 

In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.

    Nicolás Maduro [Wikipedia]

In its long history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has honoured brave women and men who have stood up to repression, who have carried the hope of freedom in prison cells, on the streets and in public squares, and who have shown by their actions that peaceful resistance can change the world.

In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people.

    [Image courtesy of Facebook]

Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination.

Maria Corina Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.

    [Photo of Alfred Nobel by Amazon]

STOP PRESS: It is reported that Ms Machado has been gaoled. Let us hope she is safe. The question is: Will she be allowed to attend the presentation ceremony in Oslo in December?

And Trump?

Some commentators think he might be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize next year, if the ceasefire in the Middle East holds.

If he achieves that it will be "a wonderful thing" (Trump's own words), but what about some of his other actions in the past and the present?

I don't think so ..... !

[Cartoon courtesy of Shutterstock]    

©  Paul Whitelock

Sources:

BBC News

Nobel Peace Prize 2025 - Press release - NobelPrize.org - with special thanks

Sky News International

Wikipedia

Images:

Amazon, El Confidencial, Facebook, Red Bubble, Shutterstock, Wikipedia, YouTube

Tags:

Amazon, democracy, Donald Trump, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, El Confidencial, Facebook, Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize 2025, Norway, Oslo, Paul Whitelock, Red Bubble, Shutterstock, Súmate, Venezuela, Wikipedia, YouTube

So, what's new? No, being serious, this is not about my daughter Amy causing chaos at home (apparently that was me!).

It's about Storm Amy which arrived a few days ago from the Atlantic Ocean hitting Ireland first and then parts of Scotland, North West England and Wales, and moving further east to affect France and the Netherlands and Scandinavia. That was this weekend just gone.

    Storm Amy [The Weather Network]

What happened?

With winds approaching 100 mph (140 kph) hundreds of trees have been blown down, taking power lines with them. Heavy and persistent rain has caused widespread flooding.

Authorities in Ireland reported a man died in north west Ireland in a weather-related incident, while in France, at least two people were reportedly killed by the storm, local officials said.

      Satellite image of Storm Amy [BBC]

Weather conditions began to slightly improve across northern Europe on Sunday after the storm impacted critical infrastructure and disrupted power for tens of thousands of people.

In the Netherlands Amy led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and ferry services.

In Scotland, authorities restored power to some 67,000 homes two days after the storm brought damage and disruption.

Restoring power [Photo: BBC]    

Road, rail, and sea travel faced major disruption as the storm walloped the UK and Scandinavia on Saturday with heavy rain and high winds.

London’s Royal Parks shut their gates as Britain’s Met Office gave updates on the weather after it recorded a gust of 154 kph on Friday on the island of Tiree off Scotland’s west coast. 

More than 200,000 homes in Ireland and Northern Ireland had been left without power, while in Scotland, many ferry services were suspended, and roads and railway lines were blocked by fallen trees.

    [Photo: The Mirror]

France

On Saturday afternoon, Storm Amy's powerful gusts, which claimed two lives in France, prompted parts of Northern France to issue an orange alert.

"Storm Amy is moving across the British Isles, causing strong gusts of wind in the departments near the English Channel coast and in the northern inland departments of the country," French weather service Meteo France said.

France's northern coast recorded its strongest winds since the beginning of the week, with gusts reaching 131 kilometres and up to 110 kph inland.

[Photo: The Guardian]    

Up to 5,000 Normandy homes were without power on Saturday morning due to the storm. According to power supplier Enedis, the number decreased to 2,000 by noon, but since then, more outages have been reported.

Belgium

In Belgium, Storm Amy was also clearly felt, causing some damage with strong winds of speeds reaching over 100 kilometres per hour. As a result, authorities declared a Code Orange weather warning for the entire country on Friday.

As a precaution, the breakwaters in Ostend were closed for the entire weekend, and telephone number 1722 for non-urgent requests for assistance from the fire brigade had been activated.

Scandinavia

    People struggled against the wind and rain in Malmö, Sweden [Johan Nilsson/TT]

Storm Amy also wreaked havoc on Sweden, Denmark, and Norway from late Friday into Saturday. Tens of thousands of homes lost power as strong gusts brought down trees and power lines throughout Scandinavia, as heavy rainfall and high tides pummeled the coastal areas.

Norway

Roofs were blown off houses, trees fell, and over a hundred roads were closed in Norway, where rainfall was extremely heavy.

Sweden
Strong winds and heavy rain were recorded on Saturday across southern and central Sweden. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) issued orange alerts for the West Coast, the southern coast of Skåne, and the Skagerrak area.

[Photo: Sky News]    

Out at sea off northern Halland, hurricane-force gusts were recorded. In addition, several yellow warnings were put in place for large parts of the country.

Why Storm Amy?

Storms with the potential to cause serious disruption or damage are given names jointly by the UK, Irish, and Dutch weather agencies.

The current storm, called Amy, is the remnant of Hurricane Humberto, which formed over the Atlantic Ocean last week.

Amy Whitelock Gibbs

Returning to my daughter Amy, she graduated from Oxford University with a First Class Honours degree in English and German. She then gained a MSc in European Public Policy from UCL, did placements at the European Parliament in Brussels and at the House of Commons, London.

Amy was a Labour Councillor in Tower Hamlets, London, for eight years whilst pursuing a career in the charity sector. She has worked for MIND, Amnesty International and Birthrights, where she was CEO. Amy is currently CEO of Tutors United, an educational charity, and Chair of the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition.

She is the mother of two boys, aged eight and five and lives in Stratford, East London, overlooking the 2012 Olympic Village.

"Storm Amy" [Photo: Tutors United]    

© Pablo de Ronda (aka Paul Whitelock)

Sources:

BBC, Daily Mail, euroNews, Mirror Group, SKY News

Pictures:

BBC, Johan Nilsson, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Weather Network, TT, Tutors United

Links:

(10) Amy Whitelock Gibbs | LinkedIn

Death in the afternoon… and in the morning - a personal memoire - Eye on Spain

Journey to the East - Help me, Ronda

Tutors United - Enabling every child to succeed.

Tags:

Amy Whitelock Gibbs, BBC, Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, Daily Mail, Death in the afternoon ..... and in the morning, euroNews, Eye on Spain, Johann Nilsson, Journey to the East, LinkedIn, Mirror, Pablo de Ronda, Paul Whitelock, SKY News, The Guardian, The Mirror, The Weather Network, Tutors United, TT, www.help-me-ronda.com 

Two rather conflicting reports published in the last couple of days have left me rather non-plussed.

According to the INE (the Spanish National Statistics Institute), Spain is the most economically successful country in Europe, as reported online by Microsoft News (MSN) and also covered by The Olive Press newspaper, for the sixth quarter on the trot. Annual growth is set at 3.6% against a previous forecast of just 0.6%.

[Image courtesy of Marketing Teacher]    

Yet the headline on this week's SUR in English tells readers:

"Costa del Sol bars and restaurants see sales slump over summer".

(Please click on hyperlink below)

    [Sur in English]

Preamble

Not exactly contradictory, I suppose, but rather two different sides of the same coin.

And all summer we have seen anti-tourism demonstrations in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga and also in Mallorca, Tenerife, Sevilla and Cadiz. These are protests against the lack of supply of long-term rental accommodation for local workers, because owners prefer the more lucrative option of renting to tourists for greater financial gain.

[Photo courtesy of The Daily Express]    

A recent report about Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia and endpoint of the pilgrimage routes known as the Camino de Santiago, has suffered a similar fate, in that residents the old town have been priced out of the area and local shops like butchers, bakers and greengrocers have closed to be replaced by souvenir shops, ice-cream parlours and off-licences.

    Overcrowded Santiago [Travel Industry Today]

What next?

Barcelona has gone so far as to ban AirBnb, booking.com and the like from 2026. But they have important industries other than tourism, such as ship-building and car manufacturing.

Madrid also has heavy industry round about.

But Valencia and Malaga and island cities rely heavily on tourism. Without the income from foreign visitors they will gradually wither and die.

STOP PRESS:

Another set of figures has been published today, also from the INE, which adds to the confusion. A report in the right-wing Spanish daily, El Mundo, proclaims that inflation is about to rise again to 2.9% because of the increased cost of petrol and electricity.

El Mundo : La inflación en España vuelve a subir hasta el 2,9% en septiembre por la gasolina y la electricidad.

Por Alejandra Olcese

https://www.msn.com/es-es/dinero/economia/la-inflaci%C3%B3n-en-espa%C3%B1a-vuelve-a-subir-hasta-el-2-9-en-septiembre-por-la-gasolina-y-la-electricidad/ar-AA1Nv7xe?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=e5693de4303e4531abd2e93bb6ed0d90&ei=9

© Paul Whitelock

Links:

Costa del Sol hospitality industry closes summer with decline in consumption | Sur in English

Boost for Pedro Sanchez as Spain’s GDP grows 0.8% in second quarter of 2025  - Olive Press News Spain

Pictures:

Marketing Teacher, The Daily Express, Travel Industry Today, Trip Advisor,

Thanks:

Alejandra Olcese, El Mundo, INE, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, MSN, Microsoft News, Paul Whitelock, SUR in English, The Olive Press

Tags:

2026, AirBnb, Alejandra Olcese, booking.com, bakers, Barcelona, butchers, Cadiz, Camino de Santiago, car manufacturing, "Costa del Sol bars and restaurants see sales slump over summer", El Mundo, greengrocers, ice-cream parlours, INE, long-term rental accommodation, Madrid,  Malaga, Mallorca, Marketing Teacher, MSN, Microsoft News, most economically successful country in Europe, National Statistics Institute, off-licences, pilgrimage route, renting to tourists, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Spain,  souvenir shops, SUR in English, ship-building, Tenerife, The Daily Express, tourism, Travel Industry Today, Trip Advisor, Valencia,

Following an investigation by the government's ethics adviser, Angela Rayner has resigned from all her roles in government, including that of deputy PM.

She is no longer Housing Secretary nor Justice Secretary.

    [BBC]    

This has prompted a major reshuffle.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, becomes Deputy PM, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary.

Yvette Cooper moves from Home Secretary to Foreign Secretary.

Shabana Mahmood is the new Home Secretary.

Jonathan Reynolds has been moved from Business Secretary to Chief Whip, and his former role has been given to Peter Kyle.

The Housing brief held by Rayner has gone to Steve Reed.

Opportunity? Or sign of weakness?

That depends on which paper you read.

©  Paul Whitelock

Acknowledgements:

BBC, SKY News, The Guardian

Tags:

Angela Rayner, BBC, Business Secretary, Chief Whip, David Lammy, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, Paul Whitelock, Peter Kyle, Shabana Mahmood, SKY News, Steve Reed, The Guardian, Yvette Cooper,

This Wednesday's meeting was the first significant meeting between the prime ministers of the UK and Spain for more than a decade.

It was made possible because the two countries have finally struck a deal regarding Gibraltar's future since Brexit.

Outside 10 Downing Street [Democrata]    

In an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday Pedro Sanchez touched on several issues of the moment.

    [Image courtesy of La Razon]

Gaza Strip

Sanchez said Israel's assault on the Palestinian territory was one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.

The Spanish PM is the first senior European leader to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. He opined that Europe's response to the situation has been poor.

[Map courtesy of La Sexta]    

Ukraine

The world is looking at the European Union and western society, he said.

"Why are you doing double standards when it comes to Ukraine?"

Trump

Sanchez has clashed with US president Donald Trump over Spain's refusal to meet Trump's demands to spend five per cent of GDP on defence.

Nevertheless, he stressed that Spain was a "reliable partner" in NATO.

He emphasised that he was committed to preserving "the best relationship with the US", regardless of who was in the White House.

[Photo of Trump: EL PAIS]    

"We have a different vision on how to face the challenges that the world and our societies are facing." Despite this "we need to strengthen our cooperation and collaboration."

The weakening of the West

"The most shocking reality that we're facing is that ….. [the US] is now weakening the international order" as a result of Trump's isolationist policies.

    [Image: The New European]

Migration

Sanchez has been forthright about the benefits of migration. 

"The dilemma that western societies are facing is whether we decide to be an opening-up and growing society, or a closing-off and shrinking society.

"I believe that that the vast majority of citizens in Spain understand quite well that migration is also an opportunity and not only a moral duty."

[Map courtesy of ResearchGate]    

The Climate Emergency

The Spanish PM has announced a 10-point plan to help Spain mitigate the effects of the climate emergency.

He warned that efforts to tackle the crisis were being undermined by right-wing parties adopting the far right's rhetoric in the hope of electoral gain.

[Sanchez' 10-pointplan - Instagram]    

Spanish Justice System

Pedro Sanchez claims that his wife, Begoña Gomez, is the victim of a right-wing and far right judicial smear campaign.

Asked whether he had confidence in Spain's justice system, he said: "The large majority of judges ….. fulfil their obligations and do their jobs ,,, But there are some judges who are playing politics." 

    [Begoña Gomez: La Razon]

Right-wing parties

The leader of the PP, People's Party (Conservative), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and Santiago Abascal, frontman for far-right fascist party VOX are being totally un-cooperative, said Spanish premier, Pedro Sanchez, during the Guardian interview.

On issues such as climate change and immigration the right-wing parties are trying to curry favour with the electorate.

According to Sanchez the opposition parties offer no real alternative, only "a regression".

"What we are witnessing in Spain is the political collapse of the traditional party ..... because it's copying the far right."

My View

I am not ashamed to admit that I am an admirer of Pedro Sanchez. Positioned slightly to the left of centre, he has demonstrated great dexterity in forming a minority government and keeping the coalition that supports him in place through a period of major challenges.

[Sanchez courtesy of El Mundo]    

He has the advantage of being young, tall and good-looking. But, most important of all he is a fluent English speaker, the only Spanish PM out of seven since Spain became a democracy again in 1978. This ensures he is a major player in EU and world politics.

His official visit to London this week represents a significant moment in this troubled  world.

Footnote:

This story was also covered by SUR in English, which is published weekly in Marbella.

However, their writer, Paula de las Heras, focused more on the meeting between Sanchez and Starmer and less on the Guardian interview.

[Logo courtesy of  My Guide Marbella]    

Links:

"Bye, bye, Pedro. Pedro bye bye"? - Eye on Spain

Pedro Sánchez president again: What happens next - Eye on Spain

Spain on top of the world! - Help me, Ronda

and the SUR in English article:

From London to Paris, Spain's prime minister seeks to regain ground on the international stage | Sur in English

© Paul Whitelock

Images:

Democrata, El Mundo, EL PAIS, Instagram, La Razon, La Sexta, ResearchGate, The New European

Acknowledgements:

BBC, Diario SUR, Sam Jones, Jamie Wilson, MSN, Patrick Wintour, SKY News, The Guardian, 

Tags:

10 Downing Street, 10-point plan, Abascal, Begoña Gomez, BBC, climate change, climate emergency, Democrata, Diario SUR, EU, El Mundo, EL PAIS, Feijoo, Gaza, Gibraltar, immigration, Instagram, Jamie Wilson, La Razon, La Sexta, London, MSN, migration, My Guide Marbella, PP, Paula de las Heras, ResearchGate, right-wing, Sam Jones, Sanchez, Patrick Wintour, Paul Whitelock, right-wing, SKY News, Starmer, The Guardian, The New European, Trump, Ukraine, VOX

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, 

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