Analysis: Spain’s ‘Socialist’ President is Courting the Far Right
by Tommy Greene
In the wake of the Melilla massacre, a floundering Pedro Sánchez made a predictable political play: cosy up to the cops.
Tag: spain
International: Spain’s Democracy is Being Undermined by Deep State Actors
by Eoghan Gilmartin
The news that Spain’s prime minister had his phone hacked by Pegasus spyware last year is just the latest in a scandal that has laid bare the democratic deficiencies of the country’s post-Franco constitutional regime, argues Eoghan Gilmartin.
Analysis: When Will the West Stop Underestimating the Far Right?
by Ell Folan
The spiritual leader of the global far right is invading Ukraine. Meanwhile Vox, which won just 0.2% of the Spanish vote in 2016, is now outpolling the conservatives. If you’re wondering how we got here, you haven’t been paying attention, writes Ell Folan.
ACFM: Microdose: Unity on the Frontline With Norah Lopez Holden
Why did so many women fight in the Spanish Civil War? Nadia Idle talks to actor and activist Norah Lopez Holden about the milicianas.
Analysis: How the Far Right Tried to Exploit Spain’s Anti-Austerity 15M Protests
by Diana Cariboni
According to documents recently released by WikiLeaks, the far right tried to coopt the tactics of Spain’s now-legendary anti-austerity 15M protests in an attempt to seize power.
Analysis: Has Keir Starmer Heard of Pasokification?
by Joana Ramiro
Social democrats across the continent have learned that maintaining ties with the left equals electoral success. The British Labour leader doesn’t seem to get it.
Opinion: Like All Digital Parties, the Northern Independence Party Is a Reflection of Our Broken Politics
by Paolo Gerbaudo
Cartel parties that suppress internal democracy, a non-choice between two virtually identical alternatives - the NIP is the product of familiar trends, writes political theorist Paolo Gerbaudo.
International: Separatists Finally Have a Majority in Catalonia – But Independence Isn’t a Done Deal
by Eoghan Gilmartin & Tommy Greene
Pro-independence parties finally achieved a majority of the popular vote in Catalonia on Sunday. But low turnout and a boost for both the unionist and independentist centre-left mean the next chapter in Catalonia's constitutional politics is going to involve negotiation, write Tommy Greene and Eoghan Gilmartin.
Opinion: It’s Not Enough to Defend the Five-Day Week – We Must Demand Four
by Aidan Harper
Overworked Britons breathed a sigh of relief when the Tories abandoned rumoured plans to remove the 48-hour cap on the working week. This scare should shock us out of our complacency about working hours, writes Aidan Harper, and restart the fight for a 32-hour week.
Opinion: Spain Is Considering a Four-Day Week – What’s Stopping Britain Doing the Same?
by James Meadway
To a British public jaded by a decade of austerity, a four-day week seems like a pipe dream, writes James Meadway. Yet as the authors of a new book argue, and as developments in Spain demonstrate, that is far from being the case.
Report: The UK is Rushing to Deport Asylum Seekers Before Brexit, New Data Shows
by Rivkah Brown
Exclusive: The UK is rushing to return asylum seekers to the EU before Brexit makes it harder to do so. Data obtained by Novara Media shows the UK made up to 154% more transfer requests to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland and Denmark this year, an uptick lawyers say has resulted in a catalogue of harmful and unlawful failings. Rivkah Brown reports.
International: Spain’s New ‘Patriotic’ Trade Union is Part of the Far Right’s Anti-Leftist Strategy
by Tommy Greene and Eoghan Gilmartin
Last week Spain’s extreme-right Vox party officially launched its own ‘patriotic’ trade union. But rather than signalling a strategic social turn, the new unit is better seen as an ‘anti-union’ and part of Vox’s wider anti-leftist strategy, write Tommy Greene and Eoghan Gilmartin.
International: Spain’s Monarchy Crisis Has Shaken the Country’s Political Settlement
by Tommy Greene
Amid investigations into financial misdealings and kickback claims, Spain's emeritus king Juan Carlos has fled the country to take up self-exile in Saudi Arabia. Tommy Greene explains how the crisis has rocked Spain's democratic settlement - and how it is exposing tensions in the left-wing coalition government.
Ash Wednesday: Ash Sarkar Debunks Anti-Migrant Myths
While establishment media jumps at the chance to go on refugee safari in the Channel, Ash Sarkar debunks the myths behind anti-migrant sentiment.
Report: Coronavirus Has Made Things Even Worse for Migrant Workers on Spain’s Fruit Farms
by Nic Murray
Most strawberries sold in British supermarkets are grown in southern Spain, on fruit farms run by multinational companies that exploit migrant labour. Coronavirus has left fewer workers under pressure to meet high export targets, without PPE or cleaning products. Nic Murray reports.
International: Locked Down But Not Out: 15,000 Sign Up to Rent Strike Campaign in Spain
by Coordinadora de Vivienda de Madrid
Despite the country having become a pandemic hotspot with over 18,000 deaths, Spanish landlords are continuing to force evictions upon people who are unable to make rental payments, or who are forced to squat by long waiting lists. But tenants' unions and mutual aid groups are fighting back.
International: Now Unidas Podemos Must Show It Can Deliver
by Eoghan Gilmartin and Tommy Greene
With Spain’s new left-wing coalition having taken office earlier this month, it is crucial that Unidas Podemos proves itself as a party of the people and ensures that the government sticks to its programme.
International: Spain’s Coming Election Will Determine the Next Phase of Its Constitutional Crisis
by Javier Moreno Zacarés
Gripped in what seems like a perpertual state of constitutional crisis, Spain heads to the polls for its fourth general election in as many years on Sunday. Javier Moreno Zacarés examines PSOE's tight-rope walk, the fractures in the left, and how recent Catalan unrest complicates the situation.