News, May 2009

Elections 2009

On 1st March there were regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia, two of the regions with most autonomy. On 6th June there will be the European Parliament election. One year on from the last general election, these elections are showing up the impact on public opinion of the recession and other internal and international events on the Zapatero / socialist government, now in its second term.

In Galicia, home of the national Partido Popular leader, Mariano Rajoy, the right wing again won a majority, after the Socialist PSOE and regionalist BNG parties ran the region for the past 4 years. In the Basque Country, the right of centre regionalist PNV had been in power since the advent of democracy, but is now in the position of having won most seats, but has been unable to return to government as the 'constitutionalist' parties led by PSOE now have enough seats to rule. In the Basque Country politics has been dominated by the independence movement in which terrorist group ETA is most visible. Yet PNV also has aspirations to independence, or at least a very high level of autonomy. Against these aspirations, the 'pro-democracy' constitutionalist main-line Spanish parties have won a vote of no confidence in policies which have encouraged ETA to believe it is winning its war on Spain. Socialist Patxi Lopez has become Lehendakari from May.

EU elections: BBC Europe-wide coverage

Gibraltar is considered part of SW England! -BBC comment. So the English MEP will have a good excuse to charge for holidays in the sun.

Regional Election : See the comment on the results from the BBC.
The Economist comment