News, January and February 2012

General Election, November 2011

President Zapatero has called a general election for 20th November. The big favourite to win is the opposition Partido Popular, despite it's leader, Mariano Rajoy having lost the last two campaigns and still not having made clear -throughout the campaign- what his main policies will be. See the results from El País via The Guardian.

On 12th August Rubalcaba claimed this will be the first election campaign without fear of ETA strikes. Indeed over the past decades it has been a necessary concern that the Basque terror organisation could affect a campaign and when in the 2004 election campaign Madrid was hit by a series of bombs, it was immediately believed to have been the work of ETA, before the hand of Al Quaeda was revealed. It is now over 2 years since the last ETA killing, of two policemen in Palma Nova, Mallorca. Finally (we hope) ETA appears to have announced total cessation of activity on 20th October. Sceptical politicians agree that it may be an electoral ploy, but the likelihood of this being a reality is greater than ever. C.f. the separate article on ETA.

The €uro/ financial crisis is the most significant element in the election campaign, particularly in its last days, although it is still unclear exactly how the opposition (and likely winner) is to face it. With 40% of young people unemployed, the demands of the 'indignants' (cf. separate article) continue to be largely unheard. The government is reintroducing a wealth tax suspended in 2008, but now only on fortunes over €700,000.

For evangelicals, two areas of concern arise in their difficult choice of an ideal national leadership. First in many minds these days are 'bio-ethical' issues, such as abortion. In the past many evangelicals felt that the socialists were their clear option, since they stood to protect the under-dog. However, in recent years there has been a move away from this stance, to one much more traditional- defending the declining membership of the trades unions - and their privileges, including high cost of firing. Many others are now taken on temporary contracts with lower pay and find it impossible to get those unionised jobs. At the same time as not defending the interests of the poorest, the socialists now stand against the unborn, the elderly and many other defenceless groups. The right wing Partido Popular is seen as more favourable on the ethical issues and - at the expense of the lower middle class vote- to a single employment culture.

On the other hand, in recent months a further issue has arisen concerning places of worship. The regional governments of Madrid and Catalonia have started a veritable crusade against religious groups - other than the privileged Roman Catholic church - in the sense of limiting the right to freedom of worship. They are introducing increasing levels of legislation about the requirements for 'places of worship' (church buildings) and in Catalonia local city halls will be responsible in effect for deciding how and where people gather for worship, thus denying them a fundamental human right, also established in the Spanish Constitution. Right wing parties are even more belligerent on this matter than left wing ones. As a result, evangelicals have for the first time begun to hold political demonstrations, hardly of the nature of the 'indignants', but nevertheless a great departure for the churches. Catalan pastors already demonstrated in early October, but a mass demonstration of the membership is planned for Saturday, 5th November. In reminiscence of the British 'gunpowder plot' of 1605, they hope to put a virtual bomb under the seats of politicians in the run-up to the 20th November elections. Madrid's evangelicals and churches in other regions are planning demonstrations around 31st October, 'Reformation Day'.

read The Economist on Rajoy and the job facing him.