2y ago

Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez wins new term as Spanish PM following election gamble – Europe live | Spain | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com

Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez wins new term as Spanish PM following election gamble – Europe live

16 comments

I don't really understand that fixation in saying "prime minister" when Spain never had prime ministers, but presidents.
- PM clearly stands for President Man.
  
  It's Spain, they speak Spanish there. It's clearly Presidente Muchacho.
- Because usually presidents are heads of state and heads of government that are only heads of government are usually prime ministers or chancellors. Spain just had to be funny about it.
The extent to which some are willing to go for the sake of power…
- I'm not so sure this is so terrible. Preventing further Catalonian separatist sentiment would require some level of reconciliation, and this seems like a good first step. Having Puigdemont as some kind of martyr in Brussels is not a good look for Spain and has only really emboldened the pro-independence parties.
  This deal gives Sanchez an excellent angle to force some reconciliatory concessions from the separatists as well. It's basically killed any chance at a further referendum.
  
  Definitely
- Not criminalizing people who had a big ol' vote, the bedrock of any democracy. Truly horrifying!
- Yes, in 1977 they gave an amnesty to mass murderers and torturers. And PP still goes out of their way to defend their legacy. Can you imagine that?
- As an ignorant non-Spaniard, can anyone give a quick ELI5 why people are so strongly against the separatism that they show up with 100k+? I can't imagine getting terribly annoyed at regions wanting to leave my country? Unless it would be my own region, I suppose.
  
  It’s a bit of an aberration. It would be as if in America, the democrats had less senators than the republicans (but both sides short of a majority) and instead decided to ally themselves with American native parties to give them swaths of land and recognise their independence. It wouldn’t be “wrong” but it is a deeply cynical move. (Context, in their agreement with the Basque Country they are essentially giving more autonomy and allowing them to essentially have their own foreign policy, tantamount to recognising independence. Regarding Catalonia they not only supported the amnesty, but also a parliamentary debate on the possibility of checking if it’s constitutional to eventually think about doing a referendum on Catalonian independence) (also, they didn’t even secure a budget agreement, they just agreed to invest Sanchez as a prime minister, so they could fail every budget he tries to pass)
  Edit: clarified indigenous parties for American native parties
Spain shooting itself in the foot.

16 comments