Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The battle for Spain

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    As does the deputy leader of Podemos, who is also Iglesias's partner.

    Comment


      In the wake of revelations that his father parked at least a hundred million of dubious origin in Switzerland, the current King has "disowned" Juan Carlos (in practice, I think this means that he will not inherit any of the estate) and cut his state pension.

      Comment


        News which would otherwise have been huge here mostly buried by other events.

        Comment


          Catalan President Quim Torra has tested positive for coronavirus:

          https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20...n-directo.html

          Comment


            FT piece (which should be unlocked) on how the crisis appears to have deepened Spain's existing political divides.


            The government’s official slogan is “United, we will stop this virus”. But, as the death toll mounts and Madrid uses emergency powers to issue economic diktats, the politics of confrontation has returned with a vengeance. This week the principal opposition grouping, the centre-right People’s party, labelled prime minister Pedro Sánchez a liar and one PP regional leader even accused the government of issuing orders to hide the real death count.

            The far-right Vox — the third biggest force in congress — has called for Mr Sánchez’s resignation and replacement by a government of national unity. Meanwhile, the pro-independence administration of Catalonia upbraids the government for its alleged incompetence and parsimony on an almost daily basis. “Here, instead of closing ranks and looking for the maximum possible consensus, the politicians are opting for a bitter fight — lucha dura,” said Astrid Barrio, a politics professor at the University of Valencia. “I am not sure citizens are going to appreciate that when the obvious priority is the health emergency.”
            https://www.ft.com/content/4de48573-...d-9e72e05949f3

            Comment


              Vox could end up with one seat in the Basque parliament next week, from the province of Alava, a scenario which would even radicalise the PNV if it came to pass:

              Comment


                Basque results - see Bildu at record levels, and Vox enter. Meanwhile, in Galicia, the BNG achieve their best-ever result at the expense of Podemos.

                Comment


                  Have people seen this?

                  https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...geting-spyware

                  Worrying on many levels.

                  Comment


                    I'd imagine GCHQ are doing the same to Sturgeon, and probably to the Irish govt as well.

                    Comment


                      Juan Carlos goes into exile, as investigations into his financial transactions continue:

                      https://twitter.com/electo_mania/status/1290321103387271171/photo/2

                      Comment


                        Interesting that a location is not specified

                        Comment


                          The Dominican Republic has been mooted, due to its "bespoke" income tax regulations.

                          Comment


                            Wonder if the hurricane delayed arrangements

                            Comment


                              Bye bye

                              https://twitter.com/joanfaus/status/1290386622492672009?s=20

                              Comment


                                https://twitter.com/electo_mania/status/1290386823731085317

                                Podemos call for a "plurinational republic" (translation - a federal arrangement to help them recover their lost votes in Catalonia, Euskadi and Galicia), but as long as the Socialists remain wedded to the monarchy, a referendum is highly unlikely to happen.

                                Comment


                                  I have a number of questions about that post but they boil down to

                                  a, Don't they know what the aubergine means in the rest of the world?
                                  b, "the Socialists remain wedded to the monarchy" What?

                                  Comment


                                    Basically, the Socialist leadership remain committed to the mythology surrounding the Transition in the 1970s and the Constitution that resulted from same, as they fear tinkering with any of those elements could lead to the Basque Country and Catalonia breaking away - with the resultant castellano-speaking remnant more heavily favouring the PP and Vox. Also, they don't want the can of worms surrounding Felipe Gonzalez being examined if that era is being revisited.

                                    As for the aubergine, that is just a short-hand used by websites when electoral polls are officially banned - Podemos use purple, hence the aubergine, PP are blue, so are symbolised by water, the Socialists are represented by a strawberry and Ciudadanos by orange.

                                    Comment


                                      Portuguese TV reporting he has taken up residence in Cascais, where the Bourbons spent the early part of the Franco regime.

                                      Comment


                                        This article explains the situation pretty well:

                                        https://english.elpais.com/spanish_n...n-scandal.html


                                        "The news of the former king’s decision to leave Spain comes four months after Felipe VI announced on March 15 that he would renounce any future inheritance from his father that was connected with his foreign bank accounts. He also stripped Juan Carlos of his annual stipend of €194,232. Although King Felipe’s decision raised questions – an inheritance cannot be renounced until the benefactor has died – its meaning was clear: the king had broken ties with his father.

                                        Juan Carlos’ problem began in the summer of 2018 when Swiss police officers, sent by the prosecutor Yves Bertossa, searched the offices of Geneva-based fund manager Arturo Fasana. In that search, Bertossa found records of two foundations with Swiss bank accounts: the Zagatka foundation, run by ?lvaro de Oleans, a distant cousin of Juan Carlos, which paid for the private flights of the former monarch and his longtime friend Corinna Larsen; and the Panama-based foundation Lucum, which listed Juan Carlos I as the first beneficiary and Felipe VI as the second.

                                        When this news became public in March 2020, King Felipe renounced his father’s inheritance and said that Corinna Larsen had sent a letter to Zarzuela Palace a year ago informing him that he and his two sisters had been named as beneficiaries of the Lucum foundation. The Royal Household decided to report this situation to the Spanish government, and to go to a notary to reject any money from these accounts.

                                        The Swiss investigation revealed that on August 8, 2008, Arturo Fasana deposited $100 million (€64 million at the exchange rate of the time) into an account at the private bank Mirabaud. This money came from the finance minister of Saudi Arabia. Four years later, the funds were transferred by Juan Carlos, who was still Spain’s head of state (he did not abdicate until 2014), to a bank account in Nassau, in The Bahamas. The account in the bank Gonet & Cue was held by the company Solare, which is owned by Corinna Larsen. The Swiss prosecutor Bertossa froze the suspicious accounts and opened a secret money laundering investigation into those involved."


                                        Comment


                                          Originally posted by Diable Rouge View Post
                                          Basically, the Socialist leadership remain committed to the mythology surrounding the Transition in the 1970s and the Constitution that resulted from same.
                                          A Constitution which was a great idea in its day but which has since been used "descaradamente" by parties opposed to any kind of dialogue with people they consider enemies of the state (and status quo).

                                          Comment


                                            Online panels must always come with a health warning, but some interesting findings - 60% of respondents describe themselves as "republicans" and the same number favour a referendum on the head of state, with a republic favoured by 55% to 39% backing the monarchy.

                                            Comment


                                              It seems the Saudis were bankrolling Juan Carlos as far back as 1977.

                                              Comment


                                                Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                                Interesting that a location is not specified
                                                Juan Carlos used to be quite keen on the North York Moops

                                                Comment


                                                  Originally posted by Sporting View Post

                                                  A Constitution which was a great idea in its day but which has since been used "descaradamente" by parties opposed to any kind of dialogue with people they consider enemies of the state (and status quo).
                                                  Even though a number of surveys have shown a majority of Socialists to be republicans, Sanchez has written a letter declaring the Constitution to be unalterable, and that the monarchy is an integral part.

                                                  Comment


                                                    As a way of subtly disguising the fact that you've been accused of legging it with hundreds of millions of euros, hiring an entire floor at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi is novel.

                                                    Have a look at the place on youtube. It's literally made of gold.

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X