TRUCKERS STRIKE: got off to a slow start, compared to last time. There was a demonstration in Madrid this morning and some slow moving traffic, depending on where you looked, but no picket lines or major blockages at ports or distribution centres like last time. At least not yet. One report of seven lorries burning in a town in Cantabria, but not clear if itās related to the new strike.
VOX JOINS IN: Vox and its trade union, Solidaridad, have already taken advantage of the truckers on the first day at the march in Madrid to put out a video calling on SƔnchez to resign and to call elections.
SEDITION REFORM NOT ENOUGH: Catalan First Minister Pere AragonĆØs (Esquerra, separatist) told a radio show this morning that SĆ”nchez's sedition reform is not enough! They want more. What do they want? A full bore amnesty for all of the 2017 crimes and, of course, a referendum on the independence of Catalonia from Spain, which is how this thing all started and which is still as constitutionally impossible as before.
NO VOX NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION: Abascal tweeted just one word the other night, āTraitorā, when SĆ”nchez announced he was bringing sedition reform to parliament, but Abascalās political courage for stopping the treachery at his big Monday press conference amounted toā¦asking the parliament to stop the bill going through and asking the Popular Party to table a motion of no-confidence.
HOW MANY MOTIONS CAN THEY DO? For those who donāt know how this works, there are four years in each parliament but two āperiods of sessionsā in each parliamentary year. A motion of no-confidence can be tabled by at least 10% of MPs once each period. So in theory, the same group of MPs could table a no-confidence every six months or so throughout the parliament if they wanted to. And then you could have several groups of MPs. No reason why Vox could not table another one now.
PP PROPOSES NEW VOTING CRIME: FeijĆ³o has said today that Spanish conservatives would not only keep sedition in the criminal code as it stands but also introduce, āin defence of Spainā, a new crime of calling or holding an illegal referendum on the independence of any of Spainās regions. āIt is unjustifiable despotism in a consolidated democracy for those who carried out the sedition to manage to get their own crime repealed with the complicity of the Prime Minsiter", tweeted the party.
COWARDS: Ciudadanos, with only 9 MPs left in parliament, and which called for a motion of no-confidence the other day, today criticised the PP and Vox: āItās no time for cowardiceā. āFeijĆ³o doesnāt dare to table a motion of no confidence, heās only thinking about wearing SĆ”nchez downā, said party spokesman Edmundo Bal: ānot in the good and future of Spainā. With 9 MPs, Ciudadanos canāt table the motion by itself.
POLITICIANS STEALING MONEY REFORM: the SĆ”nchez government is also open to reforming the crime of politicians misusing public funds. When? Now. āDuring the passage of the sedition reform, we can look at modifying the crime of misuse of public fundsā, said senior minister Felix BolaƱos during a radio interview on Monday. That would help the Catalan separatists a lot, as well as the former socialist first minister of Andalusia who has just been sent to jail forā¦misusing public funds while in office.
NO SEDITIONā¦LETāS TRY REBELLION: more reports appeared over the weekend suggesting Supreme Court prosecutors might try to make things worse for Puigdemont and the other separatist fugitivies if SĆ”nchez reforms sedition in parliamentā¦by sending him to trial for rebellion instead. Their reasoning is that the reformed version of sedition would no longer fit the facts from 2017. Rebellion carries a maximum jail sentence of 30 years.
MINISTER TO BE CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR: Reyes Maroto (PSOE), the current Industry Minister, will run for Mayor of Madrid next year against Almeida (PP) for control of the Spanish capital. Reports say she will leave the government in April for the campaign.
ANOTHER TRIP FOR SĆNCHEZ: He is in Bali, says the PMās office, for the G20 meeting. He is promoting āa more sustainable, fair, equal and inclusive futureā.
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