Spain Notes, Sept 28: politics + inflation + stabbing

1/ After writing “The Transition was grandad’s dream” yesterday, I happened to pick up a copy of Ortega y Gasset’s Invertebrate Spain (1921) in the evening and found this: “People don’t live together just like that without a reason: that cohesion, a priori, only exists in the family. The groups that make up a state live together for some thing, in a community of aims, of wishes, of great purposes. They do not live together to be together but to do some thing together […] the day Rome stopped being that project of things to do tomorrow, the empire fell apart […] nations are formed and exist when they have a programme for tomorrow”.

2/ ABC and El Mundo both think there is something to be said about the conservative Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and radical far-left separatist Bildu during the debate: Feijóo showed “exemplary” firmeness (ABC) with Bildu on the ETA question, which thus holds up a mirror for the PNV to ask itself what it’s doing there. A “weakened” PNV (El Mundo) is going through a “notable crisis”, with a contrast between its traditional conservative electorate and its support for Sánchez and Ortuzar’s visit to Puigdemont in Waterloo.

3/ El País writes that the PP has now firmly framed itself as a partner of the far-right, after months of trying not to be seen or photogrpahed with Abascal: “Feijóo’s adhesion to the 33 Vox MPs prevents the conservative leader from making any approach to any of the nationalist Basque or Catalan groups”.

4/ PNV spokesman Aitor Esteban wondered yesterday in parliament: “is it right for party of state to launch a harangue against half the population of the country?”, before concluding that “if, as Mrs. Gamarra [PP spokeswoman] says, we have to choose between Feijóo and the amnesty, well, we’ll choose the amnesty”. And they did.

5/ Sánchez highlighted the “rhetorical complicity” between PP and Vox leaders during the “failed confidence debate”, seeing it as more proof of how correct his hopeful European frame for the election campaign was: Spanish voters, on the whole, rejected the advance of the far-right. “They are no longer trying to hide it”, said the PM, adding that Vox was “acting like a leech” on the PP.

6/ El País reported the plan on the other side is to try to reappoint Sánchez as PM in October, with the amnesty a done deal with Puigdemont. Is it possible in four weeks or will it all come apart in a big mess?

7/ Inflation is going back up in Spain. Having dipped as low as 1.9% just before the summer, it has now almost doubled to 3.5%. Rises in olive oil in the supermarket and petrol at the pump have been noticeable again recently.

8/ In Spanish football corruption news, a judge wants to talk to Barça formally about bribery in the Negreira refereeing case. In the same case, the Civil Guard economic crimes unit today searched the offices of the Spanish FA in Madrid, looking for documents related to refereeing certifications.

9/ Some parts of a new animal welfare law start to come into effect in Spain tomorrow: no tying Rover up outside the supermarket if you pop in for milk, you will need dog insurance, do a dog training course, not leave pets home alone for very long, not leave them out on balconies or shut up in basements, etc. Some of the details are confusing because the interim government hasn’t been able to finish implementing the legislation properly.

10/ In a very unusual incident for Spain, an angry teenage pupil at the Elena García Armada high school in Jerez (Andalusia) stabbed three teachers and two other pupils early on Thursday morning, prompting a police response and the evacuation of the classrooms. One of the teachers was stabbed in the eye. The boy has been arrested.

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