Football Victory & more – 24th Aug 2023

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 24th of August twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

The Spanish women's football team won the Women's World Cup on Sunday, the 20th, nabbing the title from England and winning the prize money. Many countries this year, however, have been arguing with organizer FIFA over the amount in the winner's prize pot, as FIFA is offering a total of $150 million dollars compared to the $440 million for the Men's World Cup last year.

While the Spanish team has made history, Luis Rubiales, the president of la Real Federación Española de Fútbol or Spanish Football Federation, cut the jubilation with a knife when he spontaneously planted a kiss on midfielder Jennifer Hermoso's mouth as a celebration during the trophy ceremony and also behaved inappropriately in the stands accompanying the King and Queen of Spain and Infanta Sofia. The media was quick to criticize. Later in a live video on social media, Jennifer told viewers that she didn't like it but that she had a good relationship with him, and it was a spontaneous mutual gesture of affection and joy.

For his part, Rubiales was furious about the backlash, telling viewers during an interview at Game Time not to "pay attention to the idiots and the stupid."

Regardless of the backstory, unfortunately, this supposed spontaneous moment has arguably overshadowed a historic moment for female Spanish football.

Pedro Sánchez describes Rubiales' gesture as "unacceptable" and believes that apologies "are not enough".The president argues that the Federation has to "continue taking steps" to clarify a behavior that "does not connect with the majority of citizens".

Jennifer Hermoso asked through her union "exemplary measures" against the conduct of Rubiales. The Spanish national team player broke her silence: she designated the Futpro union as her interlocutor, calling for Rubiales' actions "not to go unpunished".

However, many football fans are focused on the positives of the momentous victory. When the team arrived back in Madrid at midnight on Monday the 21st, they were met with thousands of adoring fans at the Parque Madrid Río.

Olga Carmona, who tragically lost her father the same day as winning the World Cup, told fans, "Yesterday was the best day of my life, and then it turned into the worst," expressing her gratitude to the fans and her late father who was an avid supporter of the Sevillian football player.

On Tuesday the 22nd, Spain’s king tasked conservative party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo with trying to form a government that can win a majority in parliament. As no candidate won an outright majority or had a clear path to a coalition government, King Felipe said he would follow convention and give the candidate of the party that secured the most votes a first shot.

Feijóo’s efforts are likely doomed. Even with the backing of the far-right Vox Party, Feijóo isn’t expected to be able to overcome the opposition of a majority of Spain’s MPs.

It’s now up to the parliament president to fix a date for a vote on Feijóo’s candidacy. Once that first attempt at forming a government likely fails, a two-month timer starts ticking during which other party leaders, including current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, will try to form a government coalition. Sánchez will need to secure the votes of almost all the seven Catalan pro-independence Junts MPs.

If no candidate secures sufficient votes, a new election will be scheduled for forty-seven days later. To ensure the hypothetical electoral rerun doesn’t fall on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, that first investiture vote will have to happen either on the 31st of August or not before the 20th of September.

When asked about one of Junts’ key demands to back a government — an amnesty for all those involved in organizing the unconstitutional twenty seventeen independence referendum — Sánchez said he was in favor of continuing down the path of “dialogue” and “coexistence.” While Sánchez’s government previously argued that a general amnesty law would be unconstitutional, on Tuesday, Sánchez said the legality of such a step would be up for the constitutional court to decide on.

Speaking of Pedro Sánchez, he is seeking recognition for the Basque, Catalan, and Galician languages in Brussels. This move is intended to rally the parties' backing and appease Catalan separatists since he needs Junts’ support. To gain it, Sanchez agreed to allow the use of Catalan in Congress and advocated for its recognition as an official language within the EU.

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont says he expects things to move quickly, allowing Sánchez to demonstrate commitment to his promises before further negotiations with the Junts party.

While the presidency is up in the air, many areas struggle with devastating fires.

Tenerife, the largest Canary Island, is being enveloped by a ravenous fire, which the Island's council has described as Spain's worst fire of the year. Since Tuesday the 15th, it has spread quickly because of the Islands' vegetation.

According to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, eleven municipalities have already been affected. Over 13,000 hectares, covering around 6% of the Island's total area, were on fire.

Speaking of dwindling territory, Gloria Rojas Ruiz, the PSOE general secretary in Melilla, has rejected a move by the Moroccan Embassy in Madrid to include Ceuta and Melilla in a map of Morocco.

For context, both autonomous communities are geographically based in Morocco but have been under Spanish territory since sixteen sixty-eight, under The Treaty of Lisbon. Their official language is Spanish, and their currency is the euro.

Many officials in Melila have denounced the move of the Maghreb diplomatic, calling it an attack on the "territorial integrity of the Spanish nation" and demanding the embassy remove the two Spanish cities.

Moving on, the UK Government and Spanish authorities are reminding British nationals living in Spain to change their driving licenses before the 15th of September.

As part of the (Thanks to the Tories in the UK) failed Brexit negotiations, British nationals who want to drive in Spain while living there must exchange their UK-issued licenses for Spanish ones. This is the third time deadlines for exchanging have been extended, and it's likely to be the last, as the Spanish authorities say people have had more than enough time to heed warnings.

Speaking of foreigners, some neighboring European countries find Spain a budget-friendly Summer destination. This is especially true for young Brits who can access inexpensive flights, affordable accommodations, and experience their first holiday away from mom and dad.

According to a report by the European Commission, Spain's summer getaway holds significance for many, contributing about 10% to the nation's annual GDP, with a substantial portion from British tourists. Over eighteen million Brits visited Spain in twenty nineteen.

Yet, tension brews as locals in Magaluf Mallorca grow increasingly fed up with young foreign visitors seeking low-cost drinks, activities, and food. This discord isn't confined to islands; Barcelona and Madrid also see increased bad behavior because of budget flights.

Attempts are being made to transform places like Magaluf by limiting open bars, reducing booze cruises, and building luxury hotels. Still, the outlandish behavior is set to continue this summer.

If you prefer learning about the culture and history of a place before you visit, the BBC has released country profiles of Spain and Catalunya this week as part of its country profiles guides project by BBC Monitoring. They contain key historical events, cultural traditions, and key facts for a quick overview.

Want to know more? Links to the Spanish and Catalan profiles are in the show notes.

Get your bike shorts on because the annual bicycle race, Vuelta a España, is coming to Barcelona on Saturday, the 26th, finishing in the country's capital on the 17th of September, covering a distance of three thousand km or nineteen hundred miles.

Belgian-borne cyclist Remco Evene-poel is a top favorite after winning the one-day Clásica de San Sebastián race in Northern Spain in July.

Another firm favorite is the Barcelona cyclist Juan Ayuso Pesquera, who rides for the UCI World Team UAE Team Emirates. In last year's Vuelta edition, he finished third on the podium at age nineteen.

If you want to follow the Tour de Vuelta route. Link in show notes.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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¡Hasta la próxima!