PP’s Advantage over PSOE on General Election Says Opinion Poll & more –22nd June 2023

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 22nd June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

Just over a month to go until July's general election, and June's barometer results for the 40dB opinion poll for El Pais and Cadena Sur are in.

Looking at the results, the right-leaning People's Popular Party, or PP, has the advantage over the left-leaning Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, or PSOE, currently in Government. As it looks right now, the PP would win the elections with an estimated 33% advantage and 136 seats. However, it wouldn't be enough for a ruling majority, so they would probably need to form a government with the far-right-leaning party VOX which would give them 174 seats, two seats less than the absolute majority, but it would push them further.

That's if PP candidates agree to align with Vox, as the Popular candidate from Extremadura, María Guardiola, has warned again that she will not govern with the ultra-right party Vox after negotiations broke down.

After last month's 28M regional and local elections, the PP needs support from Vox to form a majority regional government in Valencia, Extremadura, and Seville, as they didn't win by absolute majority. An agreement with Valencia was reached on Tuesday the 13th, but in Extremadura, things are looking more challenging.

Even before the local elections, Guardiola continuously expressed that she "cannot let into government those who deny sexist violence, dehumanize immigrants, and throw an LGTBI flag in the trash" to govern in the region. For some context, Vox identifies itself as a more far-right-wing alternative to the PP, which it split from in twenty thirteen, and if a consensus can't be made, then most likely, another local election will be called.

While the PP advances forward, it seems the PSOE leader and current president of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, is backtracking, specifically on his government's laws.

In an interview with radio network Onda Cero, he said he considers that Irene Montero, the Minister of Equality, has held speeches over the years that could have made some men uncomfortable, particularly those between forty and fifty. When questioned about the "Only Yes is Yes Law," he told viewers that he assumes responsibility for the mistakes made by implementing this law after thousands of sentences were lowered for convicted sex offenders. He also expressed that after realizing his mistake, his government asked to reform it, which has continued to cause conflict between the coalition government.

After this week's election predictions more in favor of the PP, Sánchez was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he responded that he wants it to be known that these last few years have been difficult and turbulent, citing Covid, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent inflation. Expressing that he wants to be remembered for governing by showing face, not ignoring challenges and mistakes.

As we mentioned last week, inflation was down in May at around 3% compared to April's 4%. Regardless, according to the news outlet veinte minutos, food prices remain one of the biggest headaches for Spanish households.

On average, food baskets in May twenty twenty-three cost around 12% more than the same month in twenty twenty-two. However, not all groceries have contributed equally to these rising costs, as some products are arguably more inflated, like meat, fish, milk, cheese, and eggs. If we break the statistics down, meat and fish are the biggest culprits, mainly because they now carry a 10% VAT charge per item and weren't included in the VAT cuts on basic items approved by the government led by Sanchez.

While inflation is down, Spain's GDP is apparently very close to recovering pre-pandemic levels, according to recent statistics by the National Statistics Institute, which the Bank of Spain confirmed with updated forecasts this week.

Product exportation, employment, and the relaxation of energy prices are some of the main reasons for the improvements. Still, despite the positive forecast, experts are concerned that a restricted monetary policy could affect borrowing and lending, as Small and medium-sized enterprises and the manufacturing sector, in particular, find it increasingly difficult to get credit.

On the topic of Sanchez or, more specifically, Sanchismo, coined by the PP and picked up by news outlets, many experts say this could be the most polarized political election in Spanish history.

"The repeal of Sanchismo" and "choosing between Sánchez and Spain," as coined by the PP, is strongly setting the stage for polarization. While this is a useful political tool, political scientists are concerned it is harmful to the effectiveness of democracy, as people start to focus on the head of each party rather than that party's ideologies. As the 4OdB barometer points out, people surveyed cited "to end Sanchismo" as one of the main reasons to vote for the PP.

Now for a little ¡AI, caramba! as Spain sets its sights on being the EU's AI industry leader.

Once it assumes its six-month EU presidency at the beginning of July, Spain is set to establish the EU's first "AI sandbox." This will be a forum where developers are invited to work alongside regulators to ensure AI chatbots like ChatGPT are trustworthy and follow strict EU regulations, which are still being developed, giving companies the confidence to invest in AI systems.

Did you know that Spain is also one of only a few countries worldwide to have a dedicated minister for AI? The United Arab Emirates was the first in twenty seventeen, and Spain followed suit in twenty twenty, hiring Carme Artigas, a former AI entrepreneur.

Want to know more about AI in Spain? Link in show notes.

The end of the school year is coming to a close, and the summer season is about to begin. However, parents of students in Barcelona demand changes before school returns in September.

On Wednesday the 21st, parents, part of family associations and local schools, decided to cut off access to Barcelona's Meridiana Avenue (a major road providing access to three districts in the city) to demand that the Department of Education and City Council install aircon in classrooms, amid the summer heat. L'Escola La Llacuna del Poblenou tweeted highs of 28°C or 82.4°F inside classrooms in early June, reminding the Department of Education that studying in these temperatures is prohibited under the Royal Decree-Law.

If you want to cool off this summer by heading to the beach, be careful where you decide to go.

Several coastal towns in Spain offer picturesque landscapes, including mountains, cliffs, and expansive beaches. However, a recent report by Ecologists in Action reveals that forty-eight beaches across the peninsula and islands have received black flags due to their failure to meet sanitary and environmental standards.

These black flags are awarded to beaches with issues such as improper waste disposal, inadequate sanitation systems, and significant pollution problems caused by chemicals, light, marine debris, and noise from coastal urbanization. The rating system also considers the controversial problem of dog walking and dog litter, as some owners neglect to clean up after their pets, potentially causing harm to beach wildlife and marine life.

Wanna know which beaches have been awarded black flags and why? Link in the show notes..

Using technology for good and protecting our environment is something we are passionate about here at Rorshok, so this next story is an interesting one.

As the weather heats up, huge summer music festivals start. In Catalunya’s capital, one of the biggest is Cruïlla, meaning "crossroads" in Catalan, where a diverse range of acts come to play yearly.

Things will be slightly different this year, however. On Friday the 16th, festival organizers and utilities company Endesa announced that Endesa would supply 100% renewable energy to fuel the party, eliminating around 36,000 kg of CO2 and the consumption of around 13,000 liters of diesel. If it pulls it off, organizers say it will be the first national-level festival to fuel its outgoings solely with renewable energy.

Speaking of the summer season, in Spain, officially, the summer starts on the 25th of June, when the Summer Solstice is marked across the peninsula with fireworks, traditional food, and beach parties.

Across the regions, the 25th is called and celebrated slightly differently. Sant Joan in Barcelona is celebrated with fire or foc in Catalan, and firecrackers, or Petards. In Galicia, roasting sardines or sardiñadas waft down the streets of A Coruña with huge bonfires at midnight to bring in the summer. On the Canary Island of Tenerife, concerts and fireworks are common, and local goat herders traditionally bring their flock of goats to the sea as the sun rises to purify their animals.

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

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¡Hasta la próxima!