SPAIN: Argentine Conflict & more – 23rd May 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 23rd of May twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

Starting off this week, on Monday the 20th, Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, intensified the tense diplomatic situation with Spain by calling Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a coward during an interview with TV channel Todo Noticias.

Milei’s remarks criticizing Sánchez stem from an exchange of insults last week between the Argentine president and José Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister.

On Sunday the 19th, Milei also spoke at a rally organized by the far-right party Vox, where he allegedly called out Sánchez and his wife’s behavior without naming them directly. He accused Sánchez of using women ministers to attack his character, referring to Sumar leader Yolanda Diaz’s comments against Milei. He also compared Sanchez’s political actions to Kirchnerism, suggesting a coordinated effort and alliance between Spanish and Argentine political groups, and accused Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, of corruption.

Milei said that since he didn’t mention Sanchez or his wife’s name, simply their crimes, they must have a guilty conscience if they knew his comments were about them.

In response to Milei’s comments, the Spanish government consulted with María Jesús Alonso, the Spanish ambassador in Argentina, and has made it clear that it has no interest in escalating the diplomatic situation.

Despite the Argentinian president's accusations, the Civil Guard's Central Operational Unit, or UCO, has found no evidence of influence peddling by Begoña Gómez.

The investigation focused on Gómez’s alleged involvement in public aid to private companies, including a 475 million-euro rescue for Air Europa, Spain's third-largest airline. The UCO report concluded that there were no links between Gómez and these operations, and that she hadn’t received public subsidies.

With a few significant elections over, Spain's next important vote will be the European Parliamentary elections on the 9th of June. The Spanish public will vote to decide which Spanish politicians will sit on the European Parliament. Spain is allocated sixty-one out of 720 seats in the parliament.

But how many seats are predicted to be taken by each Spanish party? A recent poll conducted by media outlet El País revealed that The People's Party could secure twenty-three seats, up from thirteen. The People’s Party’s main rival, the Socialist Party or PSOE, is predicted to remain steady with twenty seats, slightly down from twenty-one.

Vox is predicted to end up in third place with eight seats, with the left-leaning parties Sumar and Podemos wrapping up the last few spots.

The European Parliament voting outcome is harder to predict than domestic elections, but most polls suggest that voter loyalty remains highest with the Popular Party or PP.

Speaking of European elections, Sumar has launched its European campaign emphasizing the mobilization of progressive citizens and the need to distance itself from the Socialist Party.

Sumar is part of Sánchez’s third government, which is a coalition government between the PSOE majority, and the minority Sumar, which was founded in March twenty twenty-two by Yolanda Diaz.

Sumar criticized the PSOE for not taking enough legislative action since being re-elected and for having two faces where they collaborate domestically with the liberals but with the conservative People’s Party in Europe. Sumar’s campaign highlights defending progressive government policies against the rise of the far right.

In other news, on Tuesday the 21st, the Spanish Government approved a reform of the unemployment subsidy system and the annulment of automatic dismissal due to sudden disability.

The new subsidy reform will protect the welfare of those suddenly deemed disabled, either through injury, ailment, or other conditions, by increasing aid amounts and duration. The reforms extend eligibility to people under forty-five without family responsibilities and force companies to make reasonable adjustments before automatically firing someone who has to cope with a sudden disability.

This change marks the first step in a broader reform of Spain's dismissal system to ensure compliance with the European Social Charter.

Moving on, Spain and Albania have increased their cooperation against transnational organized crime, particularly in drug and human trafficking and money laundering investigations.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, and Taulant Balla, the Albanian Minister of Interior, signed an agreement in Madrid this week to reinforce these efforts. This builds on a twenty twenty-two agreement between Pedro Sánchez and Edi Rama, Albania’s Prime Minister, which established a joint investigation team.

Now, an update on a story we covered in previous shows. On Wednesday, the 22nd, Sanchez announced that, in a coordinated effort with Norway and Ireland, Spain will officially recognize the Palestine State during the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday, the 28th. Spain and Ireland had planned to announce their allied decision on Tuesday the 21st, but they decided to wait until Norway could join.

Predictably, Israel isn't pleased with this news and has summoned the ambassadors from the three countries for consultations.

A two-state solution aims to provide Palestine and Israel with legitimate statehood. However, on the ground, many reporters say it won't change much in the short term for those caught in the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Up next, consumerism wins, as a recent study by the Barcelona City Council found an upward preference towards Sunday shopping, despite ongoing debates about work-life balance and tourism demands.

The study found that 25% of businesses in Barcelona are open on Sundays and over 23% are open every day.

The current model in Catalunya allows small businesses to open daily, and tourist hubs have extended opening periods. Business owners are divided on the issue, with food stores and leisure sectors showing the highest support for Sunday openings.

On another note, from Tuesday the 21st, the price of a standard butane gas cylinder in Spain will decrease to just under sixteen euros, down by fifty-three cents from the previous pricing. This follows three consecutive bi-monthly price increases.

The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition approved this price drop, which reflects typical seasonal trends with lower prices in spring and summer.

For a more royal affair, on Tuesday the 21st, Princess Leonor received the Medal of the Cortes of Aragón in Zaragoza, marking her growing public role.

Leonor accepted the medal from regional authorities and the Defense Minister at the Aljafería Palace. The princess expressed gratitude and highlighted her connection to Aragon's history. She was also named an adopted daughter of Zaragoza and will receive the Gold Medal of Aragón, an honor her father, King Felipe VI, received in the nineteen eightees.

Turning to sports, on Saturday, the 18th, Spain won against England with a 4-0 victory in the Women's Under-17 European Championship final, securing their fifth title.

Spain gave the semi-final rival France a thrashing, with a 6-1 win on their way to the ultimate prize.

Spain’s football legacy has always been strong, but the support, funding, and interest are now starting to pick up in both their youth and women's teams.

Finally, an excavation at the Iron Age hillfort of Tossal de Baltarga in the Eastern Pyrenees revealed a farmhouse potentially destroyed by Carthaginian leader Hannibal in the late third century B.C.

Oriol Olesti Vila, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said this site might mark one of Hannibal's battles with local tribes. Archaeologists found an iron pickaxe, a gold earring in a pot, and the bones of many deceased animals.

The evidence indicates the locals anticipated an enemy attack, but ultimately, a Roman garrison would occupy the site.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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¡Hasta la próxima!