Spain MIGHT have a Government this week

We return to the world of politics this week in Spain, as it is possible, though improbable, that the political impasse will be resolved, and a government will be formed. As is always the case when there is doubt, the right says that they will win, as do the left, but the reason this week is important is it marks the end of the period when PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has been out gathering support for the parliamentary vote that would see him elected as the next President of the Government of Spain, after he won the public vote.

The problem is, after a month of trying to increase his support, there has been no change made publicly, in fact not a single additional supporter declared, nor has he made any statements on policy, so it looks like, as many people are now pointing out, it has just been a waste of a month of time. Moreover, the PP has started another political battle with their far-right partners over the use of languages by politicians, now approved in the Senate, and which resulted in VOX walking out of parliament last week. Neither the PP, nor VOX, supported the motion, but it was approved none the less.

How the situation will present itself this week is that on Tuesday there will be a debate, in which Feijóo will present his case for forming the government, which will then be voted on by members on Wednesday, and a subsequent vote on Friday.

Should that fail, as predicted, the PSOE leader and caretaker President, Pedro Sánchez, could be given the opportunity to try his hand at forming a government, although he too has seemingly not obtained the support he might need. The third option, therefore, being another general election, for which the 14th of January had already been pencilled in, so the result would then be 6 months without a fully functioning government.

Sticking with Spain, albeit locally, there was predicted chaos at Alicante Elche Miguel Hernadez airport at the end of last week due to the strike by security staff. Those strikes are already planned to continue on Tuesday this week, and again on Friday and Saturday. If you are travelling on those days, make sure you allow plenty of extra time.

In the business and financial sector, the week begins in Spain with the publication of industrial prices for August and corporate turnover for July by the Institute of National Statistics (INE). The Bank of Spain will make public the data on doubtful loans for July, the data on loans and deposits for the second quarter and the main business indicators, also for the second quarter. Outside our borders, the German Ifo and the Dallas Fed business index, both from September, will be the main references.

For the rest of the week, the INE will also be reporting on the Business Turnover Index, Resident Tourism Survey, Mortgage Statistics, as well as conviction statistics for adults and minors in 2022, the survey on care centres and services for homeless people, and the salary of people with disabilities, amongst others.

In the UK, convicted child killer Lucy Letby will be back in the news on Monday as the case returns to the limelight as the Crown Prosecution service decides whether to seek a retrial on six counts of attempted murder.

After the farce last week of Rishi Sunak claiming to cancel environmental policies which were never policies in the first place, climate change will be highlighted this week, when the International Energy Agency updates the roadmap on Net Zero emissions on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, the RSPB, in association with DEFRA and a coalition of wildlife and research organisations, publishes its State of Nature report, which acts as a health check on UK wildlife. But, on the plus side, the single use plastic ban enters into force on Sunday in England, so “every little helps”.

There is a lot going on this week, with space and time our only limit, but if you receive this weekly update by podcast, you’ll be pleased to know that Saturday is World Podcast Day, so you are already playing your part in celebrating. If you don’t subscribe and want to, just search for “SpanishVida podcast”.

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