Spanish State elections 2007 "votes & not votes"

international | politics / elections | news report

Monday May 28, 2007 16:30

by iosaf

barcelona - catalunya - EU

Yesterday Sunday 27th of May voters in the Spanish state were called to elect their councils, municipal governments and in 13 of the 17 autonomous regions to elect their regional administrations.
As such the results which became available last night offer a clear indication for the political future in key areas such as the Basque and Navarra, the cities of Barcelona and Madrid & of course the hopes the Zapatero administration have for winning the next general election.

This is a brief summary of the results with attention to the concerns of Spanish state citizens who live in Ireland.

The PP won more votes on an overall basis. They thus claim to have won the election.

Barcelona and Catalunya saw the highest recorded abstention in history, in the city of Bcn only 48.5% of those entitled to vote did so. The abstentionists thus claim to have won the election. Two smaller entities the "suspected of sheltering the neo-falange and tabling an anti-Catalan-nationalist" Citizens party logged only 2.3% of votes cast in Catalnuya and 3.8% in the city of Barcelona had thus failed to see any members elected. thus the unwelcome new comers were destroyed The smaller CUP (Catalan aglomeration of outright independence parties) did quite well in the mountains and valleys and thus looks forward to consolidating its emergence with 20 councillors.

The PSOE (Zapatero) were unsurprisingly trounced in both Madrid's council and regional government elections by the right wing PP, the other fascistic stronghold Valencia also returned the PP. However, counting on junior partners from the left and regionalist or nationalist parties will mean the PSOE actually control more municipal and regional administrations than before. The PSOE thus claim to have won the election.

In the Basque region, the party known as Batasuna have been for several months campaigning to see their various new formations and resurrected party names get through the legal ban on their representation. They had formulated a new position calling for the union of Navarra and the Basque country which are at present under the Spanish state constitution two seperate regional autonomous governments. The pro-PP party of Spanish unity the UPN lost its control of Navarra being replaced by a moderate nationalist party closer to the wish list of both Lehendakari and the radical indepedence factions of Basque nationalism - but it seems certain the PSOE will rule Navarra.

In total the ANV (party resurrected by Batasuna) won 439 council seats with 0.43% of the vote (calculated on spanish state basis) with those candidates who managed to get passed illegalisation.

The government won this election.
Everyone naturally claiming to have won this election.
Analysis and detailed results will follow but for the moment the electoral map has not really changed since either the last municipal elections in 2003 or the general elections in 2004.
Madrid and Valencia are still PP and the PP is still the largest party in the state. The PSOE still get more for their votes and any general election would as in 2004 be on a knife edge and depend on junior partner support. Most of Barcelona still doesn't give a toss about voting and the alliance of parties that run the place are still unchanged. The radical Basques independence party have succeeded in finding a legalised and institutionalised voice though admittedly it's much smaller than it would have been if all their candidates had been allowed or votes approved.

The PP and its far right allies failed to hold Navarra and their strategy of confrontation with fringe nationalism on the peninsula as well as in the Canary island archipelago has failed to bring them more power or support. Of course they still hold their bastions of Madrid and Valencia.....but so what?

The low turn-out in Catalonia and Barcelona delegitimses the process and ought serve as a reminder to the largest parties as well as the smaller entities that their jobs are still reliant on a very large section of the population who are consistent in their abstention - should they be provoked again as in 2004 they will surely hold the balance of power. At this stage it seems very unlikely that Zapatero will not be returned to a second term or the nascent Basque peace process not now move to its long awaited next stage of "the Navarra question".

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Comments (2 of 2)

the Navarra Question & "things get interesting" as BCN mayor loses his majority

Wed May 30, 2007 16:38

ANV (the party which was resurrected by Batasuna to compete the elections last Sunday) hsa become the third largest party in the Basque country but the Basque Socialists (members of Zapatero's PSOE) won't pact administrations with them. Thus the largest party in the Basque the centre-right moderate naitonalist PNV (of the Lehandkari) look set to control an awful lot more of the place than they did before.
Pamplona is the capital of Navarra, it's a city which though historically the cradle of all things Basque is no longer Basque speaking and for many the whole Navarra "annexation" wish of Basque nationalists or independence parties is irrenditist. But the ANV have the deciding vote and the "Na Bai" party who are leftwing and did very well in these last elections have asked them to make a statement "condemning violence" for their votes to form an administration. The sticky problem of radical nationalists on the SF side of things who nobody wants in a coalition but all of a sudden nobody can afford to ignore - may also be seen at Navarra's regional level.
The UPN are the right wing PP's local outfit in Navarra. They are completely opposed to any increase in "basque-ness" or any attempt to reunify the 2 Spanish regions which are the traditional Euskal Herria. But with their 23 seats they may still be big - but they've no friends anymore. Yet Zapatero can't sail home because his local PSN don't have enough seats and would have to pact with the "Na Bai" and far left IU or......... join with the PP in a German style "grand coalition". That would be a bit like if in Ireland an election left your maths so weird that to avoid SF or the PD's we found Bertie and Enda in cabinet together.
http://www.efe.com/multimedia/ampliacion.asp?&opcion=0&...PANOL

Lastly in Barcelona the city of abstention and housing crises, the headquarters of the housing campaign and "pirate univerity" Miles de Viviendas was evicted at the order of the mayor elect Jordi Herreu yesterday morning (c/f background http://www.indymedia.org/es/2007/05/886474.shtml http://indymedia.ie/article/82327 ) This led to an awful lot of sympathetic coverage in media and naturally political fall out as this morning local rent and mortgage families in that neighbourhood learnt they themselves were scheduled for eviction.
So it is not surprising that Jordi Portabella the leader of the ERC (Catalan independence republican party) who had ruled with the Socialists and Greens on the council has announced his party are leaving the tripartite.

Thus the mayor no-one voted for can now look forward to a minority administration. The peculiarities of Spanish elections are the list system. If you don't like the leader of a party such as that racist who used to do the PD's - you can not simply get rid of them without getting rid of the whole party. Herreu couldn't be destroyed by the democratic process at voting level - but the Barcelona council chamber ought now see this most disagreeable mayor replaced for a politician of better calibre and sensitivity as soon as his minority administration lose a vote.
http://www.lavanguardia.es/gen/20070530/51356511082/not....html

Finally Zapatero would win a general election if held tomorrow according to the latest opinion polls which show that since last Sunday's election he has in fact gained 3% in overall support and is now the most valued leader.

When Navarra's regional administration is agreed along with the city council of Pamplona and it is finalised which coalitions will be formed to take "the peace process" up to its next stage I'll append the next update.

ETA have ended their ceasefire.

Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:07

IT began officially between March 22nd and 24th of 2007. It was their 9th such declaration & the first to include the word "permanent". It saw two people killed when Madrid airport was bombed last Christmas which for many people was the end - for others it was a lapse and a sign that renewed effort was needed.

Well now they're back. Last week they sent out lots of their usual extorsion messages seeking 150,000 euros from business interests in the Basque and Navarra & yesterday they communicated to the independence newspaper "Berria" that they're going back to bombing, killing, maiming, extorting and so on - "coz they like it". The elections (reported above) were "anti-democratic" and Zapatero's talent is "fascism" and Euskal Herria needs to be defended by them from tourists like you.

This probably means there will be a big bomb to demonstrate their spectacular capability to intimidate.
It may be a train. It may be a bus. It may be a plane. It may be a supermarket. It may be carpark.

One thing is clear though - if anyone dies when the terrorist group does it thing - it won't be their fault. It never has been. Innocent people just get in the way. But people will want to blame someone. So... It will be your fault. Especially if you're Spanish or know anyone who is Spanish. Many of you being Irish will think you're not sufficiently Spanish to be blamed. Ah!!! you're catholic. Feel Guilty. You will soon have blood on your hands......... all over again.

link english
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6721305.stm
coverage Spanish with links to Zapatero statement of the last half hour-
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/ETA/da/finalizado...2/Tes

midnight tonight ETA returns.

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Spanish State elections 2007 "votes & not votes"

Comments (2 of 2)