A Deep Sigh of Relief, Although Nobody Won

The General Election brought a strange and frustrating result from the voters: in short, no one won. Briefly, the PP got the most seats, but even with the support of Vox, it wasn’t enough. If anyone could be said to have triumphed, perhaps, it was those who didn’t want a far-right presence in the government.

The PP won 136 seats (176 needed to win). They increased their vote handsomely from 89 deputies in 2019. Their potential partner – Vox – fell from last time’s 52 to just 33 seats – giving a combination for the right-wing of 169.

Not. Quite. There.

Maybe, says Feijóo, the PSOE will abstain, and let us govern.

What, without Vox, you mean? With just 136 seats out of 350?

The PSOE also increased its number of parliamentarians, if only by two. Their numbers now stand at 122. Their natural ally – they’re joined at the hip – is Sumar, bringing them a further 31.

Looked at one way, PSOE/Sumar is 153.

Also. Not. Enough.

Thus, one must rely on the ‘independents’. Again. That’s to say, ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, BNG, CCa and UPN.

The percentage of votes on Sunday was 70.4%. Of the sum of votes, the PP took 33% and the PSOE took 31.7% (the large disparity in deputies – 136 versus 122 – is down to the peculiar system used to adjudicate seats).

So now what?

Will the various regional minnows try to charge too high a price to allow Pedro Sánchez to return as president? Will there be fresh elections this autumn? Will Pedro Sánchez unaccountably allow Alberto Núñez Feijóo to be president with a minority government? Will the army take over (just kidding)?

The key to Pedro Sánchez returning to power is the necessary support (or at least, abstention) of Junts Per Catalunya, the party of exiled Carles Puigdemont now led by Míriam Nogueras. How expensive is that going to be? The most likely answer to that question is: another referendum for Catalonian independence. 

One final detail will be published on Friday - the Spaniards living abroad who voted. Will this change things? Possibly. 

The count-down begins, with the King inviting the parliamentary spokespeople to forward a candidate for president on August 21st, with the investiture in early September. Maybe.

No one wants another election, but what else is there? Maybe someone will blink first.

At the tepid victory party of the Partido Popular in their headquarters in Madrid, some voices were heard calling ‘Ayuso, Ayuso, Ayuso…’. How long can Feijóo last with the conservative’s secret and unstoppable weapon waiting impatiently in the aisles?  

Meanwhile, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union remains in Pedro Sánchez’ safe hands (no doubt, for the duration).  

 

Foreign Residents Bring Wealth to Spain Too

 

Tourism is doing well again – with around 12% of Spain’s GDP coming from that business. It provides jobs, and income and perhaps some pride for Spaniards in the many cultural, culinary and geographical offers this wonderful country can boast.

Mind you, most of them are here for the sun-burn, the evening boozing and the odd summer romance.

And the endless selfies which are then uploaded to Facebook.

It’s not that we particularly like tourists: the queues, the jibber-jabber, the crowded restaurant, the full parking-lot, the foreigner in the supermarket who is not wearing a tee-shirt and the other one being sick in the municipal gardens – it’s the knowledge that they’re spending lavishly and, better still, that they’ll be gone in a week or two.

Not that all of them spend wisely – some don’t even use our hotels, preferring to doss down with friends or family. Others come along in their camper-vans or maybe rent an apartment from a family who doesn’t even own a hotel.

Contrast this with Residential Tourism – with no promotion, no agency, no ministry, no budget and no wealthy hoteliers to defend it. This form of tourism (of course, it’s not tourism at all, it’s really homesteading) also has a high – if largely unknown – value for Spain. They buy an ice cream or a bottle of lotion or a china ornament. We buy a house and a car and white goods, and we shovel money into the outstretched hands of the lawyers, insurance agents, gestores, doctors and (above all) barmen – all year long.

A couple of years ago, there wasn’t much tourism, thanks to the dreadful pandemic. Maybe next time, it’ll be something as simple as a cheaper offer elsewhere, or a war, or a cholera outbreak, or new visa-requirements, or because Vox won the elections in Spain…

But you know something? We Residential Tourists will remain here and steadily grow in numbers, bringing Spain a massive and reliable income each year.

Perhaps one day somebody will notice.