A 14th century Arab thinker developed a theory about group cooperation and identity in the face of an external threat, which we need to revisit in the Trump era
Excellent piece, very apt, but I think you're being a bit harsh on Sanchez. He's playing the hand he's been dealt and getting any kind of increase in defence spending is a significant start. It's inevitably going to be seen as less important an issue than in some other countries but Sanchez is very pro-European; if it were up to him alone, I suspect he'd go much further but the political realities are the political realities.
Hi Steve. Thanks for the feedback! I think the important thing to remember about Sánchez is that he chose to cobble together a very unlikely coalition without a real majority after losing the 2023 election. He has barely been able to pass a law since then, let alone a budget. There is one big advantage for him - he gets to stay in power. The only advantage for Spanish society is that it keeps the headbangers from Vox a long way from La Moncloa. However, that is rather cancelled out by the need for votes from a wide range of other headbangers (Catalan separatists, paid-up communists, populists, apologists for Basque terrorism). Europe is at a turning point; and we need a certain amount of decisiveness from our governments. In that context, which became obvious when Trump won the US elections a year after Sánchez was able to form a government, letting losers form pathetically weak executives is an absolutely terrible idea.
Some valid points but I just about prefer his unpleasant partners to the options on the right. Having to Include fringe nutters in coalitions seems inevitable given the fractured nature of modern politics, especially here. I can't see the PSOE or PP ever having an outright majority by themselves. And he is a very canny operator who limits the damage of the idiots inside his tent; I never get the feeling that he secretly agrees with the extremists, whereas I think many in the PP are probably very VOX-y in private. Yes, I'd love a sensible, centrist coalition but this is Spain: it just isn't ever going to happen.
I am in total agreement with this guy Pedro Sánchez in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sAWLLJfvkY If a government can't pass a budget, it has a constitutional duty to call a snap election. Whatever happened to him? Also, a recent poll showed that the PP would be 147 seats in a snap election, which is more than the Socialists plus five of its allies, who would be on a joint 143 (https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20250324/feijoo-obtendria-hoy-escanos-partidos-izquierda-juntos-no-necesitaria-meter-vox-gobierno/933406771_0.html). Also, Feijóo would barely need Vox. If the hard right gained 42, as expected, and abstained, the PP would have a good chance of being able to form a government by itself. Coming at it from a centrist perspective, how would this not be better than what we have now? Spain would also be able to stand by its NATO allies that have borders with Russia.
I think it comes down to me fundamentally not trusting Feijóo or his allies. They'd be dragged right very quickly into a populist swamp (as Sanchez has been to an extent) by the remaining VOX-lite elements within their own party. Although the current anti-Trump sentiment in Europe might put a brake on that, to be fair. Also, I don't think the PP have a strong grasp of geopolitics that don't involve Latin America; I can't see them standing by their allies any more than Sanchez is doing. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one in terms of which is least bad :-)
The PP is clearly inept! If it was halfway competent, Feijóo would be talking to PNV and Junts every other day about making the Basque Country and Catalonia the home of a supersized Spanish defence industry.
Excellent piece, very apt, but I think you're being a bit harsh on Sanchez. He's playing the hand he's been dealt and getting any kind of increase in defence spending is a significant start. It's inevitably going to be seen as less important an issue than in some other countries but Sanchez is very pro-European; if it were up to him alone, I suspect he'd go much further but the political realities are the political realities.
Hi Steve. Thanks for the feedback! I think the important thing to remember about Sánchez is that he chose to cobble together a very unlikely coalition without a real majority after losing the 2023 election. He has barely been able to pass a law since then, let alone a budget. There is one big advantage for him - he gets to stay in power. The only advantage for Spanish society is that it keeps the headbangers from Vox a long way from La Moncloa. However, that is rather cancelled out by the need for votes from a wide range of other headbangers (Catalan separatists, paid-up communists, populists, apologists for Basque terrorism). Europe is at a turning point; and we need a certain amount of decisiveness from our governments. In that context, which became obvious when Trump won the US elections a year after Sánchez was able to form a government, letting losers form pathetically weak executives is an absolutely terrible idea.
Some valid points but I just about prefer his unpleasant partners to the options on the right. Having to Include fringe nutters in coalitions seems inevitable given the fractured nature of modern politics, especially here. I can't see the PSOE or PP ever having an outright majority by themselves. And he is a very canny operator who limits the damage of the idiots inside his tent; I never get the feeling that he secretly agrees with the extremists, whereas I think many in the PP are probably very VOX-y in private. Yes, I'd love a sensible, centrist coalition but this is Spain: it just isn't ever going to happen.
I am in total agreement with this guy Pedro Sánchez in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sAWLLJfvkY If a government can't pass a budget, it has a constitutional duty to call a snap election. Whatever happened to him? Also, a recent poll showed that the PP would be 147 seats in a snap election, which is more than the Socialists plus five of its allies, who would be on a joint 143 (https://www.elespanol.com/espana/politica/20250324/feijoo-obtendria-hoy-escanos-partidos-izquierda-juntos-no-necesitaria-meter-vox-gobierno/933406771_0.html). Also, Feijóo would barely need Vox. If the hard right gained 42, as expected, and abstained, the PP would have a good chance of being able to form a government by itself. Coming at it from a centrist perspective, how would this not be better than what we have now? Spain would also be able to stand by its NATO allies that have borders with Russia.
I think it comes down to me fundamentally not trusting Feijóo or his allies. They'd be dragged right very quickly into a populist swamp (as Sanchez has been to an extent) by the remaining VOX-lite elements within their own party. Although the current anti-Trump sentiment in Europe might put a brake on that, to be fair. Also, I don't think the PP have a strong grasp of geopolitics that don't involve Latin America; I can't see them standing by their allies any more than Sanchez is doing. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one in terms of which is least bad :-)
The PP is clearly inept! If it was halfway competent, Feijóo would be talking to PNV and Junts every other day about making the Basque Country and Catalonia the home of a supersized Spanish defence industry.
That's a very good point. Open goal for them given the industrial and tech base here but, as always, tribalism wins.