Monday, March 26, 2012
The results: Coalition government
The results of the recent election don't entirely match my prediction. I really expected the PP to take a slim majority (with former PSOE supporters leaning right instead of left), which didn't happen. Participation was at 62.23%, significantly lower than 2008's. The PP took 40.66%, which still allows the PSOE and IU to form a coalition government, since they get 47 and 6 seats respectively to the PP's 56. I was thinking way too much in US-centric terms, forgetting that in a parliamentary system with more than two parties, a majority victory is pretty rare.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Andalusian Elections
Written Sunday, published Monday.
I've noticed that Spanish chains don't really care about US copyrights, from Duffin Dagels to lingerie chain Women'Secret. Most recently, I heard the Pirates of the Caribbean theme playing from the living room in a friend's house and, upon examining the source, found that it was being used as background music for a bull fight. The same channel that plays the popular American-Idol style Flamenco show, "Se llama COPLA," follows up the program with bull fighting... Not my thing at all.
And I watch a lot of Copla when visiting friends in or around the town of Peñaflor, because one of the show's contestants, Manuel Cribaño, is a Peñaflor native.
The whole town is abuzz with news about "el niño de Peñaflor," and there are posters everywhere encouraging residents to vote for him-- more posters than there were for today's elections, although some people hung huge banners in support for PSOE. The elections were held only in Andalusía and Asturias, to determine the government of the autonomous communities. My local friend took me with her to vote. Spanish voting is very different from what it is in the US-- very old school. Green pieces of paper lay in stacks on a table in the corner of the town library. At the top of each piece of paper was the name of the party, and below it a list of candidates. You take the piece of paper for the party that interests you, fold it, put it in an envelope, and put the envelope in a see-through box (talk about transparency!) while somebody crosses your name off a list of registered voters. There were at least fifteen different parties represented on the green-paper-table, including Andalusían nationalist parties and one party which bore the Falange symbol associated with Spanish fascism. Another party bore only the name, "Party in favor of ending the crisis" or something similar.
After my friend had voted, we went to the tail end of Mass to see the local church. As someone with zero experience with Catholicism, I wasn't sure to expect. I was half surprised the mass wasn't in Latin! When we arrived, the children in the church were performing some sort of song-and-dance routine and were rewarded afterward with lollipops. The nuns chatted away happily with the other women. The priest looked to be in his early 30s (and greeted people with a kiss on each cheek like any other Spaniard would).
The church was very well decorated, with many different pieces of artwork... it was almost an eyesore, there were so many statues and paintings. In the front of the church, where one would normally see Jesus on the cross or Mary crying on her son's body, was a statue of Saint Peter. One of the carvings of Jesus on the cross featured sinners burning in hell at his feet. A painting depicted the Romans nailing his hands to the cross. It was a little more extreme than what I'm used to.
It's now Monday morning and I'm editing this post. I haven't looked at the election results yet, but here's my prediction.
People are fed up with Socialist party PSOE (which is rife with corruption) as demonstrated by the right-wing Partido Popular's massive victory in the federal elections. I don't think that the PP's victory was motivated by careful consideration of its platform and a collective decision to embrace austerity, especially since much of the anger directed at PSOE seems to have come from their austerity measures. I saw on the news that participation was very low, which seems to go along with this theory. Many people don't want to support PSOE, but don't want to see the PP take power either. I expect that this election will see much less support for PSOE than in the past and increased support for the PP-- but ALSO the IU (Izquierda Unida, or "United Left") which seems to be the biggest left-wing party after PSOE (which isn't really left-wing anyway). But because PSOE still has a loyal base, IU won't win enough votes, so the victory will go to PP, which will now have control over the Parliament AND Andalusía's autonomous government.
I've noticed that Spanish chains don't really care about US copyrights, from Duffin Dagels to lingerie chain Women'Secret. Most recently, I heard the Pirates of the Caribbean theme playing from the living room in a friend's house and, upon examining the source, found that it was being used as background music for a bull fight. The same channel that plays the popular American-Idol style Flamenco show, "Se llama COPLA," follows up the program with bull fighting... Not my thing at all.
And I watch a lot of Copla when visiting friends in or around the town of Peñaflor, because one of the show's contestants, Manuel Cribaño, is a Peñaflor native.
The whole town is abuzz with news about "el niño de Peñaflor," and there are posters everywhere encouraging residents to vote for him-- more posters than there were for today's elections, although some people hung huge banners in support for PSOE. The elections were held only in Andalusía and Asturias, to determine the government of the autonomous communities. My local friend took me with her to vote. Spanish voting is very different from what it is in the US-- very old school. Green pieces of paper lay in stacks on a table in the corner of the town library. At the top of each piece of paper was the name of the party, and below it a list of candidates. You take the piece of paper for the party that interests you, fold it, put it in an envelope, and put the envelope in a see-through box (talk about transparency!) while somebody crosses your name off a list of registered voters. There were at least fifteen different parties represented on the green-paper-table, including Andalusían nationalist parties and one party which bore the Falange symbol associated with Spanish fascism. Another party bore only the name, "Party in favor of ending the crisis" or something similar.
After my friend had voted, we went to the tail end of Mass to see the local church. As someone with zero experience with Catholicism, I wasn't sure to expect. I was half surprised the mass wasn't in Latin! When we arrived, the children in the church were performing some sort of song-and-dance routine and were rewarded afterward with lollipops. The nuns chatted away happily with the other women. The priest looked to be in his early 30s (and greeted people with a kiss on each cheek like any other Spaniard would).
The church was very well decorated, with many different pieces of artwork... it was almost an eyesore, there were so many statues and paintings. In the front of the church, where one would normally see Jesus on the cross or Mary crying on her son's body, was a statue of Saint Peter. One of the carvings of Jesus on the cross featured sinners burning in hell at his feet. A painting depicted the Romans nailing his hands to the cross. It was a little more extreme than what I'm used to.
It's now Monday morning and I'm editing this post. I haven't looked at the election results yet, but here's my prediction.
People are fed up with Socialist party PSOE (which is rife with corruption) as demonstrated by the right-wing Partido Popular's massive victory in the federal elections. I don't think that the PP's victory was motivated by careful consideration of its platform and a collective decision to embrace austerity, especially since much of the anger directed at PSOE seems to have come from their austerity measures. I saw on the news that participation was very low, which seems to go along with this theory. Many people don't want to support PSOE, but don't want to see the PP take power either. I expect that this election will see much less support for PSOE than in the past and increased support for the PP-- but ALSO the IU (Izquierda Unida, or "United Left") which seems to be the biggest left-wing party after PSOE (which isn't really left-wing anyway). But because PSOE still has a loyal base, IU won't win enough votes, so the victory will go to PP, which will now have control over the Parliament AND Andalusía's autonomous government.
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