July 2022 | Page 11

News

PP triumphs in Andalucía

NATO meets
The centre-right Partido Popular ( PP ) won an absolute majority in last month ’ s Andalucía regional election , pushing the centre-left PSOE party to their worst-ever result in the region . Ciudadanos , until last month the junior coalition partner of the PP in the Junta de Andalucía , failed to win any seats , while right-wing Vox , which had dreams of becoming the new coalition partner , was disappointed .
The PP , led by Juan Manuel (“ Juanma ”) Moreno Bonilla - pictured , won in all eight of Andalucía ’ s provinces including Sevilla which has been a traditional socialist stronghold . It also won in all 12 cities with populations of more than 100,000 ; in Málaga the party took 47 per cent of the vote compared with the PSOE ’ s 20 per cent .
The vote on June 19 attracted a turn out of 58 per cent and left the PP with 58 of the 109 seats for Deputies – 32 more than in the last regional election in 2018 - at the headquarters of the Junta de Andalucía in Sevilla . The PSOE lost three seats for a total of 30 , while Vox increased their seats by two to 14 , with the remaining seven places going to the minor left-wing parties Por Andalucía and Adelante Andalucía .
Ciudadanos lost all its 21 seats in the region ’ s government .

Voting rights remain

British nationals who are registered as residents in Spain have retained their right to vote in local town hall elections . Confusion arose after an EU court ruled that , in France , such individuals could not vote in elections or stand as candidates .
Last month , the British Embassy in Madrid clarified that , even after Brexit , the situation in Spain had not changed . It added that the situation in France was up to France , and not the EU , to resolve .
The Embassy confirmed that a British national must be resident in Spain for a minimum of three years first and be
The socialist PSOE , which remains in control nationally under prime minister Pedro Sánchez , has now lost three of the country ’ s regions to the PP . With Andalucía having now fallen to the right along with Madrid and Castilla y León , the left now appears to be facing an uphill battle towards the general election which is due by the end of next year .
registered on the municipal register ( padrón municipal ) in the town where they live . Registration on the local electoral roll ( censo electoral ) should be confirmed before each election .
As reported last month , British nationals living in Spain will soon be able to exercise their right to vote in UK general elections . The new rules , which apply only to UK parliamentary elections , are expected to be in place ahead of the next scheduled British General Election , scheduled for no later than January 2025 .
Further information is available at gov . uk / livinginspain # voting
As Soltalk went to press , over 10,000 security personnel had descended on Madrid in preparation for the NATO summit on June 29 and 30 . More than 40 heads of state and governments were expected to attend in an atmosphere heightened by the situation in Ukraine . The authorities were reportedly concerned of possible action by Jihadist terrorism , violent anti-establishment groups and Russian cyber-sabotage .
Ryanair strike
As Soltalk went to press , Ryanair staff in Spain were still planning strike action at ten airports including Málaga . As well as four days stoppage last month , disruption was expected to continue into early July . The USO and Sitcpla unions claim workers are being denied statutory leave and that there is lack of risk protection in the workplace .
€ 3 Litre
Drivers in Spain could face petrol prices of more than three euros a litre this summer . The Confederation of Service Station Businesses says the demand from tourism could exacerbate an already difficult situation . In addition , Spanish road hauliers have threatened an indefinite strike this month if the Government fails to action on soaring prices on forecourts .
Gas record
A record amount of natural gas was used to generate power in Spain on June 15 . Enagas said that power generation from hydro , wind and solar sources has fallen as demand has increased in the heatwave , meaning the more expensive gas-fired plants had to make up the shortfall . Spain and Portugal are temporarily subsidising power generation from fossil fuels .
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