Getting a move on

ALBERT RIVERA: To support Rajoy’s investiture bid.

ON August 10, acting president Mariano Rajoy announced a seven-day deadline for agreeing to negotiate or reject Albert Rivera’s six conditions for supporting his investiture bid.  

These focused uncomfortably on eradicating corruption but, typically, when that week was up on August 17, the acting president said he must first consult the Partido Popular’s national executive committee. 

Undeterred and ignoring the snub, the persistent Ciudadanos leader arranged a meeting with Rajoy for the following day.

What happened overnight?  There’s no telling – perhaps his future memoirs will explain the volte face – but Rajoy has agreed to discuss the six conditions and fix an investiture date.

Sighs of relief all round, except perhaps from Pedro Sanchez who possibly foresaw a PSOE-Unidos Podemos alliance and a foot in the Moncloa door.

Marked down

PEDRO SANCHEZ’s popularity is waning amongst PSOE voters.

No one expects the Partido Popular, Ciudadanos, Podemos or Izquierda Unida to succumb to his charms and ideology but within the party he should be protected by the ‘they’re all out of step except my Pedro’ doctrine. 

Instead, PSOE voters gave him 6.95 out of 10 which although a comfortable passmark does not compare with Felipe Gonzalez’s 8.13 before the 1996 elections or Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s 7.42.

As a school report would say, ‘Must try harder.’

Keeping schtum 

THROUGHOUT most of August Pedro Sanchez said as little as possible apart from emphasising that the PSOE will neither vote in favour of Rajoy’s investiture nor will it abstain. 

The silent treatment won’t work for Sanchez because, unlike Albert Rivera and Ciudadanos, he should seen to be doing something for the voters’ sake and not his own.  

The immune system

SPAIN has 10,000 ‘aforados’ – mostly politicians and civil servants – who enjoy immunity of a kind.  

It’s not a ‘get out of jail free’ card and usually means that ‘aforados’ must be tried by the Supreme Court.  Is that so bad, bearing in mind how many ‘aforados’ have blotted their copybooks and how saturated the High Courts are already?

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