Fascism Is A Spanish Problem

While the recent Spanish election can be discussed in length regarding a number of issues and results, one stand out result is the near absence of the right wing Spanish party Vox from any of the nations currently occupied by Spain.

Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Country have resoundingly rejected the party, while Southern Spain and the areas surrounding Madrid have embraced fascism at the ballot box.

This should be no surprise to those acquainted with Spanish history and politics. The results have a similar geography to the battle lines of the Spanish Civil War, fought between fascists and republicans.

The leftists and republicans in the three occupied nations have certainly held their ground in this election, and in doing so have kept their struggles for independence alive and strong.

If anything the continuous presence of Fascism in Spain since the 1930s to this present day has only motivated nationalists to continue to pursue their countries' separation from Spain, particularly due to the violent attacks launched by Spain against democracy.

While there are no doubt, small pockets of fascism scattered around Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country, what this election has shown us is that fascism is a Spanish problem, and despite many attempts to suppress democracy in these nations, the resolve of their citizens will prevail.

Comments

What's The Beef With Beef ?

The Irish Beef Industry has been going through turbulent times recently, most notably because of the proposed Mercosur deal and the prices farmers receive for their cattle. We haven't even reached Brexit yet, and are still weeks out from the latest withdrawal deadline, and beef farmers are at their wits end. But how has it got to this and can farmers cope if there is a no-deal Brexit? Farmers' incomes are under threat, not just because of the reasons outlined above, but also because of the threat to grants which keep small and medium farms in business. The recent EU elections have seen the status quo remain in the European Parliament, with parties of the right keeping their large dominance of the union. There has been some debate surrounding the EU's agricultural plan over the course of the previous five year parliament, particularly regarding the EU's farm subsidy. Now that the elections are over, the EU government could proceed with plans which could see a standard ...

A 2023 Election Not To Be Ruled Out

With the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party coalition now entering its third year of a maximum five-year term, many are of the opinion that the trio will ride out the rather undesirable polling figures and wait until the last possible moment to call another general election. Another common opinion is that an election will be called in the second half of 2024, how late in that half dependent on the results of the European and Local elections in May of that year. Both valid points, particularly the latter; a bumper budget in October, semi-decent canvassing weather, and pre-empting the inevitable winter healthcare crisis, all make for a workable scenario for the government parties. However, strategically speaking, taking those points and applying them to October 2023 may make more sense for Martin, Varadkar, and Ryan, should they be willing to gamble their final year of the term for the prospects of another five-year stint running Leinster House. Despite current polling having ...

Schrodinger’s Election: Can an election be both good and bad at the same time?

Two elections took place in Ireland last Friday (Three in Limerick, which also had its first Mayoral Election), but you would be forgiven for thinking that there were in fact four or more. Depending on who you asked, a variety of parties had both a good and bad day at the polls. Unlike Schrodinger’s Cat, the parties remain very much alive, though some more alive than others, with none actually licking their wounds. We knew much of the results of the local elections by Sunday evening, apart from the epic count in Newbridge which saw four re-counts and neither candidate involved being elected. They key result, which we knew on Saturday night, was the national result. By the time the weekend came to an end, we knew that there was a correlation between the local and EU results, in terms of party polling at least. Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew MP conceded a little early, but was quick to change her mind and put herself back in contention for a seat, which she was. Fine Gael leade...

Séighin Ó Ceallaigh

Search This Blog