Spain, The Dice Are Cast, Another Parliamentary Coup Instigated from Outside
Spaniards Will Continue for Another Four Years Under a Neoliberal Austerity Fist
Last December I wrote an article entitled “Spain has Fallen – not Like Greece – but Fallen all the Same”. The article was first published on 22 December 2015, two days after the Spanish elections. It analyzed the results of the elections then and concluded that they were a fraud and that the outcome was prepared by long arms, some two years in advance, to make sure another ‘Greece’ could be avoided, lest Spain might break-up the EU and particularly the Eurozone.
Now that the dice are cast, the fraud is confirmed. During the more than 300 days ‘without’ a government, the MSM touted the without to frighten the Spanish public into believing it was a shame to be without a government for so long. Now, probably close to a majority of the Spanish public, believe it’s a good thing that finally a decision was reached and the country will have again a government, never mind the disaster course already predicted. The ‘new’ / old Rajoy Government will lead the already impoverished population into more misery and hardship.
In fact, it is no shame at all to have ‘no government’ – which is in itself a misnomer. Spain was never really without a government. Although no party came out as a clear winner on 20 December 2015, nor was it possible to form a governable majority coalition, the country had a caretaker government, still under the acting leadership of the right-wing Popular Party (PP), steered by President Rajoy. Belgium was in a similar situation in 2010-2011, when the country was for 589 days without an elected government. Belgium was run better with the ‘acting government’ than under the current ultra-neoliberal right-wing PM, Charles Michel.
In Spain, as no agreement on a governable coalition could be reached, King Felipe VI decided for a second round of popular vote on 26 June, 2016. Predictably, the result was not much different from the 20 December vote. In fact, the PP gained 15 seats from 122 in December 2015) to 137, or 33% in a 350 seat Parliament (176 seats are needed for an absolute majority). The socialists (PSOE) had 85 seats, a loss of 5 from December 2015; and the ‘new-and-coming’ ‘Unidos-Podemos’ left coalition under Pablo Iglesias stayed about the same with 71 (69). Unofficial polling results hours before the 26 June elections showed ‘Unidos-Podemos’ with huge wins, coming in second, with only a few seats behind PP, followed by PSOE, third.
When asked for the reason of this apparent slump in voter support, way beyond the usual margins of error of election surveys, Iglesias had no explanation, other than ‘we have to analyze it’ – which was apparently never done. Are Iglesias and his party leadership handlers of the invisible elite supported from abroad? Was PODEMOS about two years ago stamped out of the blue to grow fast – and to divide the Spanish mainly two-party culture, following the old rule, ‘divide to conquer’? This could well be, as explained in the article-analysis of 22 December 2015.
Spain is not allowed to fall to the left. Spain like Greece, is a NATO country, bordering on the strategic Mediterranean and therefore must stay in the EU, and must stay in the Eurozone, and foremost, must stay in the NATO. The risk of a break-up of the Eurozone could be – and might be – detrimental for the EU, for NATO and for the scam-driven profit-making bankster machinery. The Spanish elite, like the Greek elite, call them capitalist or ‘new intellectuals’, support the continuous decay of the living conditions of their compatriots, as they reap the benefits from their brothers and sisters’ misery. Hard words, but see also “Greece: Disaster after the Capitulation“ –
During this entire process of forming a government under PP leader Rajoy, Pedro Sánchez, the head of the socialist party, resisted to participate in any Rajoy-led government. His main argument was, and rightly so, either we are a true socialist party, or we are a ‘subordinate’ of the right. Party-internal fights, disputes and disagreements, most certainly influenced from outside, probably even from outside Spain, put enormous pressure on Sánchez, who wouldn’t budge to the very end. Eventually he resigned on 1 October, falling victim to bitter disagreements and squabbling over the future direction of the PSOE. The official version calls it a “coup orchestrated by an alliance of regional party barons.” – Was he perhaps threatened – do as we say, ‘or else’…
Sanchez’ duly primed anti-Podemos successor as head of PSOE, Asturia’s PSOE leader, Javier Fernandez, immediately compromised for the socialist party to abstain from voting in a forthcoming parliamentary vote, which took place on 27 October. This gave Rajoy 170 seats, six short of an absolute majority. In the next round, on Saturday 29 October, a simple majority will suffice to reinstate Rajoy as the ultra-neocon Spanish President. Thus, Mr. Fernandez handed effectively and willingly the leadership of Spain for the next four years to the ultra-neoliberal Mariano Rajoy.
Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of environment and water resources. He writes regularly for Global Research, ICH, RT, Sputnik, PressTV, The 4th Media, TeleSUR, TruePublica, The Vineyard of The Saker Blog, and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed – fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution! – Essays from the Resistance.
