T E N E R I F E ’ S O N LY Issue 705
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W E E K LY N E W S PA P E R
27 May 2011 - 02 June 2011
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Tenerife X-Factor!
Sunday voters turn out to have their say in elections
Unless you have been off the rock for a few weeks you can not failed to have noticed the publicity machines operating overtime for the local political parties. From billboards to flyers to megaphones the messages of each candidate were coming thick and fast. Voting took place last Sunday – 22nd May and in the proceeding week the votes counted and winners confirmed, or in some cases, similar to the UK Coalition talks have begun. At a National level, mainland Spain, experienced a landslide victory for the right wing Partido Popular (PP) meaning radical changes in town halls and regional governments throughout the country with the PP netting an average of around 47 per cent of the votes in all regions. This historic landslide on the part of the PP is thought to be a response to the recession and poor state of the job market. Despite the PPs sweeping the board, Spain’s president and socialist leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero – who announced recently he would
not be standing again next year – has refused to stand down and bring forward next year’s elections. At the last Government session he vowed to continue to place the interests of Spain above all others. Stating that the main objective for the Government of Spain, “as it faces the most serious economic crisis we have seen for decades, is to achieve recovery and maintain the financial stability of Spain…we are going to do precisely that, with the strongest sense of responsibility and by placing the interests of Spain above all others.” As we go to print Defence Minister Carme Chacon said she will not stand as a candidate for the leadership of Spain’s ruling Socialists, leaving the way open for Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba to take the post. Chacon, 40, said she had initially decided to run but changed her mind in order to avoid a spat within the party over the best way to pick a successor to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to lead the party in elections next year. Zapatero announced last month he would not seek a third mandate, and the process for choosing his successor is set to begin (tomorrow) Saturday.
“I have taken the decision to not take part in primary elections to choose the next Socialist Party candidate,” Chacon told a news conference. “I feel that today I must take a step backwards so that the Socialist Party can take a step forward. Over the past few days we have witnessed an escalating debate which puts the unity of the party at risk,” she added. Infighting had erupted among the Socialists over how to choose a new leader after the party’s humiliation in local elections on Sunday. The prime minister had called for internal primaries in which all 220,000 party members have a say on their next leader. But, at the last moment, dissenters called for a congress of between 500 and 2,000 elected party members to rethink party strategy and decide on a single candidate. Chacon, 40, who became Spain’s first female minister of defence when she was sworn in April 2008 when she was seven months pregnant, is popular with younger voters. Her withdrawal from the race leaves the way open for Rubalcaba, 59, who is also an interior minister, and is to be the only candidate for the post. After eight years in opposition, the conservative Popular
Party of Mariano Rajoy is widely expected to romp into office in general elections scheduled for March 2012. Support for the government collapsed in the face of the beleaguered economy, the highest unemployment rate in the developed world at more than 21 percent and huge week-long street protests. Futher down the change everything is not so cut and dried. At a regional level there is a tie at the top between the Coalicion Canarias (CC) and Partido Popular (PP). The acting chairman of the Canary Islands and presidential candidate, Paulino Rivero, said his party intended to close a deal as soon as possible under the premise that the government is “solid, stable and strong.” To do this, he stressed, he will open in the coming days “necessary contacts” with other political forces to achieve stability “institutions” that after the elections hang in the governance arrangements. The intent of the nationalists, in this sense, is to link the regional pact to lobbyists who are now in the air, and several municipalities. Rivero made it clear that CC has also won the elections. Like the PP it has 21 members but “winning five of the seven islands, it has won five of the
seven councils and is the force that most council members have.” Thus, he stressed, “Our obligation is to work to find stable arrangements for different institutions.” Therefore I will not philosophise. It is the time of work, not soap operas.” In Tenerife, the presidency of the Tenerife Cabildo is not black and white. Yes Melchior earned a majority, but, if the others work together, then there may be a problem. If opposition rivals the Popular Party and PSOE strike a deal they may end years of rule by the CC, and thus the presidency. Elected President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior, said last week he is in opposition to a hypothetical agreement between the PP and PSOE. In his view, an agreement between the two sides would be “disrespectful to the people and the law.” Thus, the nationalist party said the highest number of votes shall be holding the Presidency. “The law says that the most voted is what must prevail in the council,” he said adding that “to be talking about something else other than that right now is a lack of respect for citizenship and the law.” Melchior also confirmed that it has not initiated contact with any of the two parties to negotiate a government. In this
regard, the Coalition leader stressed that “no agreements are needed, as there is a president who has won the election last Sunday with an absolute majority of 15 members. And, he is set to take up his seat on the 17th June as planned. In Tenerife there are 32 municipalities, of which seven are in the south:- west to east – Santiago del Teide, Guia de Isora, Adeje, Arona, Vilaflor, San Miguel and Granadilla, but how did they get on? Santiago del Teide, the PP won the majority with 8 councillors and 1474 votes. Guia de Isora, is presided over by the PSOE with a nearly fifty percent majority and 11 seats. Adeje, an overwhelming majority, with 13 seats, keeps Jose Miguel Rodriguez Fraga in power. Arona and the CC lead with 13 councillors, so no change to the Reveron council. Vilaflor the highest village in Spain, PSOE lead with 568 votes. San Miguel on this occasion the CC won the most votes 1697 and finally Granadilla the PSOE won 10 seats. No doubt the talking will go on for a few days yet and councillors will chop and change but basically, no matter what party, everyone wants the same – an end to the economic crisis.