The Rise of Far Right Populism in Spain June 11.2022 The far-right Vox party has been called far-right, anti-immigration and anti-Islam Vox has risen towards becoming Spain’s third strongest party. As a result of its success, the government can no longer accurately toward being immune to the growth of Europe’s nationalist extreme right. On the other hand, did not receive much backing when it was formed in 2013. It received barely 0.2 percent of the vote in the Spanish general elections in 2015 and 2016. Even if it is unknown how much of this movement may be ascribed to VOX’s structural existence or other factors like the epidemic and uncontrolled immigration, there seems to be a minor uptick in unfavorable sentiments related to immigration. Yet, the consequence of VOX’s development as a populist movement can be seen in Spain’s growing cultural division, which obstructs sensible discourse on population and what to handle it. In 2018, Vox’s time in the political spotlight ended abruptly. The party received 11 percent of the vote in Andalucía (Spain’s most populated region) in provincial elections that year. Vox now has 52 representatives of the Spanish Congress, three senators, four European Cabinet ministers, 55 regional parliamentarians, 526 local councilors, and five mayors. Vox has been a significant external backer of various municipal and regional administrations and serves as a “power broker.” Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Spanish: Partido Socialista Obrero Español [paɾˈtiðo soθjaˈlista oˈβɾeɾo espaˈɲol] ⓘ; abbr. PSOE [peˈsoe] ⓘ) is a social-democratic[2][6] political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in government longer than any other political party in modern democratic Spain: from 1982 to 1996 under Felipe González, 2004 to 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and since 2018 under Pedro Sánchez. The PSOE was founded in 1879, making it the oldest party currently active in Spain. The PSOE played a key role during the Second Spanish Republic, being part of the coalition government from 1931 to 1933 and 1936 to 1939, when the republic was defeated in the Spanish Civil War. The party was then banned under the Francoist dictatorship and its members and leaders were persecuted or exiled; the ban was only lifted in 1977 in the transition to democracy. Historically Marxist, it abandoned the ideology in 1979.[7] [HA, HA, HA...] Like most mainstream Spanish political organizations since the mid–1980s, the PSOE has been considered by experts to have embraced a positive outlook towards European integration.[8][n. 1] The unwavering European: Spain and its place in Europe ECFR’s Coalition Explorer shows Spain to be an outlier in Europe – as it places great weight on foreign policy. But could new political turbulence thwart its ambitions once more? 5 April 2019 Spanish politicians have always been proud of the consistent Europeanism of Spanish citizens. Indeed, until recently, no political party had ever played the Eurosceptic card. New on the scene now is insurgent far-right party Vox, which entered the Andalusian parliament in December and is polling at double digits for the next general election. But even it has avoided the Eurosceptic line of attack. Regardless of their political differences, the Popular Party’s Mariano Rajoy (in government until June 2018) and the Socialist Pedro Sanchez (who became prime minister after winning a no confidence vote against Rajoy) agree that the European Union should be Spain’s main foreign policy
Greece, Spain Raise Minimum Wage Despite High Unemployment
Moves to help low earners in election year test economic orthodoxy; increasing prices and spending power.
Evangelia Koskina just received her first pay increase in six years, but she worries that it could be bad news for the café where she works. Greece, like fellow euro member Spain, decided this year to sharply increase the minimum wage, despite the legacy of high unemployment left by Europe’s long debt crisis. In both countries, left-leaning governments are betting—against economic orthodoxy—that such increases will be good for growth and employment, as well as for their voter support. The minimum-wage increase, Greece’s first in nearly a decade, takes Ms. Koskina’s monthly pay to €650 ($731) from €586. It still isn’t enough for the 25-year-old to move out of her parents’ house, but she says she can finally afford driving lessons.
“But I know that my boss can hardly afford the rise for me and my three colleagues,” she said. “He will have to raise prices for the first time in years to offset part of the loss.” While Greece has raised its minimum wage by 11%, Spain has raised its €736-a-month minimum wage by 22%, to €900. Critics say a higher minimum wage is the last thing these economies need, when millions are still struggling to find work after an economic depression. The unemployment rate has been falling recently, but remains at 14.1% in Spain and 18.5% in Greece, compared with 3.2% in Germany and 3.6% in the Netherlands, according to Eurostat’s January 2019 unemployment figures. The eurozone’s unemployment average is 7.8% and the European Union’s 6.5%. “An abrupt increase in the minimum wage could put a halt to, or even reverse, the current downward trend in unemployment.
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