https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Yes, it's true. No sooner has Spain put one election behind it then another is on the horizon. What's it all about? Matthew Bennett has all the answers. https://www.thelocal.es/20190510/explained-spain-starts-election-campaigning-for-may-26th-triple-ballot Fri, 10 May 2019 17:25:02 +0200 explained-spain-starts-election-campaigning-for-may-26th-triple-ballot Pedro Sanchéz has options have his win at the polls but can he get people working together in the same direction after seven long years of bitterness? https://www.thelocal.es/20190504/analysis-its-time-for-sanchz-to-be-brave Sat, 04 May 2019 11:40:37 +0200 analysis-its-time-for-sanchz-to-be-brave Matthew Bennett takes a look at the election's winners and losers and explores what's next for Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20190429/analysis-spain-election-matthew-bennett Mon, 29 Apr 2019 10:18:21 +0200 analysis-spain-election-matthew-bennett What will be the surprise of the Spanish election on Sunday? Almost certainly the performance of the hard-right Vox party, writes Matthew Bennett. https://www.thelocal.es/20190426/analysis-the-only-question-is-how-many-seats-will-vox-win-on-sunday Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:23:10 +0200 analysis-the-only-question-is-how-many-seats-will-vox-win-on-sunday On April 28th Spain goes to the polls to choose new members of parliaments. Campaigning is underway and the electoral race is hotting up. But how do things work in Spain? Who are the key figures? And what's at stake? Matthew Bennett has the answers. https://www.thelocal.es/20190425/explainer-what-you-need-to-know-about-spains-election Thu, 25 Apr 2019 17:00:57 +0200 explainer-what-you-need-to-know-about-spains-election Pedro Sánchez has trashed public broadcaster RTVE's reputation with his initial decision to only appear on a private TV election debate as a means of being pitted against far-right newcomers VOX, argues Matthew Bennett. https://www.thelocal.es/20190419/opinion-pm-has-humiliated-spains-public-tv-channel-with-election-debate-changes Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:35:47 +0200 opinion-pm-has-humiliated-spains-public-tv-channel-with-election-debate-changes Suddenly everyone is talking about the depopulation of rural Spain. Matthew Bennett explains why it's the hot topic of this general election. https://www.thelocal.es/20190405/analysis-why-spains-emptying-countryside-is-key-to-election Fri, 05 Apr 2019 18:30:20 +0200 analysis-why-spains-emptying-countryside-is-key-to-election Spain's foreign minister has been blasted for storming out of an interview with a German TV station. Matthew Bennett takes a deeper look at the issue and the problem of foreign media putting Spain on trial for the Catalonia crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20190329/opinion-someone-should-be-fired-over-that-interview-with-spains-foreign-minister-but-it-isnt-josep-borrell Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:23:07 +0100 opinion-someone-should-be-fired-over-that-interview-with-spains-foreign-minister-but-it-isnt-josep-borrell This week in Spain a politician likened the Catalan independence cause to the plight of Anne Frank. Another compared their political opponent to war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Have they all lost the plot or do they just need a reminder of the true horrors of Nazi Germany, writes Matthew Bennett. https://www.thelocal.es/20190315/analysis-the-frivolity-of-fools Fri, 15 Mar 2019 17:01:11 +0100 analysis-the-frivolity-of-fools There's 68 days until the General Election in Spain and politicians are already mixing Biblical metaphors with Civil War rhetoric. The gloves are most definitely off, writes Matthew Bennett. https://www.thelocal.es/20190219/analysis-gloves-off-as-spain-begins-two-month-long-political-fist-fight Tue, 19 Feb 2019 10:54:11 +0100 analysis-gloves-off-as-spain-begins-two-month-long-political-fist-fight Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has called a snap national election for April. Matthew Bennett explores what the possible outcomes could be for Spain and the impact that Brexit could have on the election campaign. https://www.thelocal.es/20190215/analysis-snchez-gives-up-and-plunges-spain-into-third-divisive-general-election-in-three-years Fri, 15 Feb 2019 20:34:15 +0100 analysis-snchez-gives-up-and-plunges-spain-into-third-divisive-general-election-in-three-years What happened to the Podemos revolutionary drive that made so many voters' eyes sparkle at the height of the unemployment crisis five years ago? https://www.thelocal.es/20190122/is-podemos-heading-for-a-terrible-result-at-the-may-elections-in-spain Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:38:15 +0100 is-podemos-heading-for-a-terrible-result-at-the-may-elections-in-spain Traditional Catholic conservatives propose radical overhaul of regional government system while liberal reformists defend the status quo. https://www.thelocal.es/20190115/analysis-what-will-the-new-right-wing-coalition-government-do-with-andalusia-after-40-years-of-socialism Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:38:31 +0100 analysis-what-will-the-new-right-wing-coalition-government-do-with-andalusia-after-40-years-of-socialism Instant social media videos, the rise of the alt-right and a huge election year pose a risk. https://www.thelocal.es/20190108/analysis-innocent-christmas-blackface-or-a-slippery-xenophobic-slope-for-the-right-in-spain Tue, 08 Jan 2019 13:56:54 +0100 analysis-innocent-christmas-blackface-or-a-slippery-xenophobic-slope-for-the-right-in-spain Will the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, react in time to stop the rise of Abascal? https://www.thelocal.es/20190101/analysis-2019-in-spanish-politics-how-much-creative-destruction-will-vox-unleash Tue, 01 Jan 2019 15:34:32 +0100 analysis-2019-in-spanish-politics-how-much-creative-destruction-will-vox-unleash Pedro Sánchez and his minority socialist government, only 84 out of 350 MPs in Congress, are warming up for their big trip to Barcelona on Friday. https://www.thelocal.es/20181218/analysis-spanish-cabinet-set-to-meet-in-the-heart-of-catalan-separatist-territory Tue, 18 Dec 2018 13:53:02 +0100 analysis-spanish-cabinet-set-to-meet-in-the-heart-of-catalan-separatist-territory Hunger strike, sabotage, calls for revolution and reckless unchecked protests. How far will some militant Catalan separatists go? https://www.thelocal.es/20181211/analysis-are-catalan-separatists-really-going-to-attempt-a-violent-breakaway Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:14:42 +0100 analysis-are-catalan-separatists-really-going-to-attempt-a-violent-breakaway In national terms, what happened on Sunday night was the normalisation of the far right in Spain. https://www.thelocal.es/20181204/analysis-after-the-elections-in-andalusia-expect-a-lot-more-vox-in-spanish-politics Tue, 04 Dec 2018 10:20:21 +0100 analysis-after-the-elections-in-andalusia-expect-a-lot-more-vox-in-spanish-politics A win for Spain or a missed opportunity? In this week's column, Matthew Bennett examines how confusion reigns over the agreement struck on Gibraltar in the Brexit deal. https://www.thelocal.es/20181127/analysis-what-the-new-gibraltar-brexit-deal Tue, 27 Nov 2018 13:41:28 +0100 analysis-what-the-new-gibraltar-brexit-deal The rise of Vox in Spain should be another warning sign for Brussels https://www.thelocal.es/20181120/analysis-43-years-after-franco-died-could-spain-lead-europe-forward Tue, 20 Nov 2018 11:48:57 +0100 analysis-43-years-after-franco-died-could-spain-lead-europe-forward