tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34651613021165309892024-03-13T12:58:36.582+01:00LOOKING TO THE LEFTA la izquierda - to the left of politicsSANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-38581009708122401692014-03-31T12:25:00.000+02:002014-03-31T12:25:02.988+02:00HUNGARIANS BELIEVE THEIR POLITICIANS ARE CORRUPT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6OdtMYnnttwxceRsh_e1CuKVgOKlFNEePFrW2Tn3tvkOFADglRHYrcMNDs_bS0k9R9fAy_t1qr7HJ_VXZ7yE5oaq2z-vuvAimUEyULSs65NqbFrbkf7XM3rb6ePaPbIOrg07zZvSbU9Ag/s1600/Hungarians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6OdtMYnnttwxceRsh_e1CuKVgOKlFNEePFrW2Tn3tvkOFADglRHYrcMNDs_bS0k9R9fAy_t1qr7HJ_VXZ7yE5oaq2z-vuvAimUEyULSs65NqbFrbkf7XM3rb6ePaPbIOrg07zZvSbU9Ag/s1600/Hungarians.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">When
Transparency International issued its report on election spending on Monday the
section that captured the headlines was that showing that Fidesz would spend
over double the legal limit – and get away with it. Fidesz stayed quiet on this
revelation but needless to say the opposition parties took to the social media
immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">However
the last paragraphs of the report were ignored by all the parties. The simple
reason for that is rightly or wrongly the majority of Hungarians believe their
politicians are corrupt.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Commissioned by TI, the
polling agency Psyma assessed public attitudes concerning the campaign. The
findings show that only 8 per cent of the people expect a clean campaign,
assuming that the parties will only make use of legal means before the
elections. The conclusion has to be that up to 92 per cent did not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">According to the poll, the
majority of the public thinks that both the ‘left-wing alliance to change the
government’ (62 per cent) and Fidesz-KDNP (55 per cent) use funds from corrupt
sources in their campaign, and every second person thinks the same about the
far right Jobbik.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">TI, the watchdog
association K-Monitor and the investigative online portal Atlatszo.hu
(Hungarian for ‘transparent’) believe an anti-corruption minimum programme is
needed and it is in everybody’s interest to have one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">They have developed their
anti-corruption minimum programme which can be found at www.ezaminimum.hu. The
recommendations of the programme have been drawn up so that a quarter of a
century after the political transition Hungarians can finally take substantial
measures against the misuse of public funds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The aim is to gain the
support of decision-makers with influence on legislation, and the broadest
possible non-governmental cooperation for this initiative, overwriting
political lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The programme makes
recommendations primarily in the areas of party and campaign financing, public
procurement, asset declarations, conflict of interest/revolving door, the
management of national assets, and the rule of law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Sándor Léderer, director
of K-Monitor stated: “<i>The country and the legislation have changed
significantly over the past 25 years, but now breakthrough has been achieved in
the fight against corruption</i>.”<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">TI and its partners argue
that corruption causes immeasurable economic and societal damages; its
elimination therefore needs to be in the interest of all political actors. No
party striving to get into the parliament can afford to ignore this problem
said Sándor Léderer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Tamás Bodoky, the editor
in chief of the portal reported: “<i>The website </i><a href="http://atlatszo.hu/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #1155cc;">atlatszo.hu</span></i></a><i> is
receiving reports uncovering wrongdoing linked to the election campaign</i>.”
He added that all substantiated reports will be dealt with using the tools of
fact finding and investigative journalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of course political
corruption is not restricted to Hungary but is European wide. Surveys in Spain
have shown that around 90 per cent of people questioned believed both their
politicians and political system was corrupt. It is a perception the EU
urgently needs to tackle across all member States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on March 21 2014)</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-85361294138157510702014-03-31T12:22:00.000+02:002014-03-31T12:22:15.753+02:00FIDESZ WILL SPEND MORE THAN TWICE THE LEGAL LIMIT IN HUNGARIAN ELECTION...AND GET AWAY WITH IT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ90oiiF8JNtWQI6ru9bssnv1YZ7ykx-ckHR16m86U-BGI_TeLLPTHQq7dOqsrywzOnY2jO3j5WXrvE-3OalTu6gRdriZqhkbxVTav_1yG_IR-9tb0iOTvwjG7hObIU9ofOAAC_MfNmALs/s1600/FIDESZ.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ90oiiF8JNtWQI6ru9bssnv1YZ7ykx-ckHR16m86U-BGI_TeLLPTHQq7dOqsrywzOnY2jO3j5WXrvE-3OalTu6gRdriZqhkbxVTav_1yG_IR-9tb0iOTvwjG7hObIU9ofOAAC_MfNmALs/s1600/FIDESZ.png" height="317" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Hungarian General Election takes place on Sunday April 6. The spotlight has
been on the far right party, Jobbik, which will be fielding a national list at
the polls and says it is seeking an outright victory (pun intended).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">However
it is extremely unlikely that Jobbik would win but instead the odds are Fidesz
will be returned to power. The left alliance led by the socialists MSzP and
including the country’s liberals obviously is fighting to prevent that from
happening. Yet a victory for the left would be to slash Fidesz’s current
massive majority, which has seen it abuse Hungary’s democratic and civil rights
and indeed to mimic Jobbik in its populist statements and actions. This has
caused outrage in Washington and EU capitals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hungary’s
general election campaign might be free but it will be far from fair. This has
been highlighted this week after a report from Transparency International
Hungary (TI), K-Monitor and Atlatszo.hu. They have united their efforts to find
out how much parties are spending on their campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">At
their press conference on Monday in Budapest, they have introduced the website </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://kepmutatas.hu/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">kepmutatas.hu</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (Hungarian for
hypocrisy), where the public can continuously follow how much each party is
paying for their campaign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
a statement they pointed out: “It is already blatantly obvious that the
Fidesz-KDNP party (with the help of the Civil Alliance Forum /CÖF/ and the
government) will exceed twice the campaign spending limit of one billion
forints prescribed by legislation. However, it looks like this excessive
spending will go without any consequences.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The election campaign has
over two weeks to run but it is already clear that until the end of February,
Fidesz spent more than 2 billion, the left-wing Kormányváltás (Hungarian for
’change of government’) 680 million, while Jobbik 650 million and LMP 310
million forints. The TI, K-Monitor and Atlatsozo.hu figures do not contain all the spending of the
parties occurred in March, so numbers will grow further in the run-up to the
elections. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The spending limit set by
law is 1 billion. TI’s programme for the assessment of campaign spending
examines all means of campaigning, by monitoring public billboards, media
advertisements, direct marketing tools (postal letters, SMS messages, phone
calls, personal contact), and also party events. The anti-corruption
organisation also calculated the expenditure of parties on their campaign team,
opinion polls, and promotional items.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">TI
says </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">it is clear from the figures currently available that
Fidesz has already exceeded the legally prescribed limit, if the governmental
and civil advertisements supporting the party are taken in to account. Parties
may spend 1 billion forints on their campaigns, of which 700 million forints
may come from public funds.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The campaign of governing
parties is also aided by advertisements of pseudo NGOs (the so-called GO-NGOs),
such as the Civil Alliance Forum (CÖF), which on paper is independent from any
political force, but is in reality blatantly campaigning in support of Fidesz.
According to TI’s calculations, the price of CÖF’s campaign between November
and February amounted to 570 million forints.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not only
pseudo-non-governmental organisations, but also the government itself is
sponsoring Fidesz’s campaign. The government gave Fidesz a gift of 540 million
forints, as this is how much the 'Hungary is performing better' campaign and the
campaign advertising the utility price cuts that lay the foundations of the
governing party’s election campaign have cost since November.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The billboards
commissioned by GO-NGOs and government have so far cost altogether about 1
billion forints. As these support directly the campaign of Fidesz, TI added
this amount to the party’s campaign expenses. But even without the campaign
costs of CÖF and the government, Fidesz-KDNP's campaign costs have already
reached 940 million, which is very close to the legally allowed limit of 1
billion, even though elections are still more than one month away.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Miklós Ligeti, TI's Legal
Director stated: <i>The new legislation on campaign financing is not suitable
for eliminating campaign-related corruption</i>. <i>The parliament managed to
adopt regulations, which the parties do not even have to break, if they want to
spend unchecked on their campaigns</i>".</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ligeti explained, the new
legislation that entered into effect on January 1st does not prohibit the
outsourcing of the campaign, that is, it does not deal with the spending of
NGOs with close ties to parties, and does not limit government campaigning in
any way. Under the legislation, the tariffs of public billboards do not need to
be disclosed, which immensely contributes to the lack of transparency in
campaign finance. Political advertisements in electronic media are free of
charge, a step forward TI would theoretically welcome, but the way this
regulation is put into practice annuls all its advantages. There are signs that
commercial TV channels do not want to deal with the advertisements of political
parties (with one major commercial channel only broadcasting government
advertisements), and in addition, public media is heavily biased towards the
government parties.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">A further incomprehensible
element of the regulation on campaign financing is that while independent
electoral candidates - rightly - have to account for all public subsidies to
the last forint, and if unsuccessful, will have to repay these, political
parties have no such obligation. As TI warned several times in the past, there
is a possibility that several parties only participate in the election to gain
access to the generous allowance ensured by the state. For parties to have a
nationwide candidate list, they need to collect 500 signatures in each of the
27 constituencies, and in return they are entitled to almost 149 million
forints in public subsidies, which amount - depending on the recommendations
collected – may climb as high as 600 million forints. In addition, the Hungarian
Court of Auditors does not investigate the spending of unsuccessful 'sham
parties' ex officio, but only in reported cases. The only positive element of
the new legislation on campaigning is that the tariffs of political
advertisements in the print media are made public.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">So far, the experience
with TI’s campaign monitoring suggests that Fidesz makes the most use of the
loopholes of the campaign financing regulation. As a result, TI believes that
the elections will be free, but not fair on many points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">And of course the free
does not apply in the financial sense.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(One Forint is equal to around 0.0027 Sterling, 0.0032
euro and 0.0047 US$)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on March 18 2014)</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-13023739451176854452014-03-31T12:19:00.000+02:002014-03-31T12:19:22.286+02:00THE FLAT WORLD AND THE GOOD SOCIETY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4atIpMqnTwVdLGr1GsfjoOp4Hn9ddSRSv0AjCI9KEQT1T0qmnUzHEI9LR4wSO0cNjbVNGLbkNbDMdhSQm4rhlRYg2yJjZ254M89YD-KqAsOM0YwtC5jCMYer3KiMDZGg8PqwATF8Euifv/s1600/The+Bridge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4atIpMqnTwVdLGr1GsfjoOp4Hn9ddSRSv0AjCI9KEQT1T0qmnUzHEI9LR4wSO0cNjbVNGLbkNbDMdhSQm4rhlRYg2yJjZ254M89YD-KqAsOM0YwtC5jCMYer3KiMDZGg8PqwATF8Euifv/s1600/The+Bridge.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The other evening, within a matter of five minutes, I sent messages to
socialist colleagues in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania via
Facebook and received answers back. The content was more social than socialist
but I could have easily been organizing a Europe-wide campaign or demonstration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;">This is of amazement to me because I grew up in the post-War era where
there were two ways to communicate: by letter or by face-to-face contact. True
telephones did exist but they largely were the preserve of upper and middle
class families. Housing estates tended to have a red public phone box to serve
the community: it was the days before vandalism struck. Companies and
governments were restricted to the letter and the telephone too although the
larger ones also had telex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;">So in my lifetime we have seen a profound change in how we communicate. However
how government works, in a creaking and remote top down fashion, has not
altered at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Modern communications via the internet, the social media, smart phones and
tablets might be viewed by some as the media of the young. They are wrong. Just
as I use Facebook and Twitter it is not unusual to see men and women of the
generation before mine on the streets or in the supermarket clutching their
smart phones. You no longer have to buy a newspaper or rush home for the main
news broadcast to find out what is happening in the world: your smart phone
will tell you in an instant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;">So how can this massive shift in how we communicate impact beneficially on
our politics? The answer comes in a new publication by Compass Chair Neal
Lawson and Danish MP Uffee Elbaek. Compass promotes the concept of the Good
Society and here it meets our new flat world. It is entitled: “The Bridge: how the politics of the future will link the vertical to
the horizontal”. It makes stimulating reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">In an article in The Guardian on the day of the
publication’s launch the two co-authors wrote:</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> <em><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://action.compassonline.org.uk/page/m/42448690/6f81273/589674b9/83fa3b5/892252901/VEsA/" target="_blank" title="http://www.compassonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Compass-The-Bridge2.pdf"></a>“So
what does the age of the internet, the smart phone and social networks
give us? It gives us informed, enabled and empowered citizens because we
can learn, talk and act together to solve the critical challenges in our world
because traditional politics can’t reverse inequality or climate change.</span></em><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><em><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">“The old icebergs of state and corporation are
dissolving into a flat and fluid sea where action only becomes meaningful in
concert with others. The waves of change demand interconnections to flow
because we know that all of us are smarter than anyone of us. Kickstarter,
Wikipedia, Open Source, Mumsnet, The People Who Share and Thoughtworks are some
of the first movers in a future that is being co-produced.”<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">The Bridge makes a very strong point which I
believe is of key importance.</span></em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> I fear
that many people believe that these mass movements either on the streets or the
social media can change the world hence political parties or governments will
no longer be necessary. We have seen
people power at work in Egypt and now in Ukraine. However once the tyrants
fall, what then? As the journalist John Harris said at the recent Change: How?
(Un)Conference “you can’t redistribute income sitting in a tent outside of St
Paul’s”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Arab Spring started in Tunisia and it is there
that the public protests have followed through to profound democratic change
with a new constitution and parliament. This is stressed by Lawson and Elbaek
who write: “</span><em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">But in these ‘new times’
political parties will still matter. After Tahrir Square or someday soon
Trafalgar Square someone has to stand the candidates, cohere the manifesto, set
the budgets and establish the policy basis for capacity building and
be the ‘bridge’ between the state and the new horizontal movements.”</span></em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">The message of The Bridge is - there is hope. It
tells us: “Instead of trying to fit people to a bureaucratic state or a free
market – we can bend this increasingly flat world to our values and us. We are
all particles in the wave of a future that is ours to make.”<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">Some governments, especially in small countries,
are already responding to this communications revolution. Estonia has embrace
e-government and e-politics. Gibraltar is about to follow suit. Other governments
allow its citizens access via the social media to question ministers directly
and to hold them to account.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">The Bridge concludes: “</span></em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For the first time in a long time, radical egalitarian
democrats face a future in which there is hope, real hope. The advances made in
the last century were secured through bureaucratic and top down structures that
were at best remote, and at worst, elitist. A good society was never going to be
constructed through them as means clashed with ends. As such they simply paved
the way for the free-market revolution in the closing decades of that century.</span><em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal;">“</span></em><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Today and tomorrow we build in a different way. We
start with human beings and our infinite capacity for love, empathy and
connection. Instead of trying to fit people to a bureaucratic state or a free
market we bend this increasingly flat world to our values and ourselves. We are
all particles in the wave of the future. If we get it right, modernity can
again be on our side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ES;">“To paraphrase Marx ‘we make
history, but not in conditions of our choosing’. The context of our actions
strongly influences the effect of those actions. But the context for those
actions has never been better aligned with our beliefs. As the earth is
flattened, the prospects for a good society rise. So we stand at a threshold –
an era in which means and ends can be united – the more democratic and equal
society, which we desire, is being made feasible by democratic and egalitarian
behaviour. The future is ours to make. Because we can.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: ES;">To read The Bridge – click below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><a href="http://www.compassonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Compass-The-Bridge2.pdf">http://www.compassonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Compass-The-Bridge2.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ES;">(The above article was
published in the London Progressive Journal on March 7 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-32831053472425125682014-01-15T12:16:00.000+01:002014-01-15T12:16:56.845+01:00RAJOY VERSUS EUROPE’S SOCIALISTS OVER REPRESSIVE ABORTION LAW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKiELXtTASDttu6F8OxKrESfGLrlIbdT34PV2CtTH90eTW4UdiEjbtcmHD8-nC5jlhx-TYPdbZWf-YmSsODFc0AeWpdEKjp75Ma_lGfvAteGcZUJbtEzn0nsr6OMGGEKDEktlDhrOMMbk/s1600/Valenciano+and+Gurmai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKiELXtTASDttu6F8OxKrESfGLrlIbdT34PV2CtTH90eTW4UdiEjbtcmHD8-nC5jlhx-TYPdbZWf-YmSsODFc0AeWpdEKjp75Ma_lGfvAteGcZUJbtEzn0nsr6OMGGEKDEktlDhrOMMbk/s320/Valenciano+and+Gurmai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Spain’s
right wing Partido Popular leader and Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has
achieved a notable feat. He has managed to have all the socialist parties in
Europe declare war on his government.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
subject that is stoking anger across the continent is the decision of the PP
Government to repeal PSOE’s abortion legislation and to introduce its own bill
that is seen as being discriminatory against women. The European socialists
under Party of European Socialists (PES) have answered the call from PSOE to
support them in fighting this legislation.</span><strong style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> PES is made up of all the major socialist
parties in Europe including the UK’s Labour Party.</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Rajoy
cannot even count on it being a left versus right confrontation so that the
European parties of the centre right will come to his aid. Indeed members of
the Partido Popular in Parliament, including the outspoken PP MP and former
minister Celia Villalobos whose husband is a Rajoy guru, are against the move.
Four PP presidents of regional governments in Spain oppose this legislation, “</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">La ley de Gallardón”, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">being introduced by the
minister of the same name. Two PP mayors, both doctors, have publicly
questioned the law. True to form Rajoy is stamping down on any voiced
opposition from his party’s ranks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">There
have already been protests outside the Spanish Embassy in Paris and as the
campaign grows expect more of the same as people across Europe publically
denounce Rajoy. The PP has agreed to ban women from opting freely for
abortions, outraging pro-choice campaigners who say the move will take the
country back to the 1980s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">In the majority of
European countries, abortion is freely available in the first 14 weeks of
pregnancy. After that abortion is only allowed if there are serious risks to
the mother or the foetus through illness or severe anomalies. The PP seeks a
far more restrictive set of regulations: prohibiting the mother from having any
part in the decision making and prohibiting abortions in many cases of serious
malformations or foetal anomalies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">The PES president,
Sergei Stanishev stated: “This law by Spain’s Conservative Government is not
against abortion, this is a law against women. I will do everything possible to
mobilise PES Member Parties to lend their weight to this fight for the rights
of women, in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.” He added: “women’s rights will be
a central issue in the European election campaign”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">Stanishev thanked
PES vice president Elena Valenciano of Spain’s socialist PSOE for the letter
calling for support from PES against the Spanish PP Government’s proposal to
drastically curtail a woman’s right to choose.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">PES Women’s President Zita Gurmai</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">added: “all of Europe’s
progressive forces should join us in making this stand and fight for the
right of women to choose. We must fight to protect the sensible and
compassionate decisions that have been made over the last years on fundamental
women’s rights in Europe”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">When PSOE brought
in its very liberal legislation the PP made it clear it opposed it, tried to
ban it through the courts and hence it is no surprise it has brought forward
its own regressive law. Needless to say the Spanish Catholic Church, always an
ally of the right, has played a major part behind the scenes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">Abortion may be the
issue but what it demonstrates is Spain’s slide into an authoritarian State
where the people’s rights across a broad spectrum of life are being eroded.
There would be some irony indeed if the famous Rajoy water cannon, purchased to
keep his people off the streets under his repressive internal security law, was
first used in Madrid against a Europe-wide co-ordinated protest against the new
abortion law. Make no mistake Spain’s Partido Popular government is not a
conservative government but a neo-Francoist government growing more repressive
by the day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">(Photo: PSOE’s
Elena Valenciano with PES Women President Zita Gurmai)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article
was published in the London Progressive Forum on January 15 2014).</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-86536325719421461432013-11-23T19:12:00.001+01:002013-11-23T19:12:32.197+01:00THE TORY AND MEDIA XENOPHOBES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1tI4s-W__vXg3r0Im-nb94E7l_GvV53Zi71vxmFzclfPj1MFe9ESnVPI1P4aIsehfCmiRMnxD-tR1-ktB31WfhZ8oVUUbNhfUPpnJB0eq_WVAd3fbokaROf7cjX6t2FGgS8xwDIKcjF6/s1600/Cretu+Ivan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1tI4s-W__vXg3r0Im-nb94E7l_GvV53Zi71vxmFzclfPj1MFe9ESnVPI1P4aIsehfCmiRMnxD-tR1-ktB31WfhZ8oVUUbNhfUPpnJB0eq_WVAd3fbokaROf7cjX6t2FGgS8xwDIKcjF6/s320/Cretu+Ivan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
recent days I have read a Tweet saying that if the next British General
Election is fought on the issue of immigration then Labour will lose. I have also
heard a report of a study on what the main election issues in 2015 will be.
With the improving economy at the top of the list is immigration. So like it or
not immigration into the UK will be hotly debated during the election campaign
and Labour needs to be prepared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It is
right and proper that immigration should be openly discussed in Britain and
people’s fears addressed. However there is a thin line between talking about
immigration and that slipping over into xenophobic or racist attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There
are those on the far right of the Conservative ranks and in UKIP who are happy
to discuss immigration dressed up as xenophobia. Indeed there are those in the
present Conservative – Lib Dem coalition who are frightening people with tales
of a flood of Romanians and Bulgarians heading for our shores in 2014. This
campaign reaches back to both of those countries where people feel they are the
undeserved victims of racist attacks by our very own government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
came to a head last week when MEPs’ Corina Cretu, who is vice-president of the
S&D Group and Catalin Ivan, the head of Romanian delegation in European
Parliament, sent an open letter to the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron. They
voiced their country’s concern over the aggressive and populist way in which
Great B<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>ritain regards the elimination of restrictions for
Romanian and Bulgarian workers. They have asked David Cameron to publicly
condemn xenophobe and extremist messages launched by some politicians and in press
campaigns, largely it has to be said in the Tory supporting media.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
letter stated: “We invite you to underline, in a firm and public message, the
fact that Britain’s Government respects the European legislation and will
cancel the restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers starting from
January 1, 2014.” As far as I am aware Cameron is yet to respond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Romanian MEP’s criticized the ambiguity of Britain’s Government that encourages
press campaigns against the rights and dignity of Romanian’s as European
citizens. Corina Cretu and Catalin Ivan have condemned the racism and
xenophobia of some political and public statements in Great Britain, pleading
at the same time for condemnation without hesitation of such racist attitudes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
two Romanian MEPs pointed to recently published data regarding the positive
presence and the strong work ethic of immigrants in UK and believe the Prime
Minister should use these facts to take a stand against extremist and xenophobe
speeches directed towards Romanians. They referred specifically to a
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) report which indicates there is significant
proof that immigrants bring increased value to production potential and to the
level of demand in the UK’s economy, increasing the long term GDP. Also, 63 per
cent of the CBI members stated that free movement of the workers in EU had a
positive effect on their businesses. On the other hand, only 1 per cent of CBI
members stated that immigrants had a negative impact on their businesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Catalin
Ivan observes that the British Prime Minister should know these facts as he was
present at the CBI conference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
their open letter to Cameron the two Romanian MEPs stated:<b><i> </i></b>“We cannot accept all
these deviant nuances of public speech towards extremism and xenophobia,
especially when they are based on ridiculous exaggerations and on inducing the
fear of immigrants for Britain’s citizens.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Romania,
like other former Communist Bloc countries in the EU, badly needs investment. Both
these Romanian social-democrats want to encourage investors from UK to come to
Romania and to create well-paid jobs so the two countries can work in
partnership and not be at racist odds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Whether
the letter from Cretu and Ivan will receive a reply from David Cameron remains
to be seen. Whether he steps in to put a stop to the xenophobic and racists
attacks will be the litmus test of his personal beliefs. His actions will also
set the tone for the wider immigration debate that the UK is heading for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">(The
above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on November 22
2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-46474859535131349882013-11-17T10:24:00.001+01:002013-11-17T10:24:22.826+01:00SCHULZ FIGHTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC EUROPE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52RufxJ7_sq4UjGm63IkUbLS5FvRG2LRJ_mTUwdnKlcRsN2G37pxY1ykquv9cpLsxQPffh5xB7r9RtgpsLfyBmLZdK9SzrjZGMCg5LHGfR_FTKmexiqNWceZJtvn1KP_kDd2m8-F2tc6f/s1600/Martin+Schultz+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52RufxJ7_sq4UjGm63IkUbLS5FvRG2LRJ_mTUwdnKlcRsN2G37pxY1ykquv9cpLsxQPffh5xB7r9RtgpsLfyBmLZdK9SzrjZGMCg5LHGfR_FTKmexiqNWceZJtvn1KP_kDd2m8-F2tc6f/s320/Martin+Schultz+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Next May the voters of the European Union will not only have
the chance to elect their Euro MPs but if they vote for socialist and social democratic
parties under the PES umbrella they will also be voting for Martin Schulz.
Schulz is the agreed PES candidate for the post of EC President: should that
grouping be in the majority he would replace Barroso.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A lot has to happen before that scenario falls in to place
but if determination and a commitment to return the EU to the people of Europe
counts for anything then Schulz has made a good start. He may also be the only
candidate for EC President offered to the voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I first heard Martin Schulz speak in Sofia in June at the PES
Congress. He was then, as he is now, President of the European Parliament. He
articulated a clear vision for reforming the EU which struck a chord. Then he
was only spoken of as a potential PES Candidate for EC President. Since then at
least 20 of the PES parties have backed him and hence he is the candidate
designate to be confirmed in Rome at the end of February.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Last week I had the chance to hear Martin Schulz speak again
as candidate and what’s more in his native Germany to Germans. It was
fascinating to hear his own party’s take on his campaign. That was set out by
Achim Post, a leading SPD politician, who also happens to be the Secretary
General of PES.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It was clear at the PES meeting in Leipzig just hours ahead
of the SPD conference that party members are very proud that Schulz had been
supported by parties Europe wide. However as Post pointed out Germans are fully
aware that Germany under Merkel is far from popular in Europe and hence the
need to differentiate between her CDU and the SPD. This will almost certainly
be a difficult task as it is likely that the SPD will form a coalition with the
CDU to govern Germany: so Schulz will be linked to the style of governance he
opposes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For his part Schulz has made it very clear that if elected as
EC President he will hold the post in the name of the people of Europe and not
the Heads of Governments of the EU. Next May not only will there be a new
European Parliament but if Schulz is elected a hurricane of change will blow
through Brussels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">So what does Schulz stand for? He talks of a more social
Europe. “The EU needs to be reformed.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It
is neither socially just nor effective. It has no solidarity and threatens to
disintegrate into pieces.” Schulz has promoted European unity as a unique
project of civilization for peace, freedom and justice on the continent.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In the forthcoming European elections
this is threatened by backward-looking, ultra-nationalist parties:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>“We have to tell them -
nationalism in Europe has always been just war, destruction and misery.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Schulz is leading the fight against youth unemployment where
some Member States are stagnating at record levels of jobless young people.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>“We are the richest continent in the
world and allow that in some countries up to 50 percent of young people are
unemployed,” he told SPD delegates in Leipzig. His SPD has voted for the fight
against youth unemployment to be the top priority along with growth impulses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Schulz’s key message is for more democracy so he is fighting
for increased democratic participation, equality between men and women, peace
internally and externally, and a social Europe.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In addition in times of digital
transformation the need for privacy and civil liberties get a high priority.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>More will emerge in the coming weeks
and months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Andreas Herrmann is a German member of PES, the SPD and
a journalist. What is his take on Schulz the candidate? “In my view Martin is a
real European. He grew up in the frontier region between Germany, France and
Belgium and has experienced there growing together from daily life. I live
in a similar region with borders to Poland and the Czech people.
That’s why I know how much work has to be invested even on regional level
to bring people together and secure peace. Martin is the man who can bring
this very human bottom up approach to the highest level of European policy and
that’s why he is the right person for Commission President.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">So to France where the Parti Socialiste considers
itself the big beast of European socialist politics. Pierre Kanuty is
responsible for international affairs for the PS and he said the party supports
“Martin Schulz as a PES candidate for the European Commission. We have been in favour
of such a decision in the previous European elections of 2009. We thought the European
socialists have to embody their political programme for Europe in a strong
progressive leadership. It was coherent to propose an alternative to
conservatives in Europe and then have someone else other than Barroso to vote
for. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who was in favour of this idea and who was the
perfect candidate, did not get a majority among PES leaders and heads of
government as a candidate. Learning from its mistakes, PES decided in autumn
2009 to have a common candidate.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">He
continued: “Europe is about ideas and people who can show there is an
alternative to the hysteria of austerity and to conservatives. Martin Schulz is
a good candidate. As president of the European parliament, the only
democratically elected body of the EU, Martin was determined enough to put his
foot in the door as the Council and the Commission used to have the last words.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Final word
to Pierre on the fact that Schulz is German? Kanuty observed: “Some may think
it makes a lot of Germans around. But unlike Merkel’s CDU which dreams of a German
Europe, Schulz is committed to a European Germany.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vive la
différence!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Vive la liberté et la démocratie!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on
November 17 2013 with versions in other publications)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-91365721815870634032013-11-08T09:43:00.000+01:002013-11-08T09:43:09.816+01:00NOW YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE NEXT EC PRESIDENT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGn8Shk_RUmr6meqqdEk4aGMp8PL58bssm0T2wlShyphenhyphen2rZ3Mc9q61AEKwqtTizPXh7f6rnlpgE0VEKJox2dQGYyt3gkgyRsf0DujilrTLzBEKLnd1tDzTPVUnfgREXV7KyZppgKmwyDOHH/s1600/Martin+Schultz+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGn8Shk_RUmr6meqqdEk4aGMp8PL58bssm0T2wlShyphenhyphen2rZ3Mc9q61AEKwqtTizPXh7f6rnlpgE0VEKJox2dQGYyt3gkgyRsf0DujilrTLzBEKLnd1tDzTPVUnfgREXV7KyZppgKmwyDOHH/s320/Martin+Schultz+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On Wednesday November 6 a very significant event took
place in Brussels. Martin Schulz was confirmed as the Party of European
Socialists (PES) candidate designate for the European Commission President. So
how does this impact on you? The answer is in a very big way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Next May all the voters of the 28 nations that make up
the European Union will go to the polls to elect the MEPs who will sit in the
European Parliament. Now here comes the difference. In 2010 only the 488 MEPs
voted for the European Commission and its President. Martin Schulz has stated:
“</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">In 2014 I want 390 million citizens to have their say.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">All the European socialist and social democratic parties that may up PES, the
grouping that Labour Party MEPs sit under in the European Parliament, have
agreed a common candidate for the Presidency and he will campaign in all 28
European Member States ahead of the May 2014 elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">The fact that 28 national parties have been able to agree on a common
candidate is a miracle in itself as those on the left are not noted for working
together in such a way. However PES is the first and could be the only party
grouping that actually presents its candidate for the EC Presidency to the
voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">This means that if you vote for a socialist candidate and if the PES group
is in the majority across Europe after the elections there will be no stitched
up backroom deals as in the past as Martin Schulz will be your EC President.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Over the next four months,
Schulz will engage with Socialist and Social Democrat Member Parties before he
officially becomes the ‘common candidate’ at the PES election Congress on 1
March to be held in Rome.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Speaking in Brussels after the
meeting to adopt him as the PES candidate designate Schulz stated: “I am
honoured and humbled to receive the confidence and support of PES” adding “I
will travel to PES Member Parties to listen to members concerns and ideas.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Schulz observed that many are
reluctant to engage in this process adding; “They say that Europe ‘doesn’t need
a face that people can vote for’, or that ‘the Commission shouldn’t be
politicised’. To those complaints I have very simple answers. As millions of EU
citizens who have felt the consequences already know, the European Commission has
long been politicised. Unfortunately it has been the politics of the elite. It
is time for a connection between EU institutions and EU citizens. And it is
time to build a Europe that people can invest in because they know it invests
in them. The best way to get the EU working for people again is to first
involve them”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">It was back in 2009 that PES
took the decision to deliver a democratically selected candidate for the 2014
European Elections. PES treasurer and Chair of the PES Working Group Candidate
2014, Ruairi Quinn, said: “Today we have taken a huge step. Now we must invest
in and engage with our Member Parties to raise awareness among our grass root
membership. Then we will be ready to bring a renewed sense of accountability to
the electorate.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Martin Schulz was nominated by
his own party, the German Social Democrats (SPD). He is currently the President
of the European Parliament and I briefly met him then heard him speak at the
PES Conference in June in Sofia. In his early working life he was a trainee in
a bookshop becoming a bookshop owner: my kind of politician. Next week, God
willing, I will be at the SPD conference in Leipzig where Martin Schultz will
speak. I will report on what he had to say in a future article.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on November 7 2013).</span></div>
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SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-7769822981571518552013-10-04T13:25:00.001+02:002013-11-08T09:45:21.044+01:00THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIlPPWlf1FmGNyY-DUvqKAjPS1NEWgtJtP-qsvJH9zWPE8woinq7sAnWlnPKdhS87_mLHJ6ksnBdLEM-0vF59ijVRjIhKygPB-wx5s2XK5_x2CylHhssuutfShj6KTZ8uoqlORyo2gcZJ/s1600/Ralph_Miliband_in_1958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIlPPWlf1FmGNyY-DUvqKAjPS1NEWgtJtP-qsvJH9zWPE8woinq7sAnWlnPKdhS87_mLHJ6ksnBdLEM-0vF59ijVRjIhKygPB-wx5s2XK5_x2CylHhssuutfShj6KTZ8uoqlORyo2gcZJ/s1600/Ralph_Miliband_in_1958.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I must admit to being bewildered by the present Daily
Mail campaign to vilify the father of the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.
Given the profile of the Mail’s readership I presume the majority already view
Ed as Red so exactly what is to be gained from presenting his father as a man
who “hated Britain”, which he clearly didn’t, is beyond me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Certainly his father Ralph was a prominent Marxist
thinker but we knew that even before we knew Ed and David. Indeed I have visited
his grave in Highgate cemetery located very near to that of Karl Marx himself.
Whilst Marx’s resting place is a monument that of Miliband is understated:
indeed if you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t find it. The Daily Mail were
and did and placed a photograph of it online labelled “Grave Socialist” – an
act it has now conceded as an “error of judgement”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In his right of reply piece in the Daily Mail this
week Ed Miliband said his father, a Jewish refugee fled Belgium aged 16 to
escape the Nazis. He “loved” Britain and served in the Royal Navy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I should add that it was also whilst studying at the
LSE that he developed as a formidable Marxist, yes a Marxist but a British
Marxist. He has been described as <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"one
of the best known academic Marxists of his generation", on a par with Perry
Anderson, Eric Hobsbawn and E P Thompson.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So whilst the Daily Mail might want to make a link
between the Father Marxist and the Red Son, both of which again we knew, to
suggest that Ed’s father “hated Britain” and then to raise question marks over
his children’s loyalty is beyond the pale. When young Ralph wrote:<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"When you hear the English talk of
this war you sometimes almost want them to lose it to show them how things are
... To lose their<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">empire</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">would be the worst possible
humiliation" he was talking of the British insular nationalist tendency
and contempt for the Continent in general both ironically exemplified by the
Daily Mail to this day.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Although Ed Miliband does not share his father’s
political beliefs the Daily Mail justifies its attack on the basis that Ralph
may have influenced his son. So now let’s listen to the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES-TRAD;">Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith who has launched an outspoken attack on
the Daily Mail in the wake of the newspaper’s relentlessly hostile coverage
of <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ed Miliband’s</span> late father.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES-TRAD;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES-TRAD;">Speaking at a fringe
event at the <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Conservative Party conference</span> in Manchester on Tuesday,
the Tory backbencher accused the Mail and its owners, the Rothermere family, of
doing "more to pursue the Nazi cause prewar" than any other
publication. The Conservative MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">echoed the views of countless Twitter users</span> by raising
the Mail’s past associations with fascism and Nazism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">He said it was "odd
for a newspaper to judge a man on the basis of the history of his family when
that newspaper is owned by a family that did more to pursue the Nazi cause
prewar than any other". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Referencing Harold
Harmsworth, the first Viscount Rothermere and proprietor of the Mail, who lavished praise on the Nazis</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> in the run-up to the Second
World War, Goldsmith remarked: "[Joseph] Goebbels himself wrote endless
documents about Rothermere, describing him as being a strong ally and strongly
against the Jews. Those are the words he used. ‘Strongly against the Jews’. Has
Rothermere apologised? Have we ever had an apology from the Mail, or the Mail
group, in relation to their history." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The current Viscount
Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth, is the chairman of DMGT</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">, the publisher of the Daily Mail. Goldsmith
continued: "Maybe they’ll say it doesn’t matter don’t judge a paper or
current person on the back of their history. In which case. Leave the guy
alone." I know not whether Jonathan Harmsworth is strongly against the
Jews or pro-fascist I presume not. I do know though that he owns a rampant
right-wing rag so it is legitimate, because his own paper says so, to ask was
he influenced in his thinking by Rothermere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">As I write the Mail group
having apologised for the grave photo is now grovelling because a reporter was
sent to a memorial service for Miliband’s uncle. I believe staff are being
suspended: but fear not at the end of the day both Harmsworth and editor Dacre
will still be firmly in place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">When the Miliband row
first broke both Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg were
quick to back Ed in defending his father. They could see where this was going.
Not so the hapless Michael Gove. Gove, he who is of the opinion that people go
to food banks because “they are not best able to manage their finances,” unlike
Ralph Miliband, is obviously not one of the major intellects of his generation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Gove also believes the
Daily Mail has nothing to apologise to Miliband about and newspapers have the
right to offend. Stupid man! Up to now a politician’s family, certainly the
parents and grandparents, have been protected from scrutiny and attack by the
media. What Cameron and Clegg immediately saw but Gove is blind to is whilst it
is Miliband today - if this attack on his father is allowed to stand whose
father is next? Or mother come to that or granny. Cameron’s? Clegg’s? Gove’s?
Osborne’s? What did they say as teenagers that can be brought to bear against
today’s politicians on the basis of what they said or did could have influenced
them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Make no mistake we are on
a slippery slope. No surprise the Daily Mail is responsible for setting up this
fairground</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">slide: but it is boggled eyed
Gove who is the first down the slide on the mat waving as he goes like Toad of
Toad Hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on October 4 2013 and in other publications).</span><br />
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<br />SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-4569171823536107682013-09-26T09:31:00.001+02:002013-09-26T09:31:45.966+02:00BRITAIN CAN DO BETTER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTWSHMxnXbIZxFdDwcA1HkO2NdQbjqiKV4RANxhFWeNrmSIT7kdAhoicMenaxJ8SQAcDezh4CwoV52V6Q08eHFYzAz6Xg94nJZOZ1Fk9Ju5a_jmsoI12iP1AEUXXMJ1-BI23kiD0_VwpV/s1600/Ed+Miliband+speaks+at+conference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTWSHMxnXbIZxFdDwcA1HkO2NdQbjqiKV4RANxhFWeNrmSIT7kdAhoicMenaxJ8SQAcDezh4CwoV52V6Q08eHFYzAz6Xg94nJZOZ1Fk9Ju5a_jmsoI12iP1AEUXXMJ1-BI23kiD0_VwpV/s320/Ed+Miliband+speaks+at+conference.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This afternoon (Tuesday) Labour Leader Ed Miliband
made his keynote speech to his party’s annual conference in Brighton. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Speaking as
is now usual for more than hour without notes Miliband set out his vision of
how “Britain can do better” under Labour, with an economy that works for “ordinary
people once again”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Whereas his previous two party addresses have established who Ed Miliband
was and to set out his “One Nation” philosophy this speech added the message
“Britain can do better” under Labour to those themes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">His words were given rapturous standing ovations as did his departure from
the conference hall with wife Justine at his side as they walked through the cheering
delegates to the sound of loud music followed by the media pack. However what
was important for the Labour Leader is not whether the delegates “got it” but
the nation at large.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Miliband pledged that his Labour
Government would freeze gas and electricity bills for every home and business
in the UK for 20 months if it wins the 2015 election. He added that
energy firms had been overcharging “for too long” and it was time to “reset”
the energy market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">He suggested he would support measures to give 16 and 17 year old votes in
general elections. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Miliband also promised Labour would build 200,000 new homes a year by 2020. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">The Labour Leader told delegates and the watching TV audience: “David
Cameron talks about Britain being in a global race. But what he doesn’t tell
you is that he thinks the only way Britain can win is for you to lose.” That
means “the lowest wages, the worst terms and conditions, and the fewest rights
at work - a race to the bottom. The only way we can win is in a race to the
top.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Miliband peppered his statements with the tag line: “We're Britain, we're
better than this” earning cheers and applause from Labour’s activists. He
received standing ovations for defending the NHS and promising to axe “the
bedroom tax” - and tackled Tory criticism that he lacks leadership skills
head-on, saying: “If they want to have a debate about leadership and character
- be my guest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Echoing the message from his Shadow Cabinet colleagues over the week he
told the party faithful, he had stood up to Murdoch, to vested interests on
media regulation and the tobacco lobby as well as made the right call on Syria.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">To find out what others thought I asked Lord Maurice Glasman who is a
Miliband guru. He told me: “Ed finally defines his direction. Regional banks,
living wage, interest rate cap, organizing, break up of oligopoly” all of which
has been promised by Labour and Ed at this week’s conference. Yet Glasman also
asks: “Can he hold the position?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Next on my list was Neal Lawson who is Chairman of Compass which campaigns
for The Good Society. He stated: “Ed’s speech was well delivered. Good lines
and some good policy. But no theme or argument to carry a debate.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">So how do others see us? Amongst the international delegates was Terry
Connolly. As his name suggests he is a member of Ireland’s Labour Party and
organizes the PES activists in Europe. His view is very positive. “It was a
powerful speech that showed that Ed Miliband is ready to become UK Prime
Minister. He showed a strong commitment to the social democratic ideals of
universality and outlined a clear vision of the future of the UK, a future
which will be shaped by the Labour Party.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Whether that future is shaped by Miliband and Labour is down to the great
British voter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">(This article appeared in the London Progressive Journal on September 24
2013 and in other publications)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-47365712694946115402013-09-26T09:28:00.000+02:002013-09-26T09:28:08.765+02:00GIBRALTARIANS DEMAND VOTE IN EU IN-OUT REFERENDUM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IPOg93PEW72LNb3mc-XpGBhkQePBA7sZmanxw-SFa4qhUbDn1FZ59VtoVLKiZ4bmabe-bqAg8pVZBkDQHonoGyT9yLaGK2cepjPb1q3fMsZ8rIel2UpxDNiRMVrsKqDifJEbPah-cPvy/s1600/Gibraltar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IPOg93PEW72LNb3mc-XpGBhkQePBA7sZmanxw-SFa4qhUbDn1FZ59VtoVLKiZ4bmabe-bqAg8pVZBkDQHonoGyT9yLaGK2cepjPb1q3fMsZ8rIel2UpxDNiRMVrsKqDifJEbPah-cPvy/s320/Gibraltar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gibraltar captured the news headlines in August after the Spanish
Government imposed lengthy eight hour queues to enter and leave the Rock as
part of its age old campaign to regain sovereignty. However my article today leaves aside that
300-year-old dispute and instead deals with events being played out in a dusty
committee room of the House of Commons. This centre’s on the battle to ensure
Gibraltarians are allowed to vote in the Conservative’s EU In-Out Referendum
should the Tories be returned to power at the next UK election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gibraltar has been a member of the EU since January 1 1973 by virtue of
Britain’s membership. However although Gibraltarians are full European citizens
they were denied a vote in the European Elections until the 2004 poll. This
followed a ten-year legal fight by Gibraltarians which culminated with the
European Court ruling that as European Citizens they had the fundamental right
to vote in the Euro elections. The UK then added Gibraltar to the South West
England Constituency where it sits today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A cynic may say there are two facts that may colour the Conservative
Party’s seeming reluctance to include Gibraltar in its EU In-Out referendum.
The first is that in the 2009 European Elections Gibraltar was the only area
amongst all the UK Constituencies where the vote for Labour increased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The second is that Gibraltar is very pro-Europe and indeed the UK’s
withdrawal from the EU would be politically and economically disastrous for the
Rock. Hence if an In – Out Referendum is held in 2017 it is likely that
Gibraltarians will vote massively to continue EU membership. True Gibraltar
only has around 20,000 votes but in a tight election that total could help swing
the election in favour of staying in the EU.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The whole concept of the 2017 referendum is a bizarre piece of
legislation. It is not the Conservative – Lib Dem Government that is proposing
it but it comes in the form of a Tory private member’s bill. It would only be
enacted if a Conservative Government was returned. It has little to do with the
EU but rather is a tactic to fend off UKIP at the next General Election and to
keep Tory Euro-sceptics onside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The job of the current Gibraltar Government is to ensure Gibraltarians
are part of any referendum with full voting rights. A general election will have
been held in Gibraltar before the 2017 date comes around so it will be for the
next Government to deal with the actual referendum and its campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In off the record chats with Gibraltar Government officials I have been
told that the UK has given the impression that Gibraltarians would be allowed
to vote in the referendum. However there is nothing in writing and the current
bill being discussed in Committee at the House of Commons, the Conservative
Private Member’s Bill, does not allow for Gibraltarians to vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Conservative Minister for Europe David Lidington had the chance to
clear up the matter last week when he addressed the committee stage of the
Bill. He said that <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">regardless of whether or not
Gibraltar is included in the In-Out referendum on the EU, which has yet to be
determined, the UK should consult the Government of Gibraltar to fully
understand its views as Gibraltarians would be affected by the decision either
way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 14pt;">Indeed they would Mr Lidington but asking the
Gibraltar Government its views is a far cry from allowing Gibraltarians, as
British and European citizens, to vote and is simply not acceptable. The
suspicion that the Tories intend to deny Gibraltarians the vote is strengthened
by the fact that Lidington did not take the opportunity when he had it to state
categorically that Gibraltar would be allowed to participate which would have
cleared up all doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 14pt;">Instead it has been left to Lidington’s shadow, Labour
Europe Minister Emma Reynolds and her team to fight Gibraltar’s corner.
Reynolds is worried</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> that the bill as currently drafted fails to appreciate the particular
and unique legal and constitutional position of Gibraltar as both a self
governing British Overseas Territory and as part of the European Union. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As the Bill is currently drafted, the entitlement to vote in the
proposed referendum will be restricted to “persons who, on the date of the
referendum, would be entitled to vote as electors at a parliamentary election
in any constituency.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Whilst Gibraltarians are entitled to vote in European Parliamentary
elections as part of the South West England Constituency they are self
governing and not represented in the UK’s Parliament. The people of Gibraltar
would therefore not be able to vote on whether to remain or leave the European
Union should a referendum take place. There is also the prospect of Gibraltar
having to leave the European Union, alongside the UK, without its people having
had a say. Labour has proposed two key amendments: the first to ensure that
Gibraltarians as British citizens are included and the second that Gibraltar’s
result is declared separately. Will the Tories take note? No sign so far!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For Gibraltar this is a two-fold issue. Gibraltarians, as European
Citizens, must be allowed to vote on their future in Europe. Withdrawal would
have important negative economic implications for Gibraltar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gibraltar’s successful business model has taken the best part of the past
forty years to develop as Gibraltarians have matured into their role in Europe.
In an address to the Fabian Society in London in April Gibraltar’s socialist
Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, stated: “Our success in tourism, bunkering,
telecoms, financial services and gaming as well as the many other sectors of
our economic activity depends on our membership of the EU giving us unimpeded
access to the Single Market in services and free movement of people and
capital.” He added: “Now would be the wrong to time to change one of the few
successful economic models in Southern Europe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The prospect of Gibraltar’s economy being destroyed by the UK’s
withdrawal from the EU, via a referendum in which Gibraltarians as British and European
Citizens had no say, would be disastrous for Gibraltar and disastrous for our
concept of democracy. It is the duty of the Conservative-led Government and the
Conservative Party to ensure that does not happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />
(The above article appeared in the London Progressive Journal on September 16
2013 with a version also in the Gibraltar daily, Panorama).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-20771040458116062652013-08-10T08:54:00.000+02:002013-08-10T08:54:31.313+02:00EU URGENTLY NEEDS TO PUT ITS DEMOCRACY IN ORDER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisexsnlJABWfu8iCGNlbRJy02NbjXx0L1QTeKu4BzWyuoJkKKdYoI7jc0VmOXdpnLeSorgSE433l8j0CP5_K_jTpi1Fabf7PpL3uRvtcFZpAN46iEJeHU3zFXye1F8KNEnO5xg5H1gskl4/s1600/EU.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisexsnlJABWfu8iCGNlbRJy02NbjXx0L1QTeKu4BzWyuoJkKKdYoI7jc0VmOXdpnLeSorgSE433l8j0CP5_K_jTpi1Fabf7PpL3uRvtcFZpAN46iEJeHU3zFXye1F8KNEnO5xg5H1gskl4/s320/EU.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In March I attended a Party of European Socialists
conference in Budapest. Although the event dealt with Europe-wide issues
Hungary was specifically chosen to show solidarity with the MSzP, the country’s
socialist party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">There are fears that democracy is under attack in Hungary
from the centre right Fidesz government of Viktor Orbán: this is an issue which
has preoccupied the EU for some time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">On my way to a MSzP rally I found myself by accident
walking with jackbooted supporters of the far-right Arpad. Four alleged members
of this organisation were recently convicted of murdering six Roma gypsies
between 2008 and 2009. I detailed the experience in my London Progressive
Journal at the time. Fidesz and Arpad are both affronts to our understanding of
democracy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The President of PES is the Bulgarian BSP leader Sergei
Stanishev. A general election had just been called in his country in March and
he shocked PES delegates in Budapest by asking them to come Bulgaria to act as
monitors on polling day. He said that when talking to other EU leaders they
were in disbelief when he told them that free and fair elections could not be
guaranteed in a member State, his country. My later investigations showed this
had been the case in Bulgaria for many years. Even Stanishev concedes he did
not do enough to tackle corruption when he was prime minister.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Before I went to Bulgaria as one of those election
monitors in May I wrote again in the LPJ begging the question how was this
country allowed to join the EU before it could demonstrate it was fully democratic.
I have since revisited Bulgaria in June, again documented in a LPJ article and
have to report that democracy is in a very fragile state indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">As soon as I knew I would be going to Bulgaria for
the elections I made contact with Transparency International, which has been
working in that country for a number of years. TI set out a plan for free and
fair elections before the May poll which were signed up to by some, largely
ignored by others even those who signed on the dotted line.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14pt;">The new Bulgarian Government
has undertaken to make changes to the Electoral Legislation and TI has
submitted a lengthy report on what practices it wants to see implemented. At
the start of this document it states: “</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">The monitoring of the election
process conducted by Transparency International - Bulgaria in 2013 identified
some recurrent deficits– a dominant share of irregularities in the organisation,
unlawful practices of controlling the will of voters and vote-buying,
violations of the rules for campaigning that go unpunished.” It then goes on to
list five main groupings of actions that it deems to be necessary to bring
about democracy:</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Changes
in the electoral legislation to ensure a new approach to compiling the electoral
rolls; lowering the strict criteria for candidate registration; ensuring wide and
free of charge access of registered candidates to the media; and introducing guarantees
for efficient functioning of the electoral administration bodies.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">II. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Changes
in the practices of institutions vested with powers in relation to the election
process to bring about a more efficient collaboration among them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">III. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Building
the capacity of the elections administration at the lowest level where the main
deficits in the election process have been identified – namely the election committees
at the level of polling stations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">IV. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Changes
in the media environment to ensure the principle of political pluralism, wide access
of registered candidates to media coverage, adequate provision of information and
guarantees against monopolistic positioning in the media market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">V. </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Ensuring
consensus among the political parties regarding the actual implementation of
measures against unlawful practices in the election process. This consensus
should be part of a larger-scale transformation in the way political parties
function, thus ensuring that the Bulgarian political parties truly represent
the interests of their voters, and genuinely abide by the established
democratic standards thus contributing to these standards being followed in the
overall political life of the country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">So it
is quite clear that Bulgarian standards of democracy do not meet EU norms. There
are real fears that Hungary will fail too when it comes to its own general
election next year. They are not alone: there are other New Europe countries in
the same plight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
Spain there is a widespread collapse in the trust in democracy, largely brought
about by political corruption. You can add Greece and Portugal to that list who
both scored ahead of Spain in a TI corruption survey. Other EU States from Old
Europe can probably identify similar voter concerns even if the voting will be
free and fair.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nor
is this just a matter of internal concern for each of the member States of the
EU. Next May Europeans will go to the polls to elect a European Parliament.
Bulgaria, Hungary and other nations where there are serious concerns over the
electoral process will participate. Hence some MEPs taking their seats in the
European Chamber may be there, not because the people elected them freely and
fairly but because the vote was rigged. Indeed that will almost certainly be
the case. The European Parliament will be devalued if it cannot be the true voice
of the people of Europe – and in those circumstances it can’t. So the EU cannot
turn a blind eye and pretend this isn’t happening or doesn’t matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Let me
quote from the EU itself. It grandly states: “</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The European Union believes that democracy and human
rights are universal values that should be vigorously promoted around the
world. They are integral to effective work on poverty alleviation and conflict
prevention and resolution, in addition to being valuable bulwarks against
terrorism. Having come into force on 1 January 2007, the Europeam Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">is the concrete expression of the EU's
intention to integrate the promotion of democracy and human rights into all of
its external policies.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">A fine ideal. However might I
suggest that the EU starts off by integrating “the promotion of democracy and
human rights” in its own member States before it worries about taking the
message to the world. As things stand elections in many parts of the EU are not
free and fair: so it does not have the moral right to lecture anyone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article appeared in the
London Progressive Journal on August 10 2013).</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-83724313431488640822013-08-07T10:51:00.002+02:002013-08-07T10:51:49.357+02:00COLLAPSE IN SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqA2Z3b8-WHnk93-I0De0S3wkiyJ_1GYg9JlRVnbg4fvNv8yy7889LB9LafmhbB3-g5gpMoP64o2HJahEl85VoBa2Kv39FO7r2KGBEry1tzo27HjXqnsc9e5FgfJpU4XzjuDYjxFDhzpxX/s1600/Rajoy+protest+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqA2Z3b8-WHnk93-I0De0S3wkiyJ_1GYg9JlRVnbg4fvNv8yy7889LB9LafmhbB3-g5gpMoP64o2HJahEl85VoBa2Kv39FO7r2KGBEry1tzo27HjXqnsc9e5FgfJpU4XzjuDYjxFDhzpxX/s320/Rajoy+protest+poster.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">One-off opinion
polls can be dismissed: but when various polls from different sources set a
trend we have to look at them very seriously indeed. Over the past months I
have written a number of articles for the London Progressive Journal reflecting
the collapse in Spain in the people’s trust in their politicians, the political
parties and now most worrying of all in democracy itself.</span></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Several weeks ago
Transparency International in a survey reported 86 per cent of Spaniards
believed their politicians to be corrupt. Now the latest poll from Egopa
covering Andalucía suggests they are fast giving up on democracy too. If you
remove democracy, what do you have left: a dictatorship?</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Egopa study
carried out by a division of the University of Granada showed that the people
of Andalucía take a negative view of politics. Indeed in July 74.5 per cent
voiced a negative view of politicians and their parties, the highest level
since the surveys began in 2007. It is also very close to the Transparency
International findings for all of Spain.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The most serious
problem is that the disenchantment on the part of the public with their
politicians has now transferred to a disapproval of how democracy itself
functions. Of those questioned 83 per cent say they had little or no
satisfaction with the functioning of democracy, a level that has grown
significantly since 2008 when the figures was just 35 per cent.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">However the
positive news for PSOE is that if elections were held now in Andalucía, which
has its own regional government, then the socialist party would win with 36 per
cent of the votes. This gives them a seven point lead over the centre-right Partido
Popular, which has been rejected by voters due to their handling of the country’s
economy and the fallout from the Bárcenas corruption scandal. The PP would now
take just 29 per cent of the votes with the far left Izquierda Unida the
biggest gainers riding high on 18.7 per cent.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The fall of grace
of the PP has been dramatic down to just 29 per cent from a survey level of
48.9 per cent in the summer of 2011. The PSOE vote is slightly up over the two
year period from 34.3 per cent. Far left Izquierda Unida has tripled its
support over the same period as has the UPyD from to 6.7 per cent from 2.3.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The “political
sympathy” level for the IU now exceeds that for the PP (15.8 per cent against
13.6) but both are behind PSOE on 29.5.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">If an election was
held now only 50.7 per cent of people in Andalucía would bother to vote, the
lowest level since 1982. The performance of the PSOE – IU Andalucía government
is rated as bad or very bad by 58 per cent of Andaluces, which again is the
highest level since these surveys were started in 2007. So when you look deeply
at the support figures for the parties you seen they are frighteningly low: the
fact is Spaniards have turned their backs on all politicians be they right,
left or centre.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">This
disillusionment with politicians and democracy is a very toxic mix indeed. As
we currently see there is a Spanish Government largely out of control listening
to nobody including its own people and party.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The current crisis
between the Spanish Government and Gibraltar is not perceived by Spaniards as
being over the sovereignty of the territory but as a frantic attempt by Madrid
to distract attention away from the Bárcenas corruption scandal than envelopes
the Partido Popular and the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Bárcenas was the
PP treasurer with millions stashed away in secret bank accounts abroad. Rajoy,
who supported his treasurer, is mired in the perception of corruption. Bárcenas
insists he made him and other PP top politicians illicit payments, and as a
result because he refuses to resign the prime minister is isolated by the other
parties in Parliament.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">In a Spain of
record high unemployment, a severe economic crisis, thousand on thousand losing
their homes but still owing the banks for their mortgages, of countless
homeless, the need for communal kitchens to feed hungry men, women and
children, food banks for disadvantaged families and used clothing for those who
have nothing, Spaniards are not going to stand by and let their corrupt
politicians get away with it.</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">They see the
attempts by Rajoy and his Foreign Minister Margallo to confront Gibraltar as a
cheap attempt to divert their attention. As one Spanish newspaper asked on
Saturday: do they think we are stupid? No Spaniards are not: but they are very
angry indeed and their politicians will pay the price. The question is: if
democracy goes, what then?</span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="first" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">(The above article
appeared in the London Progressive Journal on August 6 2013 with other versions
in various publications)</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-72035049130524684602013-07-29T10:50:00.000+02:002013-07-29T10:50:33.420+02:00IT’S FRANCO’S HEART THAT BEATS IN MADRID<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomQj6b3GmFAAY6FBz3v_a-8D8jAZ7rVIdwO8sy05Vn7KsLLz8SdAfL_bwVB3-o_yQ_KfyU7VTLfVsyydrPHnwxSDg21GarhB9LQbPrXmE5kLIctXikboCmdla0XT0y3OKU5jsuLogpaP0/s1600/553+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomQj6b3GmFAAY6FBz3v_a-8D8jAZ7rVIdwO8sy05Vn7KsLLz8SdAfL_bwVB3-o_yQ_KfyU7VTLfVsyydrPHnwxSDg21GarhB9LQbPrXmE5kLIctXikboCmdla0XT0y3OKU5jsuLogpaP0/s320/553+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; letter-spacing: .25pt;">No Gibraltarian and
come to that anybody living in the real world will believe the confrontations
at sea last week over the reef laying and the six hour car queues to leave
Gibraltar at the weekend were anything but linked. Thanks to the world media
from the BBC to Fox News much of the rest of the world now knows that too. Even
Britain’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and the Foreign Office issued
urgent protests to Madrid.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">The confrontation started last Wednesday when a tug was
laying concrete blocks in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters between the
North Mole and the runway. Nor was this action a surprise because</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"> the creation of reefs in different parts of
British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, as part of Gibraltar’s marine protection
strategy, was announced when the Government published the fishing report. These
reefs will increase biodiversity and provide refuge for many marine species.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">This was not some whacky idea dreamed up by
Environment Minister Dr John Cortes over a plate of calamari but approved
science. So whilst the Andalucía Government accuses Gibraltar of potentially
damaging the environment it has emerged that Sevilla has created 480 square kms
of exactly the same reef structures off its own coastline – a coastline that it
shares with Gibraltar.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">So why has
Andalucía done this?</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"> It has installed 25 artificial reefs over the period 1989 to 2011to
protect the marine environment and promote traditional fishing methods. These
being more selective allow the regeneration of fishing resources and to ensure
rational exploitation.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">The whole scheme has
cost 12 million euros and whilst Andalucía has paid 25 per cent of the cost the
balance has come from EU fisheries funds – in other words EU tax payers
throughout the community.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Andalucía has
installed these reefs which contribute to the protection of the coastal zones
and some of these are of high biological interest just as Gibraltar’s waters
are. Most importantly they are also a defence against overfishing.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">The reefs prevent the
use of drag nets which are not authorized and their installation preserves the
ecological value of the sites. It also promotes the breeding of many species of
interest to fishermen. Once the number of these fish increases it is possible
for them to be caught in a sustainable manner.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Perhaps somebody needs
to sit down and explain all of this to the owner of the “Divina Providencia”,
which fishes illegally in Gibraltar’s waters and the neighbouring La Línea and
Algeciras fishing communities. The Andalucía Government, which is a socialist
and far left coalition, should be asking itself a lot of uncomfortable
questions on this issue too.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">All of that being so
the actions of the Guardia Civil at sea last Wednesday and Thursday and also of
Spain in protesting against Gibraltar’s reef laying had nothing to do with the
environment and everything to do with their claim over Gibraltar’s waters.
Sovereignty in other words. Yet Gibraltarians and indeed the UK Government knew
that anyway.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Hence we move on to
Friday and the weekend when Spain again shot itself in the foot by making
Gibraltarians, Spaniards, EU citizens and other nationals queue in their cars
in the blistering heat for up to seven hours to cross the border in to La
Línea.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Whatever argument
Spain may have about Gibraltar protecting the environment, and on the face of
it there is none, all the world has now seen the true face of the Partido
Popular Government in Madrid. Nobody believes the queues had anything to do
with the search for contraband but everything to do with Gibraltar having stood
up for its internationally recognised rights. Its territorial waters are
recognised by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea so it is Spain and not
Gibraltar that is the law breaker.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">Spain has been shamed,
Gibraltar’s environment is better protected and Gibraltar moves on whilst
Madrid shows that it is Franco’s heart that that provides the beat of Rajoy’s
Government.</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">(Photograph:
Gibraltar’s Environment and Health Minister, Dr John Cortes, and Culture –
Sports Minister Steven Linares hand out water to queuing motorists waiting to
enter Spain on Saturday)</span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">(The above article was
published in the London Progressive Journal on July 29 2013).</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-1767854249103059712013-07-19T19:07:00.000+02:002013-07-19T19:07:18.315+02:00GIBRALTAR: A ROCK OF DEMOCRATIC STABILITY AS SOME NATIONS BECOME UNGOVERNABLE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpVG4kjEpmo5TOuuofOAsio_atnssktKELKVD4eMoE-RXxPy_ZSGrUq87E_kovVr1-KWqQBY2iVT2oIwf3-hW2Q3RVnNJJVcHSyL3KTL0Ba_bKo2nDs1nH1SXpllc0ZGHLparqU-3KnHq/s1600/Isola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpVG4kjEpmo5TOuuofOAsio_atnssktKELKVD4eMoE-RXxPy_ZSGrUq87E_kovVr1-KWqQBY2iVT2oIwf3-hW2Q3RVnNJJVcHSyL3KTL0Ba_bKo2nDs1nH1SXpllc0ZGHLparqU-3KnHq/s320/Isola.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">A very notable event happened on the fourth of July.
Apart from being Independence Day in the USA it was the date of a by-election in
Gibraltar. The election was free and fair, the candidates and their parties
behaved within the norms of electoral law – and here’s the big shock, the
winning party, the GSLP, happened to be the socialist party in a coalition
Government and increased its popularity with the voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Whilst in Old Europe we take free and fair elections
for granted such a situation does not even hold true within the entire EU.
Likewise whilst the majority of Old Europe sees its political parties act
within the electoral norms there are other countries in the EU where vote
rigging and buying are the norms instead. And here’s the real shock: Gibraltar
has a government party entering mid-term which is more popular now with voters
than when it was elected. That situation is very unique in Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So whilst democracy is seemingly safe in Gibraltar there
are worrying signs elsewhere that suggest that some countries may be becoming
ungovernable or are indeed already there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let us look at Egypt for example when President Mohammed
Morsi has been deposed from power in a ‘peaceful’ army coup, ‘peaceful’ being a
relative term here. There may be many reasons why Morsi was not the man for the
job or his party the one to unite Egypt. However the fact is he was elected to
the post of president in the country’s first fair and free elections in our
life time. The people of Egypt had every right to peacefully protest against
his actions and policies: but did the army have the right to remove him from
power? If we believe in democracy surely that is the job of the electorate at
the next election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In Bulgaria the popularist GERB government resigned in
February after violent street protests over a hike in electricity prices which
few could afford and the economic state of the EU’s poorest country. In the May
general election GERB, which has links to organized crime and is notorious for
vote rigging, was returned as the largest party but its share of the vote
collapsed. It could not govern on its own so the socialist BSP which came
second joined a coalition to keep GERB out. However to do so it had to pact<span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> with the Movement for Rights and
Freedoms and the nationalist party ATAKA to rule. ATAKA is anti Turkish and
anti Roma whilst the MRF speaks for both: the MRF also has a history of vote
rigging.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Some initial mistakes
by the new prime minister brought the same protestors out on to the streets
again and even the president has now suggested that new elections will have to
be called. If so where does Bulgaria go from here? Do the protestors want GERB
back? Certainly not. Do they want a socialist government, possibly, but even
the BSP has in the past had links with its communist roots, oligarchs and
criminals. Do they want the MRF or ATAKA to govern? Hardly. So how do you run a
country when the rejected options are the most voted for parties even if vote
rigging and buying is rife? The current anti-GERB coalition is far from perfect
but it is realpolitik like it or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In Spain Transparency
International reports that 86 per cent of Spaniards believe their politicians
are corrupt as Rajoy wobbles under the sleaze accusations of Bárcenas. The
political and summer heat is getting much hotter for the Partido Popular Prime
Minister. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In a country where over
26 per cent of people are jobless, where if you are young you a more likely to
be on the dole than in work, where thousands have lost their homes and are
still deep in debit, where the economic crisis stumbles from bad to worse then
for how long are people going to stand idly by whilst they are ruled by crooks.
My guess is for not long at all and social upheaval will soon be upon Spain as
it is in Turkey and has been in Greece. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Italy and Portugal
could well be next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gibraltar was already
remarkable in that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of other
religions and none live side by side in perfect harmony in a world where that
is far from the norm. In addition to that distinction Gibraltarians can get on
with their lives safe in the knowledge they live in a stable democracy, as
solid as their Rock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">However there are
warnings for Gibraltar’s politicians and voters in what is happening around the
world. The warning to its politicians is that voters will not accept
governments that govern for themselves and not the people. The warning to its
voters is to treasure the open, free and fair democracy they enjoy and protect
it with all their might – because it is rarer and more fragile than they may
think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(Photograph: Albert
Isola, the GSLP’s successful by-election candidate).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(The above article was
published in the London Progressive Journal on July 19, 2013 and a version
appeared in Panorama on July 17, 2013)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-78753594582904023872013-07-16T14:22:00.002+02:002013-07-16T14:22:41.064+02:00SPANIARDS BELIEVE THEIR POLITICAL PARTIES ARE CORRUPT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bbV4d5JhQLRgNmhAnQXXvpKW9wVOVRG9zj3EGm4EdeqvDMsG_oUn6eiByH6VTBnDbOETnUJDXlakuqAyuwRWoFE4q2sadO0wYxhfYKfLI6HXZTE5o7TeRGTnAfPrBMd3RXMuiJdeTmRp/s1600/Corruption,+resign.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bbV4d5JhQLRgNmhAnQXXvpKW9wVOVRG9zj3EGm4EdeqvDMsG_oUn6eiByH6VTBnDbOETnUJDXlakuqAyuwRWoFE4q2sadO0wYxhfYKfLI6HXZTE5o7TeRGTnAfPrBMd3RXMuiJdeTmRp/s320/Corruption,+resign.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The article based on the findings from Transparency
International on its Global corruption Barometer was squeezed in at the bottom
of the Spanish newspaper. This isn’t because the editor thought it unimportant
it is just that the reports on the various corruption cases engulfing the
centre right Partido Popular left little space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Likewise there just isn’t space in this article to
even given an overview of such cases as “Gürtel” and “Bárcenas”, which lead to
the very top of the governing PP. However I will mention that Spain’s Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy is pretending the “Bárcenas” case, revolving around
former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas and his numerous secret accounts abroad,
simply did not happen. This despite Rajoy possibly being a beneficiary of part
of these funds and refusing to sack Bárcenas when he took over from José María
Aznar. Meanwhile Aznar has offered to come back and save the nation from the
crisis and Rajoy even though Bárcenas was his treasurer and the Aznar links to
this corruption case go very deep indeed. The PP now has major figures such as
Esperanza Aguirre calling on Rajoy to recognise the irregularities and to
undertake an internal party reform – “because Spain needs a clean PP”. Some
hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Aguirre was speaking inside the PP’s regional
executive meeting in Madrid. Outside were some 500 protestors calling for Rajoy
to resign. There were cries of “PP, thieves, we want resignations” and “Rajoy
and Cospedal, to Soto del Real”, Cospedal is the secretary general of the PP
and president of Castilla-La Mancha regional government: the Soto del Real a
prison where Bárcenas is being held.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So what does the Spanish man and woman on the street
make of all this? Not a lot: indeed the majority view political corruption as
being one of the major problems facing Spain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the CIS opinion polls in 2013 corruption has been
at either number two or three in the preoccupations of Spaniards. This has been
borne out by the Transparency International Global Barometer with 114,000 people
being questioned in 107 countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">According to Transparency International Spain is one
of the countries where corruption is perceived to be “a very serious problem”.
Spain scores 4.5 out of 5 on the corruption rating whereas the international
average is 4.1. Spain is also third amongst European countries where corruption
is a major concern to citizens after Greece and Portugal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Nor has the corruption stopped: indeed Spaniards
believe it has grown since 2011. Two out of three Spaniards questioned were
indignant over the corruption levels (the famous “Los Indignados” of street
protests) which is far higher than the international average of 53 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Spaniards are in no doubt of where the corruption
lies. A staggering 83 per cent point to the political parties followed closely
by Parliament itself. In contrast the worldwide view is that the major focuses
of corruption are the police and civil servants – public employees and not
politicians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The problem for Spain’s political parties is that it
is not just the Partido Popular that is immersed in sleaze. The opposition
socialist PSOE, which has its own numerous corruption cases, is viewed in a
similar light. Hence PSOE’s reluctance to try and force the PP to call an
election over the Bárcenas scandal. The socialists have called on Rajoy to
resign but for the PP to stay in government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One party to be viewed favourably is Izquierda Unida
which has been picking up votes largely at the expense of PSOE. However even
the IU’s hands are not clean with recent corruption scandals in two small
municipalities on the Costa del Sol – Casares and Manilva – which have in
recent years seen the far left party in control of their respective town halls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(The above article appeared in the London Progressive
Journal on July 11 2013 with versions in other publications). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-87331983514438660312013-07-01T20:11:00.001+02:002013-07-01T20:11:46.668+02:00BULGARIAN DEMOCRACY: IN A VERY DELICATE STATE
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pCTVNK_28XCMUJ5OA_vPTskb8Dwm0VF4bcWf8xG7f2PPNKHf4CPc5C8nEbTAFD3zVY-1CjmDjZFPElY51LQXevBbMAv0J5njJHhUeXvTuWuoigNEDRaBEehzmjTOCR6gogRijQJkfLHb/s1600/Sofia-20130621-00144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pCTVNK_28XCMUJ5OA_vPTskb8Dwm0VF4bcWf8xG7f2PPNKHf4CPc5C8nEbTAFD3zVY-1CjmDjZFPElY51LQXevBbMAv0J5njJHhUeXvTuWuoigNEDRaBEehzmjTOCR6gogRijQJkfLHb/s320/Sofia-20130621-00144.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">In
April and May I wrote several articles for the London Progressive Journal on
the political situation in Bulgaria. These were before and just after that
country’s general election. The first articles were largely based on reports by
Transparency International: the latter about my experiences as an observer at
the elections. This article comes after I have re-visited Bulgaria to find its
democracy in a very delicate state indeed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Just
before I left I wrote an article for the Gibraltar newspaper ‘Panorama’ in
which I stated how much I was looking forward to this visit. The last had been
tense to say the least: now with the BSP, Bulgaria’s socialists, the largest
party in the new government I was looking forward to attending the Party of
European Socialists Council which was held last weekend. I had also allowed
time to see more of the country and to visit friends made during the elections.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">However
my image of a Bulgaria now at peace with itself was far from accurate. There
seemed to more police around than usual when we arrived on the Tuesday night.
On the Thursday our friends in Kyustendil where we were staying told us of
protests in Sofia and in local towns. By the time we came back to Sofia for the
PES Council on Friday we had been summoned to a security meeting and the event
was held amidst tight security.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">To
wind back in time the populist GERB government had been brought down in
February by angry, violent street demonstrations. The centre right party was
accused of abuses of democracy, links to organised crime, election rigging,
creating an economic crisis whilst allowing electricity prices to rise, which a
country with 50 per cent of its population in extreme poverty, could ill
afford.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">After
the May 12 election GERB was still the largest party but its number of MPs had
collapsed and no other elected party would pact with it. Hence the second
placed BSP, which was the only party to increase its vote and number of MPs, formed
a coalition with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a member of Liberal
International. Together they have 120 of the 240 seats in Parliament and hence
rely on the support of the nationalist party ATAKA to rule. However ATAKA is
anti Turkish and anti Roma whilst the MRF speaks for both. It was a pact to
restore a functioning democracy amongst parties who largely had nothing in
common. Whether it is a marriage made in heaven or hell remains to be seen
currently it is in purgatory.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">On
May 29 former finance minister Plamen Oresharski, an up to now respected figure, was appointed Prime
Minister. He had the support of the BSP and the other two parties. GERB has
largely boycotted parliament since they were ousted from power making a mockery
of the elected chamber. ATAKA, who previously supported GERB in government,
have also been absent on occasions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">At a
time when Bulgaria needed peace and stability Oresharski made a number of major
political blunders.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-language: ES;"> There are now
street protests in Sofia and wider Bulgaria over the inclusion of the MRF in
the new coalition and the decision of </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Oresharski </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-language: ES;">to appoint MRF MP Delyan Peevski, a
controversial media mogul who is linked to a corruption scandal, as head of the
State intelligence agency, DANS. This latter decision was quickly revoked and
acknowledged as a mistake but the damage was done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-language: ES;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-language: ES;">A </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">regional
governor from the MRF, Ventsislav Kaymakanov,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-language: ES;"> has been appointed in </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Plovdiv,
Bulgaria’s second city, which has caused more street protests. Dozens of people
have also gathered in front of the building of the district administration in
the city of Blagoevgrad to protest against the appointment of Musa Palev as
district governor. These Turkish appointments have been made in areas where
virtually no Turks live.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">MRF </span>is a party whose main goals are
the interests of the Muslims and its principal electorate are the minority groups Turks, Roma, Muslim Bulgarians and Bulgarian Turks in Turkey. The MRF is
widely distrusted, has been accused of major election abuses alongside those of
GERB and its ethnic and religious orientation breaks article 11 of the
Constitution of Bulgaria. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Many
of those Bulgarians who wanted a new dawn after the May 12 elections are in despair
that the MRF are in government and suspect them of pulling many strings in
their interests to keep the coalition in power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">If
you read one English on-line Bulgarian newspaper, which obviously supports GERB,
you would be led to believe that Sofia and wider Bulgaria is witnessing street
riots of the same intensity as those that drove GERB from power. There are no
such protests. However GERB wants people to believe the country is in ferment
and they are being called back to save the nation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">In
contrast if you scan the BBC or other reputable websites for news you will find
little or nothing of the unrest – but protests there are.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
watched a lengthy one pass last Friday evening which went on for some 40
minutes through the main streets of Sofia. It was noisy but so peaceful that
police only escorted it to show the way. These were not GERB supporters but largely
young people who want a new start for their country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">These
people feel let down by the new government that includes the MRF and which has
made serious errors from day one. It is hard for them to accept that the BSP,
to be pragmatic and to bring stability to Bulgaria, have to pact with this
party as well as ATAKA that are an anathema to the majority of ordinary people.
The BSP itself is in turmoil especially over the original appointment of <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Delyan Peevski with resignations
and a vote of confidence which BSP Leader and PES President Sergei Stanishev
won</span>. It has to be said many PES leaders from around Europe, whilst fully
supportive of the BSP and Stanishev, share many of the protestors’ legitimate concerns.
Rarely in recent years have socialist principals been so keen tested.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The unpalatable
alternative is fresh elections with the likelihood that GERB would again seize
power with the inevitable decline of Bulgaria into an authoritarian, corrupt
State. It is an unholy mess and that is why I say democracy in Bulgaria is in a
very delicate state indeed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">By the by Transparency International in
Bulgaria is producing a report on the May elections with recommendations for
improving the electoral process for the future. Once that document is produced
I will bring you its findings – in English.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">(The
above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on June 28 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-64109246407497862702013-05-14T13:00:00.000+02:002013-05-14T13:00:01.729+02:00BULGARIA ELECTIONS: WIDESPREAD ABUSE BUT HOPE
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOmXZl4yklxEuB-BL2unyUnGn5fLH5ihj1NnIldXzFmw67Fg3fGH3HbFdtaTC8scA0fhOP-kl6hHgvzdgPMN7SUMGDB4wl8nJrhGxy2tKzRvPLP2bHb5NGNEDHzSrOXX5HdBRq31lp-Uv/s1600/CAM00042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOmXZl4yklxEuB-BL2unyUnGn5fLH5ihj1NnIldXzFmw67Fg3fGH3HbFdtaTC8scA0fhOP-kl6hHgvzdgPMN7SUMGDB4wl8nJrhGxy2tKzRvPLP2bHb5NGNEDHzSrOXX5HdBRq31lp-Uv/s320/CAM00042.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I set
off to Bulgaria after being selected by the Party of European Socialists to be
part of the 100 plus team from all across the EU to monitor the General
Election on Sunday. The president of PES, Sergei Stanishev, who is a former
prime minister of Bulgaria and leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, had
appealed for observers because of the very real fears of vote manipulation and
vote buying by the GERB party that resigned from government after violent mass
street protests against austerity measures, rising electricity prices and
corruption in February.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
OSCE (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) also sent around 200
observers. Other groups such as Transparency International had sent up an
election abuse monitoring unit and had observers at polling stations. The
presence of these observers made major news headlines in Bulgaria. We were all
officially registered with the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and had stamped
passes that granted us major powers within the polling stations.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">I
finally arrived in Sofia late Friday afternoon and meet up with other arrivals
from France, Brussels, Greece and Holland for the coach trip to our hotel. We
were greeted by Nikola Mitov who is the BSP’s director of international
affairs. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">On
Saturday the work began. There was a briefing session for English speaking
observers with a detailed talk on the voting law, polling station procedures
with numerous forms to be filled in. If anybody enters the polling station with
a gun we have to note it on the form! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Around
13.00 I headed off to Kyunstendil, about 90 kms from Sofia with a snow covered
mountain backdrop. My driver – interpreter Georgi stopped at the BSP party
headquarters at Dupritsa which was in the same 100km wide constituency. We had
lunch with the number two candidate, Ivan Ibrishimov who on Sunday was elected
as the BSP’s second MP, the local party chairman Stanislav Pavlov, who is also
number four on the list plus some activists. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">As we
had lunch news came in that 350,000 fake ballot papers had been discovered by
police after a raid on a printing works owned by a GERB councillor. The
councillor told the media it was not anything to worry about! On to Kyunstendil
where we met the district chairman and former mayor Valentine Volvo and were
briefed on polling day strategy. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The
Roma gypsies are the most likely to sell their votes for cash or beer and food.
One scam is a gypsy gang leader sits in a car near the polling station. He
already has a ballot paper stamped with the first of the two stamps a legal
vote requires. A Roma comes by takes the ballot paper from him which is already
marked. He then presents his identity card, receives another stamped ballot
paper which when in the polling booth he puts in his pocket and deposits the
voting paper he was given into the box after it has received the second stamp.
He then takes his ballot paper out to the gang leader, who takes it from him,
fills it in and gives it to the next bought voter. Georgi says this is called
the Indian Scam but nobody could tell me why. It is possible these illegal
blank votes were for the vote buying operation.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">So to
polling day and back to Dupritsa. The day didn’t get off well with the local
election commission advising it had changed the supervising teams and hence
many wouldn’t have documentation. Sent an urgent email to Transparency
International who started an investigation. News came in that two polling
station in a complex of nine had refused to give the second stamp on the ballot
papers which made them invalid. We went to investigate but of course once we
arrived and showed our official papers the voting procedures were fully adhered
to.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">However
there were three Roma polling stations at the same school complex and there the
atmosphere was very different. There were groups of Roma supporting the former
ruling party GERB openly intimidating those coming to vote in the corridor.
They bragged to Georgi they could vote when and how they wanted acting in an
aggressive manner when we monitored what was going on. There was no obvious
sign of vote buying and nothing you could point out to officials so we went
back several times to make the point we were hadn’t been scared off and we were
watching.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Then
a curious case. A report that 60 ballots had been accepted but not recorded at
a school polling station. By the time we arrived so too had officials from the
commission. The number was in fact 47 and the chairwoman said she had put a
youth in charge of the polling who apparently did not realize you had to cross
off voters names and get them to sign. The chairwoman argued it was an
unfortunate mistake. The ballots couldn’t be taken out of the box as nobody
knew which they were so when the final tally was completed after the polls
closed there would be 47 votes too many. I shall return to this is a moment</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Whilst
we were there a man on crutches complained to us that none of the three polling
stations at this complex would give him a ballot paper. He was told to enter
the polling room with us at which point he was promptly given a ballot paper;
they didn’t even make a show of searching for his name: then all the procedures
were correctly followed. Later the Election Commission ruled the chairwoman had
deliberately added the 47 votes for GERB and she was sanctioned.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">There
were no signs of vote buying at the Roma centres but by mid-afternoon the news
reports told of three men having been arrested for committing the crime that
day. Also by late afternoon when Roma usually crowded their polling stations
they were empty with reports they simply had not turned out. TV stated that
Turkish Bulgarians who normally flood across the border from Turkey to support
Ataka (the Islam Party whose name translates as Attack and according to
electoral law should be illegal) had seemingly not travelled either. Something
was clearly in play here. Feedback from the local Roma said they’d be
threatened by GERB so they stayed at home.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">In
the Kyunstendil constituency there were around 100 cases of voting abuse by
GERB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one polling station the GERB
observer smashed the photocopying machine preventing the copying of the end of
poll protocol showing the result. He only delayed but couldn’t prevent the
inevitable. As voters swung to the BSP and they took two of the four seats, up
one, these abuses will not be contested. We didn’t meet sitting BSP MP Maya
Manolova as after the polls closed rioting broke out in Sofia and she was
ordered to the capital.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Obviously
my experiences were just a snap shot of the election process across Bulgaria.
Was the polling process carried out in a manner that we would find acceptable:
no it wasn´t. However it was clear the chairpersons of the polling station
committees were very concerned at our presence: one even protesting that
everything she did was in order. Indeed when we were present everything was in
order but it is clear in some cases there had been irregularities before we
arrived and they may have started again as soon as we left. It is important
though to state that probably because of the international observers these
elections were far more free and fair than in the past. There is hope now that
as GERB is unlikely to continue in government further advances can be made in
establishing free and fair elections. At the next election it is vital the
observers are allowed to return and in even greater numbers because it is quite
clear the fact the world was watching did have a beneficial impact on this
troubled democracy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Photo:
l to r: Georgi, Dr Ivan Ibrishimov (now BSP MP), David Eade, Stanislav Pavlov
and activist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">(The
above article appeared in the London Progressive Journal on May 14 2013 with a
version in the New People on May 17 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-16360549670029823102013-05-07T13:40:00.000+02:002013-05-07T13:40:16.342+02:00SPANIARDS FALLS OUT OF LOVE THEIR ROYALS<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-L3wEhGOcz2PTtvxwUeLaQMsmleMB7qwKr2Gnqn-BLmeVfcvAFeZx4f36jBNSQq6CqzFk0EQVxEVL4WNWek0_pHei6t-CtT79QwrUS0TILdJtgUzpcfZQMYF8xL81G8pgaSbn0SG74zH/s1600/King+out+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-L3wEhGOcz2PTtvxwUeLaQMsmleMB7qwKr2Gnqn-BLmeVfcvAFeZx4f36jBNSQq6CqzFk0EQVxEVL4WNWek0_pHei6t-CtT79QwrUS0TILdJtgUzpcfZQMYF8xL81G8pgaSbn0SG74zH/s1600/King+out+poster.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: ES;">Since the transition from the Franco dictatorship to full democracy the
Spanish Royal Family have been held in general high regard by the people of
Spain. Indeed many would argue that the transition would not have taken place
but for King Juan Carlos. Republicans of course take a very different view of
things but, for now, that is by the by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">However since the financial crisis started there has been a fall in the
support for the Royal Household. This is partly explained with the major loss
of confidence in Spain’s institutions but also by the King seemingly being
totally of out touch with the problems faced by the average Spaniard. Add to
that the corruption scandal surrounding Iñaki Urdangarin, the King’s son-in-law
which implicates his wife, the Infanta Cristina, and the Royal Family is in
major trouble.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is reflected in the latest CIS opinion poll that shows the monarchy
has an approval rating of just 3.68 on a scale of ten. The last time the Spanish
people were asked for their valuation of the Royal Family was in October 2011
when they notched up 4.89, so they have lost 1.2 points since the various
scandals hit. Out on the streets there have been major demonstrations demanding
an elected head of State instead of a monarch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Politicians have rallied to the Royals support claiming they have only lost
favour only because of the collapse in the Spanish people’s trust in their
institutions. When that comes back, they argue, so will their love of the King
and his family. They fear that if the Royal family falls then so will Spain as
we know it. They are right but this is also a case of the blind leading the
blind because the politicians also seem not to be able to comprehend just how
low they have sunk in the public’s estimation. Indeed if the Spanish are giving
a major thumbs down to the Royals they are raising the middle finger to the
politicos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is shown in the same CIS opinion poll which brings good news and bad
news for the centre right Partido Popular. If an election was held now the PP
would win with 34 per cent of the vote whilst socialist PSOE has just 28.2 per
cent. Far left Izquierda Unida would come third with the UPyD fourth on 9.4 and
7.4 respectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">However the real story is the collapse of support for the two main parties
since the November 2011 elections. The PP governing amidst a worsening economic
crisis and with the Bárcenas corruption scandal ringing in its ears has lost
10.4 support. PSOE has not been able to capitalise on Rajoy’s woes and has seen
its support fall by a further six per cent. Only the minor parties such as the
IU and UPyD have seen their popularity amongst voters gradually grow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">PSOE’s leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba is more popular than Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy but that is not saying a lot. Rubalcaba has an approval rating of
3 out of 10 down from 3.4 whilst Rajoy has fallen from 2.81 to 2.44.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The worrying factor is Spaniards do not trust the monarchy, the government,
the banks and the politicians along with the institutions that surround them so
who will they put their trust in? The answer, as I have stated here before from
previous surveys, is the military and the security services and that is even
more worrying still.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article appeared in the London Progressive Journal on May 8 2013).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-80685845926941790032013-05-01T12:13:00.000+02:002013-05-14T13:05:43.599+02:00URGENT CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY IN BULGARIA’S GENERAL ELECTION<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsD4_btKOiiytv04WBu92QXxPE6cAhL_84Vrj_LIwPif78L8Vt4ppQ20ft0H09J6ugXuYNsNzBp-1LvObpgR4bHqT19gJTsKVmwE7HbptT0yZrbTSyd7rh-ORxU-HjfTeEzv2UtZPvipmr/s1600/Bulgarian+currency.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsD4_btKOiiytv04WBu92QXxPE6cAhL_84Vrj_LIwPif78L8Vt4ppQ20ft0H09J6ugXuYNsNzBp-1LvObpgR4bHqT19gJTsKVmwE7HbptT0yZrbTSyd7rh-ORxU-HjfTeEzv2UtZPvipmr/s320/Bulgarian+currency.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">On
Sunday May 12 Bulgaria will hold its general election. The outcome will not
only be closely awaited by the people of that country but by fellow EU States
and organisations such as Transparency International, which has been monitoring
corruption in Bulgaria for over a decade.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The President of the Party of European Socialists,
Sergei Stanishev, is also the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party and</span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> a former Bulgarian Prime Minister. After the
election was called he stated: </span></strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">“During
the last presidential and local elections in 2011 the ruling right wing party
GERB committed a huge number of violations and fraud. Now they have introduced
changes in the Electoral code in a way that hinders the transparency of the
election process and creates prerequisites for distortion and frankly
substitution of results, while refusing to incorporate a number of OSCE (Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) recommendations.”</span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> He added that other socialist party leaders he
spoke to were incredulous when he said vote rigging was possible in an EU
member State.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;">This
wasn’t the case of a socialist leader calling “foul” before the event. </span><strong style="line-height: 15pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">Transparency
International has a special team dedicated to monitoring the General Election.
TI says: “</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;">The most significant challenges that we have
identified to persist in the electoral process in Bulgaria are vote-buying and
controlled vote, which are clearly a product of the socio-economic conditions
in country being taken advantage by both political and criminal actors.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;"> Indeed in the 2011 presidential and local elections 12 per cent of
Bulgarians told Transparency International they would sell their votes with
nearly 60 per cent of those saying they would do so because of their poverty.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;">Yet the problems for Bulgaria go much deeper than
that. It is not just the GERB ruling party bringing in corrupt practices
although there is clear evidence of that. For instance there have been
allegations of illegal phone tapping which are linked to</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;"> Tzvetan Tzvetanov, the former Minister of the Interior who is now the
Director of Elections for the GERB party. However Bulgaria has been behind the
game all along in making the transition from Communist single party to
democratic state.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">One of the many Transparency International reports
on Bulgaria states: “The problem of corruption became a central political and
social concern in Bulgaria towards the end of the 1990s, and since then has
topped the governmental agenda. Despite the prioritization of the issue,
Bulgaria has systematically demonstrated very high levels of perception of
corruption: according to the TI Corruption Perception Index (2011) it is the
lowest scoring country in the EU. If there is a trend in this regard, it is rather
negative.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now Bulgaria became a member of the EU in 2007 when
the concerns of the corruption and lack of transparency in political and
institutional bodies was well known. I have no problem with Bulgaria becoming a
member of the EU: I would however argue that this should have happened after
the country had clearly demonstrated that its political parties and
institutions were fully transparent. Until that status had been achieved, and
we are still far from that situation, then Bulgaria should have been helped
along the path to membership by the EU and then admitted. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">On April, 4 an Integrity Pact for Free, Fair and
Democratic Election in Bulgaria was signed.<b> </b></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The document is elaborated by 8 non-governmental organizations, including
Transparency International, all of which will conduct independent civil
monitoring of the forthcoming general election.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f2ef; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Transparency
International states: “The main objective of the Pact is to commit the
political parties to the conduct of election campaigns in accordance to the
standards for transparency and accountability, and to the implementation of
measures preventing violations of the citizens’ voting rights.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f6f2ef; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is a positive step
but the question still remains: why should such steps be even necessary in an
EU Member State?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f6f2ef; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f6f2ef; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">Under the pact the Bulgarian
political parties are committing themselves to:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To nominate for members of the Precinct
Electoral Commissions candidates with experience in the organization of the
electoral process, professional preparation, high personal moral and
reputation;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To increase the competence of its
representatives to the electoral commissions by conducting additional training
with regard to the rules of the electoral process;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To carry out information campaigns against
vote-buying, controlled vote and the negative effects on the voters’ rights,
and the democratic process in the country;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To ensure public access to information
about the number of proxy representatives, by making it available on their
websites;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To ensure greater transparency of their
elections campaign financing by providing timely information to the National
Audit Office, with regard to received donations throughout the campaign;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To assist the independent observers -
representatives of the Civil Coalition for Monitoring of the Electoral Process
in their efforts to monitor the campaign financing and Election Day
developments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;"> But it is not just the political parties that are
involved but the non-governmental organizations too. They have committed
themselves to:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To conduct independent civil monitoring of
the electoral process in accordance to the internationally established
standards;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To observe the principles of political
impartiality, transparency and integrity in the monitoring process;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To carry out information campaign among
the Bulgarian citizens with regard to their participation of the electoral
process, institutional responsibilities, and negative effects of vote-buying
and controlled-vote;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To inform the Bulgarian public and
European institutions about the results of the conducted monitoring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">To formulate proposal for amendments in
the legislation and the practice of the Bulgarian institutions, aiming to
enhance transparency and integrity in the Elections to the European Parliament,
as well as to offer its expertise to the responsible institutions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 15pt;">It is quite clear from the
Integrity Pact for Free, Fair and Democratic Election that democracy has been seriously
abused in Bulgaria and political corruption is rife. However I would firmly
argue the blame for this appalling situation rests not only with the government
in Sofia, which it surely does, but equally with the EU in Brussels too because
it has failed to insist on free and fair elections in Member States.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(The above article was
published in the London Progressive Journal on May 1 2013)</span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-8449778311359566822013-04-27T19:31:00.000+02:002013-04-27T19:31:39.098+02:00VOTING VIOLATIONS IN AN EU MEMBER STATE
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yIsEeWptX7TTc8bTCeht5v3Tj3Bi_Lsy5W1nj2_4Q6pSotSzLvw59b1n1pry4Bixih0z9fTDI0MtzW5DKuxaFekejqQ9SH8fz3KLxBDvPeiAhiuIXiCTgO3PVpFDoT5BS6rfLzMkDRMT/s1600/Bulgarian+Parliament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yIsEeWptX7TTc8bTCeht5v3Tj3Bi_Lsy5W1nj2_4Q6pSotSzLvw59b1n1pry4Bixih0z9fTDI0MtzW5DKuxaFekejqQ9SH8fz3KLxBDvPeiAhiuIXiCTgO3PVpFDoT5BS6rfLzMkDRMT/s320/Bulgarian+Parliament.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Voting violations such as ballot
rigging, vote buying and control are acts we associate with the shadier, non
democratic nations of the world. However such practices are alive and well
right here in the EU.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Let us start in Budapest in
Hungary. In March it was the venue for the Party of European Socialists (PES)
Activists meeting specifically to give support to the Hungarian Socialist
Party, MSzP. There has been concern in the EU at the actions of the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">ruling
populist Fidesz party, which has been clamping down on the freedom of the media
and has amended the Constitution to make unconstitutional laws constitutional.
These measures and the rise of far right neo-Nazi groups such as Jobbik have
caused widespread alarm.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Present in Budapest was the PES President and leader
of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sergei Stanishev, who is a former Bulgarian Prime
Minister. Stanishev stunned PES activists by calling for international
observers to help oversee the polling in Bulgaria’s general election on May 12.
He stated: </span></strong><span style="background: white;">“During the last
presidential and local elections in 2011 the ruling right wing party GERB
committed a huge number of violations and fraud. Now they have introduced
changes in the Electoral code in a way that hinders the transparency of the
election process and creates prerequisites for distortion and frankly
substitution of results, while refusing to incorporate a number of OSCE (Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) recommendations.”</span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> He added that other socialist party leaders he
spoke to were incredulous when he said vote rigging was possible in an EU
member State. </span></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boiko Borisov and his GERB government</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> resigned following nationwide
street protests against high electricity prices and austerity measures in
February.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> C</span>lashes between
protesters and police left numerous people injured.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> The </span>President Rosen Plevneliev appointed with some difficulty an
interim prime minister to take the country through to early elections on May
12.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">As
elsewhere around the world the protests were taking place largely independently
of traditional political parties and trade unions. The protestors, mainly young
people, were using the social media including Facebook to organize. The street
protests across Bulgaria, which is the EU’s poorest country, were initially
over high electricity prices but then took an anti-government turn resulting in
Borisov- a former bodyguard to Bulgaria’s Soviet-era dictator Todor Zhivkov -
abandoning power, for now.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before the
unrest GERB were trailing in polls to the opposition BSP: currently the former
ruling party has a six point lead.</span><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;"> Although Stanishev leads his BSP
in to the elections he says he will not be prime minister again rather former
finance minister,</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> Plamen Oresharski,
would take on the role.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The key
question is: is there any validity in BSP leader</span><strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;"> Sergei Stanishev’s
fears of vote rigging? The answer sadly is “Yes!” Transparency International
has an office in Sofia and a special team dedicated to monitoring the General
Election. A spokesperson told me: “</span></strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Fortunately, the
protest related tension has settled down in the past month and we hope to have
a peaceful election day on May 12.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The
most significant challenges that we have identified to persist in the electoral
process in Bulgaria are vote-buying and controlled vote, which are clearly a
product of the socio-economic conditions in country being taken advantage by
both political and criminal actors.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">However this isn’t a new phenomenon in Bulgaria,
indeed <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sergei Stanishev openly admits
his administration ignored the problem when he was in power</span></strong>.
Transparency International has been monitoring corruption in Bulgaria for many
years and its on-going reports are too detailed to relate here but can be found
on their website.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Transparency International spokesperson added:
“Another type of persisting deficiency that we have identified from previous
observations is the so called “organizational violations” related to the
inadequate capacity and actions of the institutions responsible to organize and
prepare the elections. We will systematically monitor these institutions via an
instrument called Roadmap to the 2013 Elections and provide timely
recommendations to the institutions on the basis of identified issues by
Transparency International – Bulgaria and the options to be corrected.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">There will be international PES observers in
Bulgaria for the elections and indeed Transparency International and other
organisations will also be monitoring the polling with their own teams. The
burning questions are how is it an EU Member State can not guarantee free and
fair elections and if it can’t, as is clearly the situation in Bulgaria, why
was it admitted to the EU in the first place? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Surely one of the prerequisites to being a member of
the EU is an adherence to the norms of democracy. Either a country complies or
it shouldn’t be in the EU. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hungary is very much under notice from other EU
member States who are alarmed at developments there under Fidesz. The general election
is due there next year: will it be fair and free? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is not only democracy that will be on trial in
Bulgaria on May 12 but the credibility of the EU itself. If one Member State is
undemocratic then it shatters the democratic credibility of the others. And the
EU’s credibility as a democratic institution is very much on the line.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">This is especially so as a new scandal has now hit
Bulgaria. There have been allegations of illegal phone tapping which are linked
to<span style="background: white;"> Tzvetan Tzvetanov, the former Minister of the
Interior. And what is Tzvetan Tzvetanov’s current role? He is Director of Elections
for the GERB party. The latest</span> <span style="background: white;">dramatic
development is the former GERB Minister of Agriculture, Miroslav Naydenov, has
announced that he too had been subject to illegal phone tapping. Stanishev says
previously GERB Prime Minister, </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Boiko Borisov, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">had boasted in the media that he has 100 eyes and 100 ears.
The BSL leader adds this latest “revelation puts that comment in the harshest
light”. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 13.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the European Parliament, the
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, will discuss whether
they should formally debate the issue. The inclination at the EU is to dismiss
such scandals as a matter for “internal political debate”. EU leaders bury
their heads in the sand as democracy flounders around them. Bulgaria today.
Hungary tomorrow? Then where next?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 9pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">(You can visit Transparency
Internationals </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">website for their campaign for monitoring of the
elections at:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.samizbiram.bg/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.samizbiram.bg</span></a>)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 9pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">(The above article was published in the London
Progressive Journal on April 27 2013)<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-36184331540041240252013-03-21T09:21:00.000+01:002013-03-21T09:28:02.730+01:00FROM GOULASH SOCIALISM TO HUNGER MARCH<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wf_OJA6ozaI" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the late 1970s then Communist Hungary introduced a
series of reforms that became known as Goulash Socialism. This made the country
the envy of other Warsaw Pact nations and in turn its healthy economy made it
the West’s favourite Communist nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Since then Communism has collapsed and in 1990 Hungary
held its first free elections. Fidesz, the current right wing party of
government under Viktor Orbán, came to power in 1998. However it was ousted in
2002 by an alliance of socialists and Free Democrats. Whilst that coalition
took Hungary into the EU and won the 2006 general election, the first time a
government had been re-elected since democracy was restored, it proved to be a
disaster for socialism and Hungary, which still reverberates to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In 2004 millionaire businessman Ferenc Gyurcsány
became socialist prime minister and surrounded himself in government with other
millionaires. Despite the worsening economic situation he managed to win the
April 2006 election then in September of that year the political shit hit the
fan. A national radio station broadcast a tape of Gyurcsány telling his
ministers that harsh economic measures were necessary “because we fucked up”
then going on to admit “we lied in the morning, we lied in the evening.” The
socialists clung on to power to 2010 but were a spent force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">There is no easy way to put this. MSZP, which had
grown out of the reform Communists, had become a party of ministers and
officials in fast, luxury cars who had lost touch with its socialist roots. It
became as unelectable in Hungary as Labour did in the UK when Thatcherism tore
the country apart and the respective nations needed socialist saviours. Hungary
did have its “Blair” figure but that was populist Orbán.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Today socialist party activists under new leader<span style="background: white;"> Attila Mesterhazy are working tirelessly to re-establish
MSZP’s credibility. Centre stage too is Zita Gurmai, a Euro MP who is also
President of PES Women, who has her feet firmly on Hungarian soil speaking with
fervour for the people she represents. Likewise Nándor Gúr, of whom I shall
talk shortly. None-the-less once political trust is lost it is hard to get
back.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The tragedy for Hungary is that it
allowed Orbán and Fidesz to once again take centre stage vowing to wipe socialists
off the map with its conservative Christian agenda. It talks of national unity
but pursues division and intolerance. Freedom of the press and human rights are
under attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Hence we arrive at the Hunger March.
It was in February of last year that 40 people marched in the freezing cold
from Borsod, one of Hungary’s poorest regions, 200 kms to Budapest. Their aim
to bring the plight of their homeland to the attention of an indifferent
government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The “Work, Bread” March was not
organised by the MSZP although the socialists endorsed it. Rather it was
started by Imre Tóth, a 44-year old jobless steel worker upset over the suicide
of a friend who ended his life because of his dire economic plight. Around 40
kilometres in to the march near the town of Bukkabrany Tóth stated: “This
hunger march signals that we are close to dying of hunger and our livelihood is
barely secured.” He then added: “It was the inflexibility and inhumanity of
this country’s government which moved us to launch our protest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The march continued with socialists,
activists and local people who walked the 25 kilometres a day in temperatures
of around minus 10 centigrade, snowdrifts and biting wind alongside Tóth’s
protestors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When they reached the town of Mezökövesd
they were met by the Fidesz mayor and he predecessor MP András Tállai, who is
also an interior ministry minister. According to press reports they told the
marchers walking under the slogan “Work, Bread” they could have bread and hot
tea. They were then told if they wanted to work they could clear the snow. The
marchers had been forewarned by socialists and shovelled the snow till
midnight. Some of them did this officially as part of the government’s public
works programme: others who were barred from such work or didn’t want to give
their identity shovelled for free. Next morning 30 jobless people turned up at
the mayor’s office demanding the same jobs as the marchers. There were none, it
had all been a PR ploy that had gone badly wrong for Fidesz.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eventually after covering 200
kilometres the march arrived at the parliament in Budapest. Inside MSZP MP,
Nándor Gúr, who leads his own Work, Bread, Decent Salary campaign, placed Ft
47,000 in front of the State Secretary Zoltán Cséfalvay. The Economy minister,
György Matolcsy had previously stated that a person could live off that amount.
Forint 47,000 is around 155 euros or 134 pounds sterling which is paid monthly.
Of course one person does not have to live off that: more often than not it is
an entire family!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Over the past year the situation in
Hungary has gone from bad to worse so in February another march set off</span><span lang="EN-GB"> from the village of </span><span lang="EN-GB">Sellye again the destination was Budapest for the
start of parliament’s spring session on February 11. MSZP continues to support
the campaign and is calling for a rise in public workers’ wages from Ft 47,000,
fairer taxation and a reversal of the labour code and welfare-related changes introduced
over the past two years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Of the first march Socialist MP Istvan Nyako said
“Nothing has changed, the requests were met with cynicism and arrogance. We
must go again, from different places, so that members of the government can see
that 47,000 forints is not enough to live on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hungarians are a proud people: few would wish for a
return of Soviet dominance. However it is claimed there are three million
starving people plus 700,000 children without sufficient food in Hungary’s
impoverished regions. They are demanding the dignity of work, bread and a
decent salary. Given them that and then they would happily supp a bowl of
nourishing, hot goulash.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">(The above article was published in the London Progressive Journal on March 21 2013).</span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/del8XUCul-0" width="560"></iframe>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-41997483805220462042013-03-18T09:05:00.000+01:002013-03-18T09:05:12.208+01:00MARCHING WITH THE NEO NAZIS<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gBn8msNnngyt_AFKFDfmcBvcIE3yuOYeS1Z6DNiE906yOmcYZW9TolmdY0w5JQQNn3q1igF_GdcSHihls4LD6OO83NNbuE0ko_sLZ4LpU03H93LzjVwO6GHBKCt_qhIPEvJvvES5r0Sv/s1600/Arpad+stripes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gBn8msNnngyt_AFKFDfmcBvcIE3yuOYeS1Z6DNiE906yOmcYZW9TolmdY0w5JQQNn3q1igF_GdcSHihls4LD6OO83NNbuE0ko_sLZ4LpU03H93LzjVwO6GHBKCt_qhIPEvJvvES5r0Sv/s320/Arpad+stripes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">There is nothing in the least amusing about neo Nazis
although you will be permitted a wry smile during my opening paragraphs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On Saturday I attended the MSZP socialist party rally
in Budapest. It was held at the national stadium dedicated to Ferenc Puskás.
Football followers of a certain age will want to take time here to genuflect:
younger supporters of the beautiful game will just shirk their shoulders and
pass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I travelled by underground and two stations before my
stop a man in his 50s entered my carriage. He was dressed in quasi military
style and wore boots that were highly polished and could inflict a good kick.
He carried a large flag and with him were two women with furled flags plus a
man in his 40s dressed normally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As they chatted happily I presumed they were MSZP
supporters on their way to the rally. They got off at my station and I fell in
behind them. Outside the station they were joined by other similarly dressed
people who all seemed to be gathering along the road. I followed along happily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Then alarm bells began to ring. The stadium with the
thousands of MSZP supporters was on my right. Why were this group crowding
together on land beside the main road? Why did they have a stand handing out
leaflets? Why did they have a stage where giant speakers blared out slogans in
Hungarian and loud music? Why was there a TV camera trained on their every
move? Why were they surrounded by police? Then I spotted the massive flag with
“Árpád stripes” and realised I had marched with Jobbik, Hungary’s far right
anti-Semitic nationalist party. For the first time in my life I swung to the
right and hurriedly joined the members of MSZP queuing at the stadium gates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">There was a session at the Party of European
Socialists conference in Budapest on the far right. I have to say that after
attending it I did not come away reassured the left had yet found an answer to
the sinister threat of Jobbik and its sister parties especially in Eastern
Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One of the speakers at the PES session on the far
right was Sanchia Alasia. She is a young Labour councillor for Barking. Sanchia
and her colleagues at the last local elections defeated the 12 BNP councillors
leaving the far right party with no seats. They did it by reengaging with local
people, making the local Labour Party an activist party. However Sanchia
admitted the BNP had not been eradicated and could make a come back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This is where Jobbik and the BNP connect. The Jobbik
supporters I met were working men and women, natural supporters of MSZP you
would think. The people who voted for the BNP in Barking were not racists but
traditional Labour supporters who no longer felt the party spoke for them on
immigration, housing and employment or other key issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During the last UK election campaign the then Labour
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was caught on a SKY TV microphone, calling
66-year-old Mrs Duffy a “bigot” because she had raised immigration with him on
a walk-about in Rochdale. The discovery that his remarks had been broadcast to
the nation sent Brown into grovel mode. However the fact is the BNP has been
able to grow in traditional Labour seats such as Barking and Rochdale because
those who voted Labour in the past have felt abandoned by their party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In an interview in 2011 Lord Maurice Glasman, the man
behind Blue Labour and an advisor to Ed Miliband, got in to hot water because
he seemingly suggested the party should engaged with the English Defence
League. Later in the New Statesman he said: <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> “</span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">It did not cross my mind that anyone could
think that I support the English Defence League (EDL), which I consider a
thuggish and violent organisation. When I said in an interview with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Progress</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>magazine in April that we should
listen to supporters of the EDL, I was arguing that the best way to defeat
fascist organisations is to engage with their supporters in a politics of the
common good that addresses issues of family, housing and safer streets, the
living wage and a cap on interest rates.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The thought that Glasman,
a practicing Jew, would align himself with the EDL or the BNP is too ridiculous
for words. Yet his belief that “the best way to defeat fascist organisations is
to engage with their supporters in a politics of the common good that addresses
issues of family, housing and safer streets, the living wage and a cap on
interest rates” is 100 per cent right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">The supporters of the BNP
and EDL are working class Britons who the Labour Party used to speak for but
has now lost its voice. I suspect the same may be true for Jobbik in Hungary. It
doesn’t mean that Labour or the MSZP have to become racist but it does mean
they have to address the fears of many people over immigration, housing and the
changes in their communities. These traditional socialists are not bigots – but
they are scared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt;">(Photo: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Árpád stripes”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(The above article was published in the London
Progressive Journal on March 17 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-87308111804372783172013-03-15T11:01:00.000+01:002013-03-15T11:01:49.891+01:00THE BATTLE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCq44n1cMZCJ_tw06UyNDYyzw2D8ImmIBzYDJU6yz6cbsERsQih2yJrcdoFTMFrugkd63xmLpCeey4nT6CsehbG7eTIKvZahRs73CUtCCbTrmjwuvHMFu9g1xbS4UcXbs2ibdGVhoXgkJU/s1600/IMG-20130309-00123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCq44n1cMZCJ_tw06UyNDYyzw2D8ImmIBzYDJU6yz6cbsERsQih2yJrcdoFTMFrugkd63xmLpCeey4nT6CsehbG7eTIKvZahRs73CUtCCbTrmjwuvHMFu9g1xbS4UcXbs2ibdGVhoXgkJU/s320/IMG-20130309-00123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In a recent article in the London Progressive Journal
I highlighted an opinion poll in Andalucía that showed a majority of people in
that region believed Spain to be the most corrupt nation in the EU.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Do I believe that Spain holds that title? No I don’t.
There have been serious cases of political corruption but there are other more
sinister abuses elsewhere. Having said that as the people of Spain live in a
country in political and economic meltdown it is all too easy to see how they
reached that grim conclusion. I know: I live amongst them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Far more worrying to me is the collapse in trust by
the people of Andalucía in their monarch, government in Madrid and Sevilla, the
main political parties, the institutions, justice and the financial sector.
Only the army and state security service were held in high regard. Students of
Spanish politics will know that Spain has been here before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Last week I spent several days in Budapest at a
conference organised by the Party of European Socialists (PES). When I visited
Pierre Kanuty, who handles international relations for the Parti Socialiste in
Paris at the end of January, he stressed just how important supporting the
socialist MSZP in Hungary was by holding the meeting there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This message was underscored by the PES president,
Sergei Stanishev, who spoke at the rally for 10,000 MSZP supporters in Budapest
on Saturday addressed by party leader <span style="background: white;">Attila
Mesterhazy,</span> which I attended. Stanishev attacked the Fidesz leader and
Hungarian Prime Minister, Victor Orban, for “not understanding democracy”. On
Monday Orban’s government passed major constitutional amendments that made his
previously illegal legalisation legal. It is widely believed it will <span style="background: white;">impact on the rule of law and respect for fundamental
rights.</span> Stanishev slammed Orban’s “assault on democracy” and urged a
postponement of the decision. The President of the European Parliament, Martin
Schultz and the Council of Europe General Secretary Thorbjorn Jagland had also
called on Orban to back down and to refer the legislation to the Venice Commission
of the Council of Europe for an opinion. No prizes for guessing that the
Hungarian Premier ignored such calls. In Stanishev’s words: “Mr. Orban, like
all populists does not have the interests of the people at heart and sees
democracy as little more than an obstacle”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">However a bigger shock came later on Saturday when
Sergei Stanishev addressed the PES delegates. Stanishev is the former Bulgarian
Prime Minister (2005 -2009) and is leader of the socialist BSP. On May 12
Bulgaria will hold a general election after the people of that country took to
the streets and got rid of Byoko Borrisov, a right wing populist prime minister
in the same mould as Hungary’s Orban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stanishev urged PES delegates to come to his country
for May 12. However he did not want them to campaign for his BSP but to monitor
the elections. He stated that other European politicians looked at him in
disbelief when he told them there were no guarantees that Bulgaria’s elections would
be fair and free. International observers and PES delegates were needed at the
polling stations and the counts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">How could an EU nation such as Bulgaria rig the
ballots and get away with it? In exactly the same way as Orban in Hungary rides
roughshod over the constitution ignoring the European Parliament and Council of
Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It is clear that with the breakdown of trust in the
institutions in Spain, the authoritarian governments in Hungary and Bolivia,
democracy in Europe is in grave danger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In Budapest I was told of families who would not speak
openly of their support of the MSZP because they feared for their jobs. Police
wouldn’t call but a tax inspector certainly would. Women who were party
activists found that jobs in the public services were barred to their children.
People who spoke out against the Hungarian government or who were involved in
union campaigns faced similar obstacles. Where the media is under attack and
the one radio station that supports a liberal agenda Orban wants closed down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It is then you realise the true frailty of democracy
and the urgent need for all of us to speak out to defend it in Spain, Hungary,
Bulgaria - in other countries in the EU and the wider world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(The above article appeared in the London Progressive
Journal on March 15 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-11228535278318450892013-03-12T13:30:00.000+01:002013-03-12T13:30:34.644+01:00SPAIN IS THE MOST CORRUPT NATION IN THE EU<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TafWINmdzz4CbXnqHzrusz1Uy7lpDaF-buhkUoDu0h7F3khE8fzkbEty5sjlHvI3CtUzUTM9KgsqmMzbhD4wtxPEc7RQalwNcTH7kb6duGu1W-sjZB5__-2sYhXnTydaXR8geEE7EHDi/s1600/corruption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TafWINmdzz4CbXnqHzrusz1Uy7lpDaF-buhkUoDu0h7F3khE8fzkbEty5sjlHvI3CtUzUTM9KgsqmMzbhD4wtxPEc7RQalwNcTH7kb6duGu1W-sjZB5__-2sYhXnTydaXR8geEE7EHDi/s320/corruption.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Let me give you that statement again. Spain is the
most corrupt nation in the EU. Who says so? The people of Andalucía!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That is the finding of an opinion poll carried out by
the Instituto Commentia to coincide with the autonomous region’s national day –
Día de Andalucía. It reveals that 73.6
per cent of people questioned in Andalucía believe their country is the most
corrupt in the EU. This compares with 1.8 per cent who believes that corruption
in their country is not so serious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Indeed 65.5 per cent of people in this region believe
that Spain is now living through the most serious crisis since the days of the
Transition following the death of Franco. They single out both political and
economic fraud. Spaniards believe their politicians are more corrupt than the
rest of society. In that assessment they see no difference between the centre
right Partido Popular and the centre left PSOE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The messages to the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano
Rajoy, over the Bárcenas scandal are mixed. Luis Bárcenas, the former Partido
Popular treasurer, is alleged to have made illegal, secret payments to party
officials. He is also said to have amassed million of euros in off-shore bank
accounts. The percentage of those asked who believe that Rajoy should resign
now is 27.3 per cent. The leader of the opposition PSOE, Alfredo Pérez
Rubalcaba, has made such a demand and support for Rajoy to go is highest
amongst socialist voters. However the same number believe Rajoy should stay and
clean up his party whilst 39.5 per cent believe any decision on his future
should await the findings of the various investigations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The soundings would also indicate a massive loss of
trust by the people of Andalucía in the institutions of State. The biggest
suffer has been the monarchy with just 34.9 per cent giving it an approval
rating compared with 63 per cent in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The positive ratings for the justice system is 21.1
per cent, the Andalucía Parliament 20.3, the Andalucía Government 18.6, the
Spanish Parliament 18.1, the Spanish Government 17.3, the Unions 13.7, the
Cajas de Ahorros savings banks 10.9, the economic system 8.7 and the banks just
7.7 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Indeed Spaniards in Andalucía have confidence in only
one institution. The armed forces and State security, being the various police
forces. They command a 71.5 per cent approval rating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It has to be said this is a chilling finding. If the
people of Andalucía and may be the rest of Spain have no faith in their Royal
family, governments, political parties, financial system and only value their
armed forces and police that indeed raises the spectre of a Franco figure
emerging from those ranks to save the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">With a non-conscript army and the nation embracing
democracy since the death of Franco the days of a coup d’état in Spain should
be firmly in the past. However Spain is a nation in despair and its support of
its politicians and its institutions has collapsed. In that event we have to be
very wary indeed of those in the military whose ambitions extend further than
the parade ground and would march straight in to the Palacio Real crushing the
government and Royal Family as they go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(The above article appeared in the London Progressive
Journal on March 6 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465161302116530989.post-15519101697556865192013-02-22T12:20:00.001+01:002013-02-22T12:23:15.149+01:00GOOD NEWS FOR LEFT IN ANDALUCIA, BAD NEWS FOR DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmpSmAnq9VMK1sd2w6Ggi9k3bmSmZz958HtfjERHZVzl8wV4NdzkOKWAB2p3x1xUxefUYy9nEEOQdURM75gcMJL_yQpzM0qzWRlbQOcPKIlZdc2Za1FY_y-9A6-wmDCCMLE-dW9rL8H-o/s1600/PSOE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmpSmAnq9VMK1sd2w6Ggi9k3bmSmZz958HtfjERHZVzl8wV4NdzkOKWAB2p3x1xUxefUYy9nEEOQdURM75gcMJL_yQpzM0qzWRlbQOcPKIlZdc2Za1FY_y-9A6-wmDCCMLE-dW9rL8H-o/s320/PSOE.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The southern most
region of Spain, Andalucía, has always been a socialist fiefdom but the centre
right Partido Popular came very close to toppling PSOE from power in the 2012
regional elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Now nearly a year
on the opinion polls put PSOE firmly back in the lead. The socialists account
for 38 per cent of the votes, four more than the PP. This level of support
would not allow PSOE to govern on its own; it would still need the backing of
the far left Izquierda Unida in a coalition – the exact formation that governs
Andalucía now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">These are the
conclusions of a study by Capdea - part of the University of Granada - that
shows the national collapse of support for the Partido Popular in Andalucía as
elsewhere in Spain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This dramatic
collapse after the November 2011 general election triumph was first brought on
by the PP’s handling of the financial crisis. To that has now been added the
major corruption scandals engulfing the party at the highest levels. However
Capdea took its soundings before the full implications of the Bárcenas
corruption scandal became known. This fiasco surrounds the former treasurer of
the Partido Popular after it became known he had secret overseas bank accounts
and had made under-the-table payments to PP politicians. Without a doubt the
fortunes of the PP have plummeted still further. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The reason the
socialists are back in front has a lot to do with the fall of the PP rather
than any major backing for PSOE whose approval ratings are dire. Indeed where
voters have switched to the left it has been to the far left Communist-led
Izquierda Unida which Capdea says commands 14.2 per cent of the vote. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">PSOE now has 38 per
cent and the PP 34.4 per cent. At the March general election PP took 40.6 per
cent of the vote, PSOE 39.5 per cent, so both are down on that level. However
the IU (11.34) has seen a boost to its popularity to 14.2 per cent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So what’s the bad
news for Spanish democracy? That comes with the major rejection of main stream
politicians, their parties and institutions which is not only dire news for
them but also for the democratic process. If Spaniards reject politicians it
leaves the door open for a modern day Franco figure to emerge promising to
clean up corruption and offering stable, firm government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Capdea reports that
46 per cent of those people questioned would not vote if an election was held
now: they would abstain is the terminology. Indeed the wide ranging survey
shows the Spanish peoples’ disillusionment across the board with politicians,
their parties and the major institutions. The only two to receive approval
ratings were the universities and the Ombudsman who battle on behalf of the
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The overriding
findings are a thumbs down for all politicians. Despite the socialists
returning as the major party in Andalucía and the increase in support for the
IU: 51.9 per cent of people in the region believe the PSOE – IU coalition is
doing poorly as against 23.8 per cent who approve of its efforts. The PP in
opposition is rated by 68.7 per cent as doing badly with only an approval
rating of 14 per cent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At a national level
both the PP government of Rajoy and the opposition led by PSOE are in serious
negative territory. Seventy-one per cent of Andaluces rate the PP government as
bad or very bad and 72 per cent rate the PSOE opposition of Rubalcaba as bad
also.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the Bárcenas
scandal Rubalcaba has called for the resignation of Rajoy because he is
seemingly implicated. However the PSOE leader has steered clear of calling for
a general election for one simple reason: he knows that the socialists would
suffer as badly as the governing PP. Spanish voters are rejecting both major
parties leaving a vacuum in the nation’s democracy and that is very bad news
indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">BÁRCENAS CASE: It is the centre-left Spanish
national newspaper El País that has made much of the running in the case
revolving around Luis Bárcenas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">El País has published secret
ledgers that appear to show that Bárcenas was behind a slush fund at the PP,
which saw thousands of euros paid out over a number of years to high-ranking
members of the party, including Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. In
addition as part of the investigation into Bárcenas’ role in the Gürtel
kickbacks-for-contracts scandal it has emerged the former PP treasurer had up
to 22 million euros deposited in a Swiss bank account.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">The PP insisted it broke off
relations with its former treasurer in 2009 but it’s alleged Bárcenas received
preferential treatment from the party until this January with an office for his
documents at the party’s Madrid headquarters plus secretarial support all paid
for by the PP. He was also being paid a monthly stipend by PP till the end of
2012. If that wasn’t enough the party paid Bárcenas’ social security payments a
decision, says El País that could only have been granted with the blessing of
the prime minister and PP leader, Mariano Rajoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">(The above article was published in
the London Progressive Journal on February 22 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
SANCHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961367278843285235noreply@blogger.com0