#68: SPANISH ELECTION SPECIAL EDITION
Vox and Partido Popular platform comparison + "Feminist" male candidate refuses to acknowledge existence of conservative woman + Mail in ballots discovered in the trash + MORE!
POLLS SHOW SPAIN HEADED FOR RIGHT-WING MAJORITY GOVERNMENT
Polls indicate Spain is following in the footsteps of other European nations and could elect a right-wing government on Sunday, as surveys show that the alliance between the Partido Popular (PP) and Vox will likely secure a majority in parliament.
The alliance, led by PP’s Nunez Feijóo, is challenging the incumbent socialist government of Pedro Sánchez, who took a gamble by calling a snap election earlier this year after PP and Vox swept regional elections.
According to the latest GESOP opinion poll, the PP is likely to get 32% of the vote, followed by Sánchez’s PSOE with 29%.
The PP’s main ally, Vox, is expected to get 13.0% of the vote. On the other side of the political spectrum, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party’s (PSOE) main partner, Sumar, is projected to get 14.0% of the vote.
Leading up to the election, the ruling government has tried to mobilize its base by warning of the dangers of a right-wing takeover to little avail.
PARTIDO POPULAR AND VOX PLATFORM COMPARISON
Although both being on the right side of the political spectrum, Partido Popular and Vox are running on substantially different platforms.
The two parties disagree on several fundamental questions including abortion, euthanasia and education – creating grounds for potential tensions in a coalition situation.
While Vox has vowed to repeal Spain’s abortion law, effectively eliminating it as a right, PP has only pledged to reform certain aspects related to parental permission for abortions by minors.
“We will defend the right to life from its conception to natural death and we will put an end to the culture of death,” the Vox platform reads.
PP has also said that it will not repeal the country’s euthanasia law but revive a Bioethics Committee to consider the matter. Meanwhile, Vox wants a total end to euthanasia in the public health system.
Vox also wants to enshrine freedom of conscience rights for all health care workers to be able to refuse treatment related to transgenderism, abortion and euthanasia if it contradicts their personal beliefs.
“(We will implement) comprehensive birth protection measures, both fiscal and health-related, and access to psychological or social services. No one should be discouraged from having a child due to lack of support from the administration,” writes Vox.
To tackle the aging population, Vox has also pledged to abolish the country’s Ministry of Equality and replace it with a Ministry of the Family. Additionally it wants to create a National Birth Plan and add further supports for families to offset population decline.
Vox has also committed to eliminating the personal income tax for families with four or more children and interest-free loans for young couples who have kids.
On the other hand, PP has pledged tax breaks on meat and fish, while giving more assistance to large families. Additionally, PP wants to increase the amount of child benefits families can receive.
The two parties also differ on education, with Vox taking a more heavy-handed approach at ridding public schools of indoctrination and gender ideology.
Vox has pledged to impeded all laws that violate the rights of parents over their children’s education and to guarantee that schools inform parents of kids whenever ideological content or sexual materials are being taught in schools.
The party’s platform also pledged to eliminate “totalitarian ideology” and “cancel culture” from universities and to guarantee that professors are free from the pressures of political correctness.
As for PP, they only gave a passing mention on “ideological neutrality in hte classroom” but has not touched on recent gender laws passed by the ruling government.
“FEMINIST” MALE CANDIDATE REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE VOX WOMAN OPPONENT
A tense moment marked the debate of Canal Sur Televisión among the candidates for the Congress of Deputies for Seville of PSOE, PP, Vox and Sumar.
Francisco Sierra, the representative of Sumar, a far-left coalition, avoided eye contact with Rocío de Meer, the female Vox candidate, throughout the program.
He also referred to her as "someone" instead of using her name or title.
De Meer confronted Sierra about his attitude and asked him to respect her and the millions of voters who support Vox.
She also questioned his feminist credentials, since he claimed to be from the "party for women". Sierra did not answer her directly and continued to look away from her.
"Mr. Sierra, you are carrying out the entire debate without looking at me . Are you not from the women's party, from the feminist party? Why don't you look me in the face, why when you have addressed me before have you said "someone"?” said de Meer.
“Why don't you respect the almost four million people who vote for my political party?"
The viewers of Canal Sur expressed their indignation on social media and accused Sierra of being rude, disrespectful and sexist.
They also praised De Meer for her calm and polite demeanor. The debate had an audience share of 8.9 percent, with 174,000 people tuning in.
PP FILES POLICE REPORT AFTER 354 BALLOTS DISCOVERED IN CONSTRUCTION TRASH
Partido Popular has reported to the police the discovery of 354 ballots thrown in a container of construction trash in Badajoz, Spain.
The country’s post office service has been blasted for delaying the distribution of mail votes as the country prepares for this Sunday’s snap election.
All of the ballots discovered were sent out by the PP to residents of Talavera la Real.
A PP spokesperson said that the incident was “tremendously serious” and required an immediate investigation.
“Especially after what we have experienced in the previous municipal and regional elections, where we have seen that there was a purchase of votes by mail," warned PP.
"If in the 21st century the electoral right of citizens is compromised because it appears thrown into a container, something is not working."
SANCHEZ MAKES DESPERATE BID FOR WOMEN’S VOTES
Spain’s socialist leader Pedro Sánchez has made a call to women voters in Valencia, warning them of the supposed dangers of a possible right-wing coalition that includes the "sexist party" Vox.
"The PP agrees with a sexist party, and that has consequences," he said.
"It is said that the 21st century is that of women, that of progress in equality. Well, if it is the century of women, as we believe in the PSOE, we need governments that defend them.”
Sánchez, who is facing a difficult electoral campaign with low expectations, tried to mobilize his base by appealing to the achievements of his government in terms of equality.
He claimed that his executive has been the most feminist in history and that he has defended the rights of women against the attacks of the right.
However, the latest polls show that the PSOE is losing support among women, who traditionally have favored the socialists.
According to the CIS, the PP is now very close to the PSOE in women's preferences, with 25.7% and 27.5% respectively. This represents a significant increase for the conservatives, who in 2019 only obtained 11.9% of women's votes.