I have always had an affinity with Spain, largely in part for being the first country I visited overseas and for the architecture of GaudÃ. Only fitting to be residing in a city that has Spanish as a second language. I have officially perfected Spanish announcements on public transit - I digress...
A big thumbs up to the Kingdom of Spain. The election results from December 20 prove that they are not willing to be dictated by the status quo. First time since the Civil War, it has broken the shackles of being dominated by the two-party system of PP (Conservatives) and PSOE (Socialists). Coalition talks over the new year will be entertaining to say the least.
Before the election, both Citizens and Podemos were dubbed as protest parties, and not taken seriously due to being led by Albert Rivera (36) and Pablo Inglesias (37) respectively. They now hold the balance of power and will be part of key talks with King Felipe on forming the next government. How things have changed, Spain now joins a number of countries (such as Canada, Estonia, Greece, Italy) in electing leaders born in the 1970's. The trend towards youth continues, the voting public no longer care about career politicians who are there 'to be someone, rather than do something'. It's all about taking a punt on youth and hoping they cut ties with cronyism.
The $64,000 Question about Catalan independence will always haunt whoever leads in the near future, but at least this shake-up might finally bring a more representative federal government. One that does a better job of balancing the challenges of 17 autonomous regions with its many dialects.
All being said, Spain will never take life seriously - how can the home of Salvador Dali ever be rigid. We hear a lot about their economic woes (not withstanding their excellent banking system and famous fiesta's), however I should point out that in Spain life expectancy for both female and male ranks in the top 5 worldwide. Compare that to the GDP heavyweight of the U.S. (barely makes the top 40), and you realize that life is not all about the bottom line.
PS. I appreciate all the international interest Global Editorial has received from far and wide. Special thanks to readers in: Armenia, Australia, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, UK & the U.S. Looking forward to continuing our global discourse in 2016. One more item on the agenda: Central African Republic and Haiti you are not forgotten, I intend to lose sleep over your elections on December 27.
A big thumbs up to the Kingdom of Spain. The election results from December 20 prove that they are not willing to be dictated by the status quo. First time since the Civil War, it has broken the shackles of being dominated by the two-party system of PP (Conservatives) and PSOE (Socialists). Coalition talks over the new year will be entertaining to say the least.
Before the election, both Citizens and Podemos were dubbed as protest parties, and not taken seriously due to being led by Albert Rivera (36) and Pablo Inglesias (37) respectively. They now hold the balance of power and will be part of key talks with King Felipe on forming the next government. How things have changed, Spain now joins a number of countries (such as Canada, Estonia, Greece, Italy) in electing leaders born in the 1970's. The trend towards youth continues, the voting public no longer care about career politicians who are there 'to be someone, rather than do something'. It's all about taking a punt on youth and hoping they cut ties with cronyism.
The $64,000 Question about Catalan independence will always haunt whoever leads in the near future, but at least this shake-up might finally bring a more representative federal government. One that does a better job of balancing the challenges of 17 autonomous regions with its many dialects.
All being said, Spain will never take life seriously - how can the home of Salvador Dali ever be rigid. We hear a lot about their economic woes (not withstanding their excellent banking system and famous fiesta's), however I should point out that in Spain life expectancy for both female and male ranks in the top 5 worldwide. Compare that to the GDP heavyweight of the U.S. (barely makes the top 40), and you realize that life is not all about the bottom line.
PS. I appreciate all the international interest Global Editorial has received from far and wide. Special thanks to readers in: Armenia, Australia, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, UK & the U.S. Looking forward to continuing our global discourse in 2016. One more item on the agenda: Central African Republic and Haiti you are not forgotten, I intend to lose sleep over your elections on December 27.
