Proud of Spain Today | 25 comments (25 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 7)

This is really interesting...and I didn't know this happened in Spain. You should be proud of it (and to have a leader who can mange that challenge!). Thanks for the article!!

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 09:52:45 AM EST

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 7)

Aznar also managed the debate quite well.

It's actually quite remarkable in that, though his time is not limited and the time of the other speakers is, the Prime Minister has to face the leaders of all parliamentary factions for at least two rounds or replies and counter-replies. It would be interesting to know what other countries do.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 10:04:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (none / 0)

I was not involved enough to watch during the Aznar years, so I would like to hear a comparison. Did he really manage logic "back then"?

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 01:37:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 3)

The second and third year of the first mandate particularly.. Recall that Rato gave him a social security more strengthened than with Solbes (by applying the same policies of Solbes.actually a little bit better.. Rato on social security was very good),a good deal for the finances with the Autonomies (Lander), a reasonable balanced budget, and with a slight increase in the investment in primary education.

We forget.. but Aznar was very much a center-right candidate at that time... because they needed to..and because he was not coopted by the neocons at that time.

A pleasure

I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Levi-Strauss, Claude

by kcurie on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 01:56:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 2)

El Pais has this Special report videos are available (the presentation is centered on the face-off between Zapatero and Rajoy), but there is also this overview of the debates since 1983.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 05:42:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (none / 1)

I'm not sure what the distinction here is. In the Hungarian Parliament, and IIRC the German and Austrian too, there are

open sessions when any MP can ask a question to a minister or the PM, get a reply, then tell whether and why he doesn't/accept the reply, and then everyone votes on acceptance;
during the debate of law proposals, every faction can ask questions and declare its judgement and make amends.

With those in place, I don't see a special need for a yearly session of questioning. So either I don't get it, or Spain lacks the open sessions and has more limited debates.

(I note though that here, inspired by the theatrical US practice, there is now an inofficial yearly state-of-the-country speech, to complicate things the main opposition party leader also helds one of his own outside Parliament...)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 03:40:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (none / 1)

Spain has weekly "Control Sessions", and debate of legislative proposals.

The debate we're talking about is a yearly "General Policy Debate", nicknamed "State of the Nation Debate". Apparently it was introduced by Felipe Gonzalez in 1983.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 5th, 2007 at 05:36:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 2)

But is there anything (or anyone) that (who) can be debated in the "General Policy Debate" but not in the weekly "Control Sessions"?

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri Jul 6th, 2007 at 03:54:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 2)

In practice, no, but the Wednesday control sessions probably have an agenda that limits the issues to be debated and all the media picks up is the row started by the PP, mostly about ETA terrorism.

The rest of the year, the news tells us that "such and such a (social reform) law was approved by all parties except the PP".

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.

by metavision on Fri Jul 6th, 2007 at 06:14:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 3)

The control session has an agenda, but it is not unusual for different questions to be asked than the one that was "booked", especially if there has been some new breathless cospiranoid revelation about ZP surrendering to ETA in the far-right press.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jul 6th, 2007 at 06:18:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (4.00 / 3)

The weekly control sessions generally focus on the issues of the day. The "General Policy Debate" allow the Government and all other parties to recap the previous year and make commitments for the following year.

For instance, Zapatero announced his intention to obtain a resolution of Parliament authorising a negotiation with ETA "if the right conditions were met" at his first Debate as PM in 2005.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jul 6th, 2007 at 06:25:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Proud of Spain Today (none / 1)

Also, the "control sessions" are like the "question time" in the UK parliament. The format is a question from the floor and a focused reply from the appropriate minister. There is no room for free-form policy statements from either the government or the opposition. Similarly, debating proposed laws doesn't allow free-form policy statements.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jul 6th, 2007 at 06:28:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Proud of Spain Today | 25 comments (25 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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