National News

lunes, 15 de noviembre de 2010

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Wednesday announced a government reshuffle that included the abolition of two ministries and the appointment of a new foreign minister.
The reshuffling comes at a time when Mr. Zapatero has been trailing in opinion polls and struggling to revive an economy badly damaged by the collapse of Spain’s construction sector and an unemployment rate of 20 percent, which doubles the average in the European Union.
“This is the new government of reforms, definitive recovery and employment,” Mr. Zapatero said in a televised address from his Moncloa governmental compound. The most closely watched appointment was that of Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Interior Minister, who will now combine that job with that of first deputy Prime Minister Mr. Zapatero also underlined Mr. Rubalcaba’s experience as well as his successful crusade against ETA, the Basque separatist group.
Another key switch was that of Trinidad Jiménez, the Health Minister, who will replace Miguel Ángel Moratinos as Foreign Minister. Mr. Zapatero’s approval ratings have recently fallen below 30 percent on the back of Spain’s economic downturn. Still, he managed to strike deals with two minority parties to guarantee parliamentary approval this week for a 2011 budget that includes massive spending cuts in order to allay fears among investors about Spain’s budget deficit. The government reshuffle not only removes the Ministry of Gender Equality that had been created in 2008 but also breaks Mr. Zapatero’s long-standing pledge to have as many women as men in his cabinet. Instead, his slimmed-down team will now have eight men and seven women.

by Oscar Fernández Herrera

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Vitoria-Gasteiz and Nantes will be the next green European capitals. Two clear examples of respect for the environment.

The Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz will be the European capital of ecology during 2012 and the French city of Nantes will be so in 2013, since both have been awarded the environmental prize by the European Commission. This European institution encourages cities to improve the quality of both the urban life of its citizens, and an urban planning based on the respect for the environment. The awards were presented by the Environment Commissioner, Janez Potocnik, at a ceremony in Stockholm, the European Green Capital in 2010.

During the act, Janez Potocnik congratulated Vitoria Gasteiz for the wonderful work that had been done.

by Jorge González

Last Tuesday 12th October, many non-conformists met on the Hispanic Day to boo Zapatero and his Government.

PSOE says that these acts were organized, while the PP thinks that it was a citizens spontaneous reaction caused by the Government’s bad administration. These boos made people forgot what was really important: the tribute to civil guards and soldiers who had died this year in the military service.

Sociologists say that this fact have happened by the increase of bad education in our country. PSOE continues thinking that boos were a lack of respect, and many members blame for this to the right-wing party. They have proposed to write a new protocol for the National Party, which will prevent new acts as this. The right-wing party has answered that is surrealist to want to regulate the freedom of speech and that the Government must assume the critics.

Others parties, as IU, have said that these boos don’t have any relationship with the freedom of speech. They think that with these insults PP wants to demonstrate the Government’s bad situation and PSOE wants to blame PP.

According to Felipe Gonzalez, cries of protest have always existed, but the country’s crisis has increased them. One example of this is Jose Maria Aznar, who was insulted in the University of Oviedo. He answered with a bad sign. As can be seen in the picture. Afterwards, PP criticized his behaviour.

Politicians don’t come to an agreement about if it’s good or bad to write a new protocol against these types of acts.

Llamazares is pessimistic. According to him, the only thing that can really work is that citizens ban these behaviours and these people to take up the streets.

by Sandra Pérez Salas

The optimism and celebration turned into disappointment and sadness.

Manfred Gaulhfer, president of the committee of selection of the candidacy to the European capital of the culture 2016 named the six chosen cities. Burgos was the first surprise, and the list was completed up to enunciating definitively Segovia.

The mayor, Iñigo de la Serna, was the first one in facing the consequences and spoke about "pride", while he was looking for the way of mutating the torn dream of Europe in a way towards ahead sowed by all those steps that have taken form of a dynamization of the city and that have seated a few foundations of social transformation. To raise the head was the message. And a conviction expressed with firmness: " Nobody can take from us what is happening in Santander ". Rafael Doctor, the director of the Foundation 2016, who couldn´t conceal his tears, did not understand that the praises of the juror in the defense of the project had not had his reflection in the credit to the candidacy.

The president of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla, qualified the frustrated choice as "stick", though, as the rest of institutional representatives, he praised the effort made, appealed to the institutional unit and considered the situation difficult to explain.

The unanimous message was clear: the same institutional unit and strength forged in the hope will have to preside at the immediate decisions. Santander has won very much in the process of the candidacy, assured the director of the Foundation Marcelino Botín, Iñigo Sáenz de Miera. “Every hour, every reversed Euro has helped to create a more dynamic city, a city of transformation ".

by Óscar Gutierrez Cobo

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