Latest news with #Socialist-led
Euractiv
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Sanchez to present anti-corruption plan amid deepening party scandal
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is set to unveil a 'powerful' anti-corruption package to overhaul his socialist PSOE party after a bombshell corruption scandal involving former cabinet members and top party officials rocked his administration. Reeling from one of the party's most severe crises to date, Sánchez, PSOE's secretary general, will appear in an "extraordinary" parliamentary session on Wednesday . The scandal, revealed in a recent Guardia Civil report, links members of Sánchez's inner circle to alleged kickbacks, tender rigging, and influence peddling. With public trust hanging in the balance, expectations are high for the prime minister to deliver the 'forceful response' he promised in June, shortly after the scandal broke. A fresh start Following the report's release, Sánchez announced an 'external audit ' of the party's financing structure and pledged an "internal restructuring" of his party. So far, changes include the appointment of Rebeca Torró as head of the party's organisational secretariat, replacing both the indicted former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and PSOE's number three, Santos Cerdán, a ally of Sánchez. As criticism intensifies , left-wing party Sumar, PSOE's coalition partner, has joined right-wing Partido Popular (PP) in demanding accountability for the growing number of corruption cases linked to the Socialist-led government. Sumar has reportedly asked PSOE for a 'reset', and pushed for the creation of an "anti-corruption office.' The party also urged Sánchez 'to agree beforehand ' on specific measures set to be announced on Wednesday. According to government spokesperson Pilar Alegría, the measures to be announced on Wednesday "take into account" the concerns raised by coalition partners. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, she declined, however, to provide further details. A strengthened opposition? Despite ruling out implementing a cordon sanitaire to far-right VOX, PP president Alberto Nuñez Feijóo declined joining a coalition government with the far-right party in the future. Meanwhile, the PP has sharpened its tone but stopped short of aligning fully with far-right party VOX. Although PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has ruled out forming a coalition with VOX, his party remains open to "future agreements" on "certain issues" with Spain's third-largest political force, new PP secretary general Miguel Tellado told the press Tuesday. At the regional level, PP continues to rely on VOX's support to govern in Castilla y León, Extremadura, Murcia, Valencia, Aragón. In the Balearic Islands, where VOX is not part of the regional government, the two parties maintain cooperation agreements, including on the budget. Feijóo has vowed to keep the far-right out of central government following the 2027 general election – but whether he can attract defectors from PSOE remains an open question. No-confidence motion back on the table Talk of a potential no-confidence vote has also resurfaced. While the PP lacks the 176 seats needed to pass a motion on its own, it is reportedly exploring alliances with regional nationalist parties. With 137 PP MPs and 33 from VOX, Feijóo's bloc is still short. Speculation now centers on whether Junts – the Catalan separatist party with seven MPs – might be persuaded to back the move. Speaking to the Catalan press on Monday, senior PP official Xavier García Albiol said his party is willing to sit at the negotiating table with Carles Puigdemont's Junts but ruled out "direct talks" with the exiled Catalan leader. Junts has so far reportedly denied overtures from the PP, citing the party's opposition to granting Catalan status as an official EU language. An alternative path could involve securing votes from Basque nationalist party PNV (five seats) and the Canarian Coalition (one seat). But the PNV has already rejected any no-confidence motion supported by VOX, their press office told E uractiv. As Sánchez loses allies and even his coalition partners distance themselves, support for VOX and PP continues to climb in recent polls. Whether the prime minister's upcoming reforms can restore confidence in PSOE – and secure his own political survival through the 2027 elections – remains to be seen. (de)
Euractiv
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Feijóo re-elected as Spain's conservative party leader as pressure mounts on Sánchez
Spain's conservative opposition leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, was re-elected on Saturday as head of the Popular Party (PP) for a second term. Facing no rivals, the 63-year-old Galician politician secured an extraordinary 99.24% of delegates' votes at a party congress in Madrid, underscoring his firm control over Spain's main right-wing force. Feijóo's renewed mandate comes at a turbulent time for the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which is grappling with a swirl of corruption and harassment scandals. On Saturday, Sánchez's close ally, Francisco Salazar, resigned from the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) after several women accused him of sexual harassment and abuse of power. He was due to take up the post of deputy secretary in the party's organisational secretariat. Last month, PSOE Secretary General and the party's number three, Santos Cerdán also stepped down after being linked to a high-profile corruption probe. The scandals add to mounting tensions within the ruling coalition, which relies on a fragile patchwork of allies, including Catalan and Basque separatist parties that have often proven unpredictable. While the next parliamentary election is not officially due until 2027, polls suggest the PP enjoys a clear lead over PSOE, raising speculation that Feijóo could seek to force an early election with a no-confidence vote. However, translating poll leads into parliamentary arithmetic is no simple feat in Spain's fragmented parliament. Feijóo himself already failed to form a governing majority after the inconclusive 2023 general election, paving the way for Sánchez to cling to power through delicate post-election negotiations. (mm)
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain says 'overvoltage' caused huge April blackout
A major power outage that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula in April was caused by "overvoltage" on the grid that triggered "a chain reaction", according to a government report released Tuesday. The April 28 blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters, adding that the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. Potential causes include surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage, protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name that disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, insisting that Spain's grid was theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. Asked if the head of the grid operator should resign, Aagesen said the report was "not any kind of trial. It set out to determine the causes and to make recommendations". Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months given the complexity of the incident. The government, which has been mired in a corruption scandal involving a close aide of Sanchez, sped up the timeline in recent days. The commission of inquiry has met three times since Friday to prepare the publication of the report. - 'Deficiencies' - Following the outage, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production. These theories were again dismissed by Aagesen on Tuesday, though she acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis. According to Sarah Brown, Europe programme director at the energy think tank Ember, "renewables played a crucial role in restoring system stability and getting the power back on so quickly", dismissing what she called "unhelpful and inaccurate speculation" blaming wind and solar power. The blackout "reinforces what we already knew. As power systems evolve, enhanced grid optimisation and flexibility are essential for resilience", she said in a note. Among the government report's recommendations is the need for stronger supervision and compliance requirements for operators, increasing the country's overall electrical capacity and boosting Spain's electricity connections with neighbouring countries. The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power. The European Investment Bank on Monday announced 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, which would almost double power exchange capacity. du-vab/imm/js
NDTV
17-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
'Overvoltage' Caused April Blackout, Spain Says
A major power outage that paralysed the Iberian Peninsula in April was caused by "overvoltage" on the grid that triggered "a chain reaction", according to a government report released Tuesday. The blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters, adding the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. It can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage on networks protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of the Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name which disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, stressing that Spain's grid is theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. "What we're talking about here is an analysis report, it's not any kind of trial. It set out to determine the causes and to make recommendations," the minister said when asked if the head of the grid operator should resign. Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the April 28 outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months, given the complexity of the incident. The government, which has been mired in a corruption scandal involving a close aide of Sanchez, sped up the timeline in recent days. The commission of inquiry has met three times since Friday to prepare the publication of the report. - 'Deficiencies' - Following the outage, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production. These theories were again dismissed on Tuesday by Aagesen, who nonetheless acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis. Among the report's recommendations is the need for stronger supervision and compliance requirements on operators, increasing the country's overall electrical capacity and boosting Spain's electricity connections with neighbouring countries. The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power. The European Investment Bank on Monday announced 1.6 billion euros of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, which will almost double power exchange capacity. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Local Spain
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
Spain finally says what caused its huge nationwide blackout
The blackout had "multiple" causes, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen told reporters following a cabinet meeting, adding the system "lacked sufficient voltage control capacity" that day. Overvoltage is when there is too much electrical voltage in a network, overloading equipment. It can be caused by surges in networks due to oversupply or lightning strikes, or when protective equipment is insufficient or fails. When faced with overvoltage on networks protective systems shut down parts of the grid, potentially leading to widespread power outages. Aagesen singled out the role of the Spanish grid operator REE and certain energy companies she did not name which disconnected their plants "inappropriately... to protect their installations". She also pointed to "insufficient voltage control capacity" on the system that day, due in part to a programming flaw, stressing that Spain's grid is theoretically robust enough to handle such situations. Due to these misjudgements "we reached a point of no return with an uncontrollable chain reaction" that could only have been managed if steps had been taken beforehand to absorb the overvoltage problems, she added. Authorities had scrambled to find answers after the April 28th outage cut internet and telephone connections, halted trains, shut businesses and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal as well as briefly affecting southwestern France. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the formation of an inquiry commission led by the ecological transition ministry shortly after the blackout, urging residents not to speculate until detailed results were available. He had warned that the probe's conclusions could take several months, given the complexity of the incident. Following the incident, several hypotheses were considered to explain the blackout, including a cyberattack and a grid failure caused by excess renewable energy production -- both quickly ruled out by the authorities. These theories were again dismissed on Tuesday by Aagesen, who nonetheless acknowledged that "vulnerabilities" and "deficiencies" had been identified in Spain's power grid security systems. She said corrective measures would be proposed. The right-wing opposition has questioned the Socialist-led coalition government's phase-out of nuclear energy and reliance on renewables, saying they made Spain more vulnerable to blackouts. But the government says there is no evidence to suggest "an excess of renewables or the lack of nuclear power plants" caused the crisis.
