Politics

For more than 40 years in the political arena of Spain two parties had been dominating, the People’s Party and the PSOE Party (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party), which alternated in power. The last catalytic elections of December 20, 2015 resulted in a significant weakening of these traditional political forces and the emergence of new antiregime parties. Thus, the People’s Party of Mariano Rajoy got the lowest percentages since 1993 (28.72% of votes and 123 seats out of the 350 of the Parliament, compared to 44.6% of the votes and 186 seats in 2011), while the PSOE Party of Pedro Sanchez recorded the worst result in its history (22% of the votes and 90 seats, compared to 28.73% of the votes and 110 seats in the previous elections of 2011).

The emergence of the left party Podemos of Pablo Iglesias – product of the so-called movement of the “Indignant” – and of the center-right party Ciudadanos of Albert Rivera (which was supported by some mass media), in the third and fourth place respectively with high percentages (20.6% of the votes and 69 seats and 14% of the votes and 40 seats), shows the end of the forty-year-old two-party system and marks a new period for Spain.

This result, of course, is due largely to the economic crisis in Europe. The anti-popular austerity policy which was faithfully implemented by the government of Mariano Rajoy in the past four years, combined with a corruption scandal regarding his party, transformed the party map of Spain and led to the emergence of a new four-party political scene. 

The new parliamentary reality, where no party has an absolute majority, leads inevitably either to a coalition government that the majority of Spaniards seems to prefer or to new elections. After four years of governance with strong majority, Spain is now facing the prospect of some kind of political instability that torments the other European countries as well, since the fragile government coalitions and the traditional parties that dominated the political scene for decades, feel strongly the pressing effects of the years of economic hardship and the growing wave of immigration. The new Spanish government, whenever it may occur, with or without new elections, shall immediately be confronted with very serious problems and challenges. Although this European economy came out of the recession and entered the road to recovery, it will take several years, without regressions, to recover the lost ground. Otherwise, if the Spanish economy gets into reverse mode again, this precarious recovery will resemble the suspended step of the stork.

The country is beset by the second highest unemployment rate (21.18%) in the Euro-zone following Greece, and the unemployed Spaniards are more than five million. Poverty increases on a daily basis and threatens to disintegrate the social web of the country. “Poverty is the worst form of violence” once Mahatma Gandhi declared. With the applied vast neoliberal policies the gap between the rich and the poor is constantly growing. In 2013, 22.2% of the households, based on the most recent data of the National Statistics Institute (INE) of Spain, lived below the poverty line, i.e. their income was less than 60% of the mean national disposable income. Many people are living today without heating and without electric power, countless families face eviction and have no other residence (34.680 first houses, that is 95 a day, were confiscated in 2014 by the banks to be sold, according to the INE), many pensioners cannot pay for their medicines. Also, more than one in three children - or 2.6 million – are now faced with the risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to the most recent data of the European Commission. The high percentages of the long-term unemployed combined with the drastic cuts in expenditures on health and education have led more families and children to poverty in spite of the financial recovery.

The public debt is continuously showing an upward trend and based on the latest official figures, is at 98.8% of the GDP, approaching the high level of 100% of the GDP that reached or exceeded in the years 1900 and 1909. The “informal economy” is estimated at 25% of the GDP, i.e. 235 billion Euros that have not been declared, thereby depriving the Spanish State from some very substantial financial resources.

Meanwhile, the new Spanish government shall have to tackle the urgent issue of Catalonia. The election of the separatist Carles Puigdemont, who shall be responsible for starting the process of independence, to the presidency of Catalonia, is a resounding wake-up. “We need to commence the process to create an independent State in Catalonia, so that the decisions of the Catalan Parliament are sovereign”,  he declared on Sunday 10th  January 2016, under the cheering of the Members, only hours before the Catalan Parliament elected him head of the local government and successor Artur Mas.

The direct consequences of the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia, which is the richest region of Spain with a product of about 200 billion Euros, shall undoubtedly be extremely painful: without Catalonia, Spain shall lose 16% of its population, 25% of its exports, and 19% of its GDP according to the OECD.

More than 586,000 companies are based in Catalonia – out of those 2,150 large companies employing more than 200 workers each, such as Gas Natura and the giant of garments Mango. In Catalonia there is the factory of the Volkswagen group as well producing cars of the brand Seat.

Besides, Barcelona is by far the first tourist destination across the country and one of the leading worldwide, with net proceeds from the arrival and stay of tourists reaching tremendous heights. Meanwhile, both in the commercial and the industrial sector, Barcelona is perhaps the most fundamental pillar of the Spanish economy.

The tendency of Catalonia for independence, this should be emphasized at this point, was born and acquired gigantic dimensions due to the austerity policies imposed by Brussels and mainly Berlin on Spain and of course throughout the Euro-zone. This is the main reason why the Catalans want to become at least autonomous. They want to have their own laws and their taxes not to go to Madrid to pay the austerity programmes. The reasons for the apparent break-up are therefore primarily financial, but also cultural.

In conclusion, the extreme austerity policies have hurt obviously and heavily Spain, like other countries in the Euro-zone. Therefore it is needed by the new Spanish government, which will be faced with a historic crossroad, to formulate a very clear progressive policy that will be built upon the re-examination of the Constitution, the direction of specific popular social reforms, the inhibition of uncontrolled privatization suffering, among other things, from issues of transparency, and the protection of the first housing to low income groups. The effective combat against tax evasion and financial crime is also needed, as well as the appropriate restructuring of the production model and the significant easing of major structural imbalances, such as unemployment, budget deficits, and the public debt.

About the author

Isidoros Karderinis was born in Athens, Greece in 1967. He is a novelist, poet and economist with postgraduate studies in tourist economy. His articles have been republished in newspapers, magazines and sites worldwide. His poems have been translated in English, French and Spanish and have been published in literary magazines and literary pages of newspapers. He has published seven books of poetry and two novels. Five of which have been published in the USA and in Great Britain.

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Isidoros Karderinis

31.Mar.2016

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Former Douala Four Council Mayor John DANGLE KUMASE who was discharged and acquitted by the Special criminal Court has said that his enemies will never succeed to bring him down. Mr KUMASE who made 15 trips to Yaoundé for the hearings at the special criminal court observed that those who wanted his head were within and outside the SDF party. Those within he added never wanted a strong political opponent especially during the election of a new president for SDF littoral bureau. Said former mayor Kumase, “Even some members from my own political party thought that it was a way for them to eliminate me from the SDF Littoral, but we are serving a living God, HE has accompanied me all through”.

The former mayor revealed he knew from the statements of the prosecuting witnesses that he would be freed. “From the beginning of this case, I felt that justice would be done". Kumase's trial was based on a three-count charge. It was alleged he embezzled FCFA 9,120,000 being rents from BICEC bank paid to the Council for using one of its facilities in 2008. He was also accused of swindling FCFA 32 million from a FCFA 90 million that the Douala City Council disbursed to the Douala IV to help during a clean-up campaign. The last charge was that Kumase embezzled FCFA 90 million being deductions from Council workers’ salaries for the National Social Insurance Fund. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence.

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Nfor Hanson Nchanji

30.Mar.2016

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A senior Nigerian official has told the BBC that a would-be suicide bomber arrested in Cameroon is not one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls.

The girl had told investigators she was one of 270 abducted in Nigeria in 2014 by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

She had explosives strapped to her body, had been drugged and was badly injured when she was arrested last week, Cameroonian officials say.

Boko Haram is increasingly using girls to carry out suicide bombings.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a new investigation into the kidnappings in January, but admitted he had no information on the girls' whereabouts.

The abductions of the schoolgirls from Chibok town in north-eastern Nigeria sparked international outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign.

While about 50 of the girls managed to escape, 219 of the girls remain missing.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said some of the girls have been converted to Islam and forced to marry Boko Haram fighters.

There have been reports that some of them may have been forced to fight for the militant group, which is affiliated to Islamic State.

Although Boko Haram has been driven out from most of the areas it controlled in north-eastern Nigeria, it has continued to carry out suicide bombings and raids into neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

(BBC)

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Rita Akana

30.Mar.2016

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Grégoire Owona, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance who also moonlights as deputy secretary general of the Central Committee of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) has announced the holding of a national congress of the party this year. CPDM congress holds every five years with the most recent being that of September 2011. 

The minister Owona declaration did not make public the exact date and the agenda of the congress. However, some political commentators have opined that it will be to confirm the Cameroonian dictator as chairman of the party and candidate for the early presidential elections which normally should be held between September and October 2018.

The congress will also provide an opportunity for the national chairman to reorganize the politburo and the central committee. President Biya is not expected to face any competition within the party.

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Rita Akana in Yaounde

29.Mar.2016

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Newly-elected Benin president Patrice Talon plans to reduce presidential mandates to just one five-year term, he said late on Friday, after the constitutional court confirmed his election victory over prime minister Lionel Zinsou. Talon took 65.4 percent of the vote in last Sunday's run-off poll to decide who would replace President Thomas Boni Yayi, who is stepping down after serving two terms in office, the constitutional court said on Friday. 

The figures confirmed results that came out earlier in the week. "I will first and foremost tackle constitutional reform," Talon told reporters, reinforcing a promise made during campaigning. One term of five years would reduce presidential "complacency", he said. Benin presidents can currently serve two five-year terms.

The peaceful election was seen as reinforcing the democratic credentials of Benin, a bastion of stability in a region where elections are often marred by violence. By relinquishing power after serving two terms in office, Boni Yayi stands in contrast to leaders in other African nations, including Burundi, Rwanda and Congo Republic, who have altered their constitutions to extend their rule.

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Reuters

29.Mar.2016

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Cameroon is operating the Israeli Saymar Musketeer armoured vehicle, and using it for presidential protection. According to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, Cameroon’s Presidential Guard Reconnaissance and Support Group includes a Musketeer platoon, as well as fire support, anti-aircraft, and anti-terrorist units. The publication reports that Cameroon's Presidential Guard is the first known user of the vehicle, which is based on a Toyota Land Cruiser chassis. Although one of the Musketeers was seen by IHS Jane's in the capital Yaounde during the official state visit by Italian President Sergio Mattarella on 18 March, it is believed the vehicles have been in service since 2014. The six-seat vehicle was seen earlier this month fitted with a remotely operated weapon station with a 7.62 mm FN MAG machinegun.

The Musketeer was unveiled in 2009 by Saymar, which subsequently was taken over by Elbit Systems. It features Stanag Level 1 ballistic protection, that can be upgraded to B7 level if requested, or Stanag Level 3. The vehicle is powered by a 4.2 litre Toyota diesel engine. IHS Jane's Defence Weekly reports that Cameroon’s Presidential Guard also has Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) RBY Mk 1 and RAM Mk III vehicles, with some of the RBY Mk 1s being armed with TCM-20 twin 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. 

Cameroon has received a variety of new military equipment in recent times, with its Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) now equipped with Ratel 20 infantry fighting vehicles. Deliveries began in December 2015, according to a source quoted by IHS Jane’s, and the BIR now has 12 with its Light Intervention Units deployed to the Far North province, where the force is leading operations against Boko Haram militants. The Ratels join around two dozen LAV-150 Commando infantry fighting vehicles, 30 AML-90s, six AMX-10RCs, a dozen Ferrets, eight M-8s and half a dozen VBLs.

Some of the equipment Cameroon’s armed forces have acquired in the last five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), include five Type-07 armoured personnel carriers, six Type-07P/VN-1 infantry fighting vehicles, 12 WMA-301 Assault armoured fire support vehicles, four Z-9 helicopters and two P-108 patrol craft from China; a second hand OPV-54 patrol boat from France, two Mi-17 helicopters from Russia; two Aresa-3200 patrol craft and a single CN235 transport aircraft from Spain; and two Bell 412 helicopters from the United States.

Last year the United States ordered 15 Acmat Bastion armoured vehicles from France for Cameroon. Cameroon also received in February, the first two of six refurbished Mi-24 attack helicopters. They will be placed at the disposal of the BIR’s Operation Alpha Command, tasked with tackling Boko Haram militants in the Far North Province of Cameroon, joining two Mi-17s acquired from Russia in 2013 as well as Bell 412 and Gazelle helicopters, the latter equipped with HOT missiles.

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Defenceweb

29.Mar.2016

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