Rupert Cocke (Mergermarket, Barcelona, Twitter: @RupertCocke), who we spoke to back in September about longer-term structural issues in Spanish politics, joins the podcast again today to talk about the regional elections in Castilla y León this month (February 13), the clash on the right between Vox and the PP, who is better at election propaganda, and all the rest. Will we start to see Vox move ahead of the PP in some elections? Are they all overdoing it with their countryside clothes and photos in the search for rural voters? [NOTE: audio quality not the best today, it is a Twitter Space dow ..read more

Rupert Cocke and I chat about his recent article "Dismantling the narrative that Spain is a fascist state". Spain, Franco, the Transition, Zapatero, Catalan separtism, as well as the evolution of media, politics, technology, the economy and the more recent rise of Vox. Dismantling the narrative that Spain is a fascist state: - https://sharpenyouraxe.substack.com/p/spanish-democracy Guarantee journalism here Follow Matthew on Twitter ..read more

Welcome to the new podcast. We must first talk about Spain’s new left-wing minority coalition government. It is the country’s first coalition in the modern democratic period. Will it work? The longer cycle of Spanish politics we’re in goes back to 2014. Podemos suddenly appeared at the European elections, King Juan Carlos immediately abdicated and the Socialist Party chose a new leader: Pedro Sánchez. Guarantee journalism here Follow Matthew on Twitter ..read more