The two major parties in control of Spanish Congress (PP and PSOE) announce that they have agreed to change the Constitution to include a maximum expenditure of 0.4% GDP on public spending. This is the first time in thirty years of the current democratic situation that the Constitution will be modified. They also plan to do so in the fastest way possible, looking to calm the market forces that are predicting doom regarding Spanish debt. Therefore, they have called for an extraordinary voting session for next Tueday, 30th of August. This has fueled an already incensed population who demand to have their say on issues in which they believe they are directly involved. As a result, the web is already alive with calls for protests so that the general public is taken into account for such an important decision. Groups of activists in Spain are already planning for protests this weekend in front of Congress. The hashtag #yoquierovotar ("I want to vote") has been a storm of outraged voices, calling for the political class to stand up and defend their right to participate by blocking the proposal unless a referendum is accepted.
The initiative was proposed by President Zapatero and immediately backed up by the conservative opposition party PP. Already, however, voices of dissent have emerged outside and inside the Government party, with politicians stating that doing it so rapidly is going against their personal beliefs. According to Spanish law the measure needs 10% of support in Congress (35 congressmen) or in the Senate (26 senators), if not, a public referendum is mandatory.
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Well, you may as well move this page
to the top again and wait for the blood-bath.
The constitutional change has been approved by both the upper and lower Houses of parliament.
0.4 % of GDP for public spending basically guts all public services except police...:(
Governments!!!!!!
Changing the constitution is like moving the goal posts. Whether, it be Canada, the US, Spain, or China, this is the one thing governments do not have the right to do unilaterally (in mid game). If the leaders collude to do so, they are breaking the law. The whole purpose of a constitution is to fix in place a structure which allows a degree of certainty to the constituents.
One must wonder how much presure is being put on these men to cause such a degree of desperation. Unless they expect to have dictatorial powers in the very near future, this spells the end of their political careers.
Perhaps this begins to smell like a Sadam Hussein redux. You play ball, or we find a reason to hang you and kill your sons. It appears Mr. Gaddafi is headed down the the ramp soon. I had thought he would have been allowed to keep his billions and abdicate, but that would be a loose end. probably the writing was on the wall when ato bombed his palace on the second day rather than being content to "protect protestors".