Cover | Galicia and its Parliament | 19th-O and other elections | Parties & leaders | Vieiros
Galicia'97 covers
Last week
Third absolute majority for the Popular Party and unstoppable rise for the Galician Nationalist Bloc
Last Sunday, the Popular Party succeded in ratifying the absolute majority for the third time. Despite this victory, it lost one parlamientary seat in A Coruña province and another one in Ourense, having 41 deputies for this term of office. Besides, and for the second time in the history of the present régime, the PP achieved a poll of more than the 50% in Galicia. The results also show a decrease in the urban vote for the PP, but it gets a relative rise in the most rural provinces, Lugo and Ourense. Thanks to these outcomes, Fraga will be able to resolve the question of his succession within the next four years.
The Galician Nationalist Bloc consolidates again like the most rising political force in the whole State. Having passed from 5 to 13 deputies in the election of 1993, now in 1997 it attained 19 parliamentary seats, which means six more deputies. This way, the Nationalist group will represent the principal opposition in the future government of Manuel Fraga. If we extrapolate these results to the situation in the Spanish Congress, the BNG could be in the position of getting a parliamentary group of his own, since the number of deputies it holds at the moment (2) could be now trebled. Finally, it is important to say too that the Nationalist force succeded in surpassing the Coalition of the Socialist Party in all towns and cities.
The Coalition of the PSdeG-PSOE, EU-EG, Os Verdes were loudly defeated in this election. Never had the PSOE got such low results since the first democratic election in Spain. Even in A Coruña city, electoral manor of the PSOE's Secretary General, Francisco Vázquez, the BNG overcame the PSOE with 4,000 more votes. The off-repeated explanation of the Socialist leaders has been a supposed lack of time to make their message arrive at the electors. Abel Caballero, the Coalition's candidate, recognized the need to open a debate in the heart of the Group and he put himself at the disposal of his Party. On the other hand, the Galician Socialists' secretary, Francisco Vázquez, declared he will foster an inner debate in order to analyse the causes of the defeat in the Galician election and that he will respect the Party's members' decision.
Third week of campaign: From October 11th to October 17th
The PP call on its electors to ensure the third absolute majority. Despite the good forecasts all inquiries give to Fraga's party, the PP has called on its electors in order to break the 800,000 votes of last Galician polls. All along the week the Popular leader has been emphasizing the need of not relying on the surveys and "filling the ballot-boxes 'til they burst out" next Sunday. While his political opponents say Fraga wouldn't be able to end a new term of office, he PP's candidate, already in his seventies, doesn't want to hear anything about his future succession. Fraga, who has been displaying a triumphalist speech throughut the whole campaign, wants to carry on his plans for Galicia as a part of "a project which is our grandeur. A united, unique, great Spain".
On the other hand, the Popular leader has counted on the support of some members of the Spanish Government. Among them, Mariano Rajoy, minister of the Public Administrations, warned the people about the Nationalists because, as he said, "they want to take Galicia back to the Middle Ages since they don't want it to belong to the UE".
The Coalition of the PSOE rejects a Governement agreement with the nationalist force BNG, however the not auspicious forecasts last inquiries give. Quite sure about his possibilities of attaining the Galician Presidency next Sunday, Abel Caballero keeps on rejecting the BNG's offer of Government agreement. Nevertheless, inquiries have not been very auspicious for the Coalition of the PSOE's outcomes in next 19-O polls. It seems that Caballero's pronouncements have scarcely convinced the Galician voters. Although he insists on comparing his group with last French Progressit Coalition as well as on assuming Gonzalez's political heritage for himself, surveys show a decrease in the number of Socialist seats in the Parliament.The Coalition's leader have been supported by Felipe Gonzalez's and Otto Wolf's (leader of the German Green Party) coming-over.
On the other hand, they have accused Galician Television before the Galician High Court for having given an advantageous treatment to the PP.
The Nationalist force BNG makes a last proposal to the PSOE in order to "knock Fraga down". The Galician Nationalist Bloc's candidate for the Presidency of the Xunta de Galicia, Xosé Manuel Beiras, has been making several offers to the PSOE about a possible Government agreement, in the case Populars won't get the absolute majority. Confident of a relevant raising of the BNG, Beiras offered, for the last time, his hand to Abel Caballero in order to give Galician progressist forces the chance to attain the Government of this country. Beiras thinks the Caballero's reiterative rejection is just helping the Popular Party.
The Nationalist leader has criticised Fraga because of having insulted citizens when he recently said BNG's electors were "society's outcasts". In regard to this words, Beiras have warned Fraga to be careful because "the "outcasts" are going to make him pay".
The basic point in the Nationalists' programme will be the preservation of welfare state in Galicia.
Second week of campaign: From October 4th to October 10th
Fraga labels opposition as "Those of the No". The candidate of the Popular Party has accused the opposition of not having the intention to do anything for Galicia. In this respect, he has also declared the other parties want Galician people to remain ignorant and poor. Manuel Fraga has counted on the support of several members of the Spanish Government. Together with the present Minister of Labour, Javier Arenas, he met a big representation of the elderly people, a very important sector of the population, to whom they stated pensions rate won't get decreased.
Mariano Rajoy, Minister of the Public Administrations, has come over to encourage Fraga in his campaign. Last Wednesday he said that PP was the only real electoral choice since other alternatives were not but a hotchpotch of 17 parties.
Maybe the most expected event is Aznar's imminent coming. The President of the Government will take part in two meetings throughout next week to give Fraga the final slap on the back.
González doesn't think Fraga can finish a new term of office. Felipe González, last President of the Spanish Government, has come over to give support to Abel Caballero, the Socialist candidate for the Presidency of the Xunta de Galicia. Regarding PP's candidature he has declared it is pathetic that Fraga tries to get 2000 in the power. González, having recently given up the post of Secretary General of the PSOE, chose Galicia to announce his intention of not being the Socialist candidate for next Spanish parliamentary election.
It is possible to match Gonzalez's words with the already controversial video PSOE performed for this Galician campaign. The film is on within the Tv spots Galician Television holds and it shows two polemical symbols: a clipper representing the Coalition of Abel Caballero and a tortoise meaning the PP. At the moment the 1,500 video masters have been sold out and the PSdeG-PSOE hasn't told the media it intends to publish it again.
Beiras: "Any alternative to current Government can't go through without the BNG". All through this election campaign Beiras has been devoted to show that the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) is ready to occupy the Presidency of the Galician Government. Displaying a moderate speech and trying to focus just on the politcal debate, the nationalist leader has claimed the programme he defends to be a "social-democratic project made for most of people".
Xosé Manuel Beiras criticizes the PP for alerting people of the danger to have the BNG in the government and blames Fraga's fishing policy of the precariousness this sector is suffering. He hasn't hesitate at affirming Fraga's campaign is the dirtiest one.
The candidate of the Nationalist Bloc gave his opinion about the presence of Spanish politician in the process, too. Beiras defends a "genuine Galician campaign" just involved in Galicia's problems as the one his Party is carrying out.
First week of campaign: From September 29th to October 3rd
Popular Party based campaign on Fraga's achivements. "Facendo país" ("Making a country") was the slogan of the Popular precampaign and it showed the achievements of the Galician government in figures since Fraga's arrival in 1989. Manuel Fraga Iribarne, after a long and wide political life, is willing to face, in his seventies, a new term of office. Populars feel confident about their candidate's possibilities so that they don't hesitate at declaring that PP will even gain one more seat in Galician Parliament. Nevertheless, Fraga has rejected to take part in a public debate together with the other two candidates.
On the other hand, the PP has opened the campaign in Galicia and in the two main points of Galician settlements abroad, Argentina and Uruguay, at the same time. The political group aims to get the most of the about 250,000 Galician emigrator's votes.
Caballero's coalition discuss agreements with BNG. Although the coalition of the PSdeG-PSOE (the Socialist Party), EU-EG (United Left-Galician Left) and Os Verdes (Green Galician Party) refuses to make a sharing government up together with the Nationalist Bloc, they have already declare the possibility to reach annual agreements with them. Despite the election of Abel Caballero, Minister of Transport, Turism & Communication in González's Government, as the candidate of this centre-left coalition, inquiries give no increase to the number of their possible voters.
Caballero has pointed out that the Galician election "are going to be extremely important for Spain" as it is the first one after the Spanish President changed, and because of his coalition "is going to show how the union of all the centre-left works". Precisely for supporting this project, some figures of Spanish left have come over our country. Maybe the most weighty of them is Alfonso Guerra who was González's Vice-president and right-hand man for at least two terms.
Beiras states BNG is government alternative. Xosé Manuel Beiras, ex-dean of the Faculty of Economics in the University of Santiago and Galician parliamentary deputy since 1985, is fully convinced the Galician Nationalist Bloc is the only alternative for Galician government, even for those electors who have been disappointed by the PP. Nationalists are sure to offer a programme which can fulfil the aspirations of businesspeople as well as those of the centrist voters. Beiras has criticized the use of Galicia as a testing field for the political forces of the State. He has also insisted on the need of focusing this campaign just in Galicia.
Regarding to government agreements, the BNG intends to make a coalition with the socialists for the whole term of office since they think this is the only way to give some estability to the country.
Cover | Galicia and its Parliament | 19th-O and other elections | Parties & leaders | Vieiros