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ELECTIONS

ELECTIONS

Five of the most awkward Spanish election fails

In the run up to Spain's local and regional elections at the end of May, politicians have been trying out unsual ways to entice voters - many of which they most probably now regret.

Five of the most awkward Spanish election fails
A candidate in Gatafe thought it was a good idea to give out condoms with his political leaflets. Photo: Twitter

1. Nakedness

Socialist party candidate in the Cantabrian town of Meruelo in northern Spain, Luis Alberto Nicolás, caused a stir when he appeared on his campaign posters naked except for a strategically placed rose – because why wouldn't stripping off pull in undecided voters? The problem was that no one in the party had approved his naked campaigning and Nicolás was promptly ordered to take down all the posters he had plastered on the walls around town. You would think he would have learnt from previous naked campaign fails…

2. Taxis

Madrid’s two Popular Party candidates, for mayor and regional president, have kicked up a fuss among taxi drivers by paying to have their campaign posters fixed to the city’s taxis – only for them to be promptly vandalized. Taxi drivers have complained that people are refusing to travel in their taxis because of the political bias they proclaim.

3. Resigning co-founder

Podemos co-founder Juan Carlos Monedero. Photo: AFP

Podemos have taken Spanish politics by storm this year, but the party has recently lost one of its most important figures. While it may not have been an election strategy, having a co-founder resign mere weeks before the election cannot be good for voter confidence. Juan Carlos Monedero, former advisor to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, quit the party over “ideological differences” at the beginning of May.

 4. Cycling photo op

 

 

On Wednesday May 13th, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy got on his bike alongside Madrid mayoral candidate, Esperanza Aguirre and regional president candidate, Cristina Cifuentes. They cycled along Madrid’s river on the “Madrid bici” bikes, which are part of Madrid’s cycle scheme. Rajoy and Aguirre put past feuds behind them as they awkwardly cycled along the river for the photo op.

5. Condoms 

 

 

The Popular Party candidate in Getafe, south of Madrid, has been handing out condoms along with his election leaflets. Juan Soler-Espiauba Gallo has been distributing little packets containing a condom and emblazoned with his face alongside the slogan “Sensitivity and efficiency”. Soler has said that the campaign has been “well received among young people” and will help continue the policies of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. 

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EUROPEAN UNION

Norway flirts with the idea of a ‘mini Brexit’ in election campaign

On paper, Norway's election on Monday looks like it could cool Oslo's relationship with the European Union but analysts say that appearances may be deceiving.

Norway flirts with the idea of a 'mini Brexit' in election campaign
The Centre Party's leader Slagsvold Vedum has called for Norway's relationship with the European Union to be renegotiated. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB / AFP

After eight years of a pro-European centre-right government, polls suggest the Scandinavian country is headed for a change of administration.

A left-green coalition in some shape or form is expected to emerge victorious, with the main opposition Labour Party relying on the backing of several eurosceptic parties to obtain a majority in parliament.

In its remote corner of Europe, Norway is not a member of the EU but it is closely linked to the bloc through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.

The deal gives Norway access to the common market in exchange for the adoption of most European directives.

Both the Centre Party and the Socialist Left — the Labour Party’s closest allies, which together have around 20 percent of voter support — have called for the marriage of convenience to be dissolved.

“The problem with the agreement we have today is that we gradually transfer more and more power from the Storting (Norway’s parliament), from Norwegian lawmakers to the bureaucrats in Brussels who are not accountable,” Centre Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in a recent televised debate.

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Defending the interests of its rural base, the Centre Party wants to replace the EEA with trade and cooperation agreements.

However, Labour leader Jonas Gahr Store, who is expected to become the next prime minister, does not want to jeopardise the country’s ties to the EU, by far Norway’s biggest trading partner.

“If I go to my wife and say ‘Look, we’ve been married for years and things are pretty good, but now I want to look around to see if there are any other options out there’… Nobody (in Brussels) is going to pick up the phone” and be willing to renegotiate the terms, Gahr Store said in the same debate.

Running with the same metaphor, Slagsvold Vedum snapped back: “If your wife were riding roughshod over you every day, maybe you would react.”

EU a ‘tough negotiating partner’

Initially, Brexit gave Norwegian eurosceptics a whiff of hope. But the difficulties in untangling British-EU ties put a damper on things.

“In Norway, we saw that the EU is a very tough negotiating partner and even a big country like Britain did not manage to win very much in its negotiations,” said Ulf Sverdrup, director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

While Norwegians have rejected EU membership twice, in referendums in 1972 and 1994, a majority are in favour of the current EEA agreement.

During the election campaign, the EU issue has gradually been pushed to the back burner as the Centre Party — which briefly led in the polls — has seen its support deflate.

The nature of Norway’s relationship to the bloc will depend on the distribution of seats in parliament, but experts generally agree that little is likely to change.

“The Labour Party will surely be firm about the need to maintain the EEA agreement,” said Johannes Bergh, political scientist at the Institute for Social Research, “even if that means making concessions to the other parties in other areas”.

Closer cooperation over climate?

It’s possible that common issues, like the fight against climate change, could in fact bring Norway and the EU even closer.

“Cooperation with the EU will very likely become stronger because of the climate issue” which “could become a source of friction” within the next coalition, Sverdrup suggested.

“Even though the past 25 years have been a period of increasingly close cooperation, and though we can therefore expect that it will probably continue, there are still question marks” surrounding Norway’s future ties to the EU, he said.

These likely include the inclusion and strength of eurosceptics within the future government as well as the ability of coalition partners to agree on all EU-related issues.

Meanwhile, Brussels is looking on cautiously. The EEA agreement is “fundamental” for relations between the EU and its
partners Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, according to EU spokesman Peter Stano.

But when it comes to the rest, “we do not speculate on possible election outcomes nor do we comment on different party positions.”

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