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Google reveals what Spain REALLY wants to know about its politicians

Nevermind policies, Spaniards are more concerned with the personal lives of their political candidates if their Google searches are anything to go by.

Published: 20 November 2015 11:18 CET
Google reveals what Spain REALLY wants to know about its politicians
Photo: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP

In the run up to Spain’s general election on December 20th Google will publish a weekly roundup of the most searched for candidates and what Spaniards are itching to know about the leaders of the country’s main political parties.

His party may be currently lagging in fourth place in the opinion polls, but Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias is the most googled political leader in Spain at 38 percent.

The second most googled political leader is Spanish Prime Minister and head of the conservative Popular Party, at 27 percent, followed by Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera at 21 percent.

Spaniards do not seem too interested in Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez (10 percent), United Left leader Alberto Garzón (3 percent) or Andrés Herzog of the Union, Progress and Democracy party (1 percent).

Spaniards are a nosy bunch and are desperate to find out about the personal lives of the candidates if their Google searches are anything to go by. 

The top searched for question for Pablo Iglesias was: “How old is Pablo Iglesias?” followed by “Who is Pablo Iglesias’ girlfriend?”

Oddly, the most searched for question regarding Spain’s currently Prime Minister had nothing to do with politics, or foreign or domestic policy issues, but rather: “Who are Mariano Rajoy’s children?”

They also wanted to know how tall Rajoy was and “who is Rajoy’s cousin?”

Perhaps keen to find out if Albert Rivera trusts the Spanish public education system, the most searched for question relating to the Ciudadanos leader is: “Does Albert Rivera’s daughter go to a public school?”

Spaniards are also keen to know “who is Albert Rivera’s wife?” and “who are Albert Rivera’s children?”


Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

Those Spaniards interested in Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez most want to know what university degree he studied, while they one of the most searched for questions to do with United Left leader Alberto Garzón was what was his opinion on bullfighting. 

Google Trends will release information on the most searched for Spanish political leaders as well as the most common questions every Thursday in the run up to the general election, on December 20th. 

 

 

Recent polls put the Popular Party in the lead with Spanish voters, followed by Ciudadanos, who could become kingmakers if the PP fail to win a majority. 

The poll put Spain traditional opposition party the Socialists in third place followed by Podemos in fourth.

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POLITICS

Why separatist Bildu spells hope for Basque youth as Spanish region votes

"For us Basques, ETA's terrorism is in the past," says social worker Elena García, who says she's going to vote for the left-wing separatist EH Bildu in Sunday's election in Spain's Basque Country.

Published: 18 April 2024 09:21 CEST
Why separatist Bildu spells hope for Basque youth as Spanish region votes

As the wealthy northern region of 2.2 million residents heads into a tightly-contested vote for its regional parliament, polls suggest Bildu will win, inching ahead of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) that has ruled for decades.

A faction which partly emerged from the political wing of the now-defunct Basque armed separatist group ETA, Bildu “used to be associated with a nationalist party with a terrorist past but it’s moved away from that,” said García.

“Now it’s the party doing the most for social issues and defending Basque interests.”

Although she’s 40, her words reflect a stance common among young Basque voters for whom decades of dark separatist violence has little bearing on their electoral choices.

A coalition of several parties, most of which opposed violence, Bildu has worked to disassociate itself from ETA whose bloody struggle for an independent Basque homeland claimed 850 lives before it rejected violence in 2011.

And with a focus on housing, the environment and others issues, it has won a strong following among younger voters between 18 and 44, surveys show.

Although former ETA member Arnaldo Otegi, 65, remains its leader and most public face, Bildu recently named 40-year-old Pello Otxandiano as candidate for regional leader.

Over the years, observers say it has successfully highlighted problems facing Basque society that have increasingly taken centre stage as the political focus has shifted away from the violence of the ETA years.

“Before, the only party looking after Basque interests was the PNV, so everyone voted for them regardless of their political leanings,” said García.

“But with Bildu gaining strength, if you’re left-wing and more socially minded, you’ll vote for them.”

A man and a child look at an electoral poster of pro-independence political coalition “EH Bildu” campaign meeting in the Spanish Basque city of Sestao on April 10, 2024 ahead of April 21 regional elections. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)

‘Left-wing separatist alternative’

Experts say Bildu has steadily gained political traction through a strategy that has steered clear of terror-related issues while refocusing squarely on social change.

“Bildu has become increasingly popular with young people, benefitting from the end of the armed struggle,” said Pablo Simón, a political scientist at Madrid’s Carlos III University.

“That has allowed it to position itself as the pro-independence, left-wing alternative to the traditional PNV government with a substantial part of its agenda linked to social policies, wealth redistribution, environmentalism and the like.”

The aim was to “move away from terrorism-related issues to talk about other problems linked to the left and the right.”

Eva Silván, who heads public policy consultancy Silvan&Miracle, said it had also scaled back its separatist agenda.

“It started talking about issues that were more material than identity based, and reducing the pro-independence agenda to focus on concrete social and public policies,” she told AFP.

And that has played well with a new generation of voters “who hadn’t experienced terrorism and didn’t link the separatist left with violence”.

For them, she said, Bildu “really taps into the concerns of young people and best addresses their problems”.

By 2019, Bildu was well on its way to becoming just another political actor with its five lawmakers in Spain’s national parliament recently becoming a key ally for the minority government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

For Basque youth, Bildu – a coalition grouping several peaceful separatist parties with former members of ETA’s political wing – spells hope in Spain election, AFP reports on April 18, 2024. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)

Focus on youth, poor

In a square in Bilbao, four friends in their 20s reel off a list of struggles they’re facing, from impossibly high rents to worsening job conditions and the rising cost of living.

One won’t vote because she doesn’t believe in the political system, two can’t vote because they’re undocumented immigrants and the fourth says there’s “no point”, drawing protest from her friends who say Bildu is the only option.

“It’s essential to vote because even if Bildu doesn’t win, they’ll have greater representation in the Basque parliament,” explained Moroccan Usama Abdeloihidin, 26, who works in the hotel sector.

“They’re more focused on the working class and the situation of young people. The PNV might look out for Basque interests but not if you’re from a poor or minority neighbourhood,” he said.

At a Bildu rally in nearby town of Sestao, a crowd of supporters are cheering, clapping and waving red, white and green Basque flags as three students watch from the sidelines.

“Many young people are forced to balance studies and work and this capitalist exploitation is raising political awareness, so many Basques are turning to the left, to Bildu,” said Oier Gómez Parada, a 19-year-old Basque philology student.

“Bildu is focusing on people and raising awareness about the difficult conditions we’re facing that other parties just don’t care about.”

In nearby Agurain, 23-year-old student activist Oier Inurrieta Garamendia told AFP he felt represented because Bildu “lets young people speak, and doesn’t just speak in our name”.

“Whatever happens on April 21st, we’ll have a result we can really celebrate,” he said while admitting that even if Bildu did win 30 of the Basque parliament’s 75 seats, up from 21, it stood no chance of ruling.

“When the other parties refuse to work with EH Bildu, they’re not just blocking the party, they’re blocking the needs and desires of a large part of Basque society.”

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