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‘There’ll be translators’: Spain’s opposition leader brushes off need to speak English

Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, whom polls suggest could be Spain's next prime minister, admitted Thursday he didn't speak English but brushed it off saying there were always "translators".

Published: 1 June 2023 16:30 CEST

'There'll be translators': Spain's opposition leader brushes off need to speak English

Alberto Núñez Feijóo could be Spain's next PM. Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP

“My problem is English… I have to start studying it,” he told Telecinco television in his first interview since his right-wing Popular Party (PP) scored a major victory in Sunday’s local and regional elections.

“I already had an English teacher set up to start learning on Monday, but now it turns out I’ve been called to a general election. Well, no problem,” Feijóo said.

“International summits normally have translators and what’s most important is that I know what I want to say.”

READ ALSO – PROFILE: Who is Alberto Núñez Feijóo and could he be Spain’s next PM?

On Monday May 29th, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez – whose ruling Socialists suffered a drubbing in Sunday’s polls – caught the country off guard by calling snap elections on July 23rd.

Spain takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1st.

During the regional election campaign, Feijóo went viral after he was caught on camera mispronouncing US rock legend Bruce Springsteen’s name, calling him “Bruce Sprinter” during a party rally.

READ ALSO: Who won where in Spain’s regional elections?

Spain has had a long history of prime ministers who do not speak English. One was the former PP prime minister Mariano Rajoy who, when asked a question in English by the BBC at a press conference in 2017, dismissed it with a wave.

“Hombre, no,” he retorted, or “Oh man, no”, despite years of private English classes dating back to 2009 when he was opposition leader.

Sánchez is Spain’s first prime minister to be fluent in English.

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Why Spain has decided not to ban pimping

This is the second attempt by the Socialists to carry out this proposed bill, which was rejected by parties on both sides of the political spectrum.

Even the government’s junior coalition partner Sumar voted against the move, as well as the PP, ERC, Junts, PNV and EH Bildu.

The bill aimed to punish all types of pimping, essentially profiting from the procuring of prostitution of others.

Currently, only pimps (proxenetas or chulos in Spanish) that carry out intimidation and violence are punishable, but PM Sánchez’s party has argued that the current wording of Spain’s Penal Code has led to “total impunity for pimping”.

The aim was to expand upon article 187 of the Penal Code to imprison anyone who “promotes, favours or facilitates” the prostitution of another person “for profit”, with sentences of 3 to 6 years as well as fines.

This would be extended to a further 24 months in prison if violence, intimidation or deception were used and penalties of two to four years if pimping does not involve violence, even with the consent of the sex worker.

In addition, the PSOE wanted to be able to punish third parties who earn money for renting out properties for the purpose of pimping and prostitution with two to four years in prison and fines.

The Socialists also wanted to add an article so that those who pay for sex have a criminal charge. Anyone who agrees to “the practice of acts of a sexual nature in exchange for money or another type of benefit” is punished with a fine”, the bill read.

The majority of the political parties denounced the proposal arguing that it was an “electoral” initiative.

Gala Pin, the deputy of Sumar stressed that her party couldn’t vote in favour of a bill that she has called “quite tacky”. “It proposes absolutely no solution, no itinerary, no alternative measure, no economic proposal for labour support, absolutely nothing,” she argued.

A woman holds up a sign that demands the abolition of prostitution during a demonstration with the motto “The strength of women is the future of all” in Madrid in 2021. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

Other members of Sumar criticised the bill saying that it was incomplete and that it didn’t address the root of the problem. Many also believe it will criminalise sex workers place women who practice prostitution in situations of greater vulnerability, without being able to defend themselves.

The party led by Yolanda Díaz added that they were in favour of “persecuting coercive pimping” but saw “large gaps” in the PSOE law, which they do not consider comprehensive, because it does not address social and economic measures such as employability, housing or training. They don’t want to allow prostitution to be eradicated.

READ ALSO: What’s the law on prostitution in Spain?

Sex worker María Nelly and spokesperson for Stop Abolition has requested that the government allow women to continue work in prostitution if it’s something they’ve chosen.

She argues that it doesn’t seem right that they are victimised or that their clients are seen as aggressors. Nelly also told Antena 3 that she does not approve of fines being issued to clients or to the places that provide them with safe spaces to carry out their sex work.

“The majority of girls who engage in prostitution do so freely and there are very few reports of pimping,” she stated on TV programme Espejo Público.

READ ALSO: Spain’s top court reinstates first sex workers’ union

This is now the seventh time that proposed changes to prostitution laws have been rejected in parliament.

The last changes were proposed in June 2022 and aimed to further crack down on pimping and exploitation, and punish those purchasing sex, including harsher sentences if the victim is vulnerable or underage.

At the time, the PSOE said they would not make prostitution outright illegal, but rather the exploitative activities that surround it.

Critics of tougher prostitution laws such as those of Nordic countries argue that they lead to greater secrecy surrounding sex work, more police persecution and deportations, as well as housing problems since it can be interpreted that any property, even the home of a woman who carries out prostitution, is used by a pimp for profit.

It’s worth noting as well that Spain is among the largest ‘consumer’ of prostitution in the world (3 in every 10 Spanish men have admitted to sleeping with a prostitute) and the industry represents as much as 0.35 percent of the country’s GDP: €4.2 billion a year.

Between 45,000 and 120,000 women work as prostitutes in Spain, according to different estimates.

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