Politics & Government

In this section of Manilva Life, we will try and explain the workings of Government in Spain at all levels, but most importantly at local level where it affects our day-to-day lives.

Recent History

Whilst living in modern day Spain with its booming economy, political and social stability, and relatively high standard of living, it is difficult to imagine that the country only recently became a modern democracy.

Spain 's democratic constitution is only around 30 years old, before which the country had been under the rule of General Franco, and only on his death in 1975 did Spain move to a parliamentary monarchy.

1977 saw the first free elections following the death of Franco, which were won by the Central Democratic Union, led by Adolfo Suárez González, the Duke of Suárez. Suarez, who had been Minister Secretary General of the National Movement, the single governing party under Franco, and had been appointed by King Juan Carlos in the preceding two years to lead the country towards this general election.

This fledgling democracy nearly fell at the first hurdle when on 23 February, 1981, in an event known as the "23-F", discontented factions among the security forces seized the Spanish parliament (Cortes) and tried to impose a military-backed government. Fortunately the majority of the military forces remained loyal to King Juan Carlos, who used his personal authority to put down the coup attempt.

In 1982 the left wing PSOE swept to power, after having ditched its Marxist manifesto and adopted a more l iberal and capitalist economic policy (a move repeated by Britain's New Labour some years later) and held on to power until losing to Jose Maria Aznar's conservative PP (Popular Party) in 1996.

The PP held power until 2004, and whilst Aznar had given way to a new leader in the shape of party vice-president Mariano Rajoy, they appeared well on target to win a third consecutive term, but a public backlash against Spain's involvement in Iraq, and the aftermath of the March 11th Madrid train bombings led to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and its leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero winning the popular vote.

Rodríquez Zapatero was elected prime minister with the votes of PSOE and a few minor parties, and selected the first Spanish government ever to have the same number of male and female ministers.

In the latest elections, in 2008, Zapatero's PSOE retained power, and both PSOE and the PP increased their number of seats at the expense of the far left and regional parties.

The relative novelty of Spain 's democracy manifests itself in the percentage turn out of the eligible vote. Unlike some countries, where centuries of having the right to vote appear to have led to many taking it so much for granted that they rarely bother to exercise the right, Spanish voters will turn out in great numbers to the polling stations - for example in Manilva's last local elections in 2007, the turnout was nearly 80% as opposed to the average for council elections in England of about 35%, and Germany of around 50%.

Levels of Government

The government of Spain is multi-tiered, with the intention of devolving a great deal of the domestic decision making to regional, provincial and local governing entities.

For ourselves in Manilva the 'chain of command' starts at the top with the National Government in Madrid; followed by the Regional administration - the Junta de Andalucia based in Seville; then the Provincial council in Malaga; and finally our local municipal council or Ayuntamiento.

The Ayuntamiento consists of a number of individual councillors headed by the Mayor. Elections to choose these councillors are held every four years and all adults over the age of 18, who are registered on the Padron and have filled out the census form are entitled to vote, including non-Spaniards.

There are a fixed number of councillors which is governed by the number of registered residents, in Manilva's case there are currently 17 elected councillors.

Unlike the UK the election is by proportional representation and you vote for the political party as opposed to individual candidates. Each party lists its candidates in order of preference, they then get to install their members into office according to the percentage of the vote they receive ie 1 councillor for every 5.9% of the vote they gain.

The Mayor is then elected by the councillors and is in most cases the leader of the party which gains the highest percentage of the overall vote, although if the party fails to get a majority they have to pact with one or more of the other parties, and this can sometimes be at the expense of handing over the mayorship. There is no limit to the number of terms a councillor can serve, and should one retire, resign or die, the next on the list of that councillor's party takes their place.

The Mayor, as well as being the leader of his political party, and the Chairman of the Council, is also Head of the Municipal Police Force - Policia Local - Director of the Municipal Administration and also enjoy wide-ranging powers of appointment and plays a major public relations role as Manilva's 'figurehead'.

More Information

For more information on local government and politics check out the Table of Contents.