| Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe. MADRID — As Spain awoke on the morning of Oct. 30 to the news of devastating flash floods and deaths in Valencia, lawmakers in the capital swiftly suspended their weekly plenary session, citing respect for victims. After the main session was called off, lawmakers of the ruling Socialist party and several allied groups still gathered to approve a change in rules governing the board of RTVE, the public radio and TV corporation.  Flood debris in Paiporta, Spain. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg The new structure gives several smaller parties seats on the body — and dilutes the power of the main opposition group. Control of RTVE has always been controversial. When Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists have been in opposition they always accused the People's Party of trying to control the corporation. And when the Socialists are governing, the PP says the same. For years, board appointments required the support of two-thirds of parliament, and the two parties would do some parliamentary horse-trading to reach an agreement. This was relatively straightforward until 2015, when Spain's two-party system crumbled, allowing smaller parties to gain force, which made it harder to strike deals. Politics became much more divisive — Spain ranked as one of the six most polarized countries in a report published in 2023 by the Edelman consulting group. Recent tensions have been so high between the two parties that when they tried to reach a deal to name a new central bank governor earlier this year, one condition the PP floated was that RTVE remove a star presenter from its main news show because they consider her pro-government. In the end, the government picked a central governor without the PP's support.  The RTVE headquarters in Madrid. Photographer: Ricardo Rubio/Getty Images Sánchez has been struggling to get anything through parliament since an inconclusive election last year left him atop a minority government with a fragmented parliament. He was unable to pass a budget for 2024 and hadn't been able to get one through for 2025 yet. Now, the PP, the largest party in the country, says the recent move shows that Sanchez is trying to take over RTVE. They point to the election to the new board of the justice minister's head of communications as a prime example. Sanchez, in turn, says the PP simply wants to block all government initiatives. Meanwhile, to everybody's surprise, a new late night-style show is turning out to be a huge success for the state broadcaster. La Revuelta, or the Uprising, hosted by a popular comedian, has boosted viewership in a slot that tended to be dominated by a private broadcaster, suggesting audiences aren't fazed by the political wrangling. — Rodrigo Orihuela, Madrid bureau chief | 
No comments:
Post a Comment