Feijóo's Ten Challenges if He Reaches La Moncloa

If Feijóo wins in Spain, he faces public debt, a shrinking rental housing market, and strained foreign policy across ten key fronts.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

Feijóo's Ten Challenges if He Reaches La Moncloa
The Ten Challenges Feijóo Would Inherit at La Moncloa

What does the next tenant of La Moncloa find if the PP wins the elections? A country with soaring public debt, a rental housing stock that is bleeding out, ministries many consider unnecessary, and a foreign policy reportedly damaged. The premise opening this discussion lists up to ten fronts that whoever arrives will have to defuse. The list is not innocent: it mixes macro issues with everyday concerns and leaves a question hanging. Are there enough hands for so much wiring?

Public Debt, Ministries, and 'Chiringuitos': The First Day's Paperwork

The first front is the most boring and the most expensive: public debt. No one disputes that it is high; the disagreement lies in the method. Some argue that any adjustment must come from cutting political spending before raising taxes, while others respond that without growth, no debt goes down. The second bomb targets subsidies to unions, NGOs, and what jargon calls chiringuitos (political agencies). The third targets ministries: proposals suggest reducing them from 22 to 10, eliminating portfolios like Youth, Health, or Housing on the grounds that they lack exclusive competencies. On the opposite side, it is recalled that every cut has its audience and its electoral bill.

How Much Does It Cost to Restore Independence to TVE, the Constitutional Court, or the Prosecutor's Office?

The fourth bomb consumes the most ink: restoring independence to TVE, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the Civil Guard, the National Police, or the Army. It is not a budget problem, but one of time and internal resistance. The fifth — lifting eight years of dust under the rug — is the most uncertain: no one knows how many cases would end up in court or how many would get lost along the way. And the sixth, the street, is already underway according to this diagnosis: part of the political spectrum is preparing for a legislature of confrontation if the result does not suit them.

Ceuta, Melilla, and Foreign Policy: The Front That Cannot Be Fixed by Decree

The seventh bomb is territorial: Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands. It is claimed that Segarro media are calling for votes for the current government and that, between the lines, migratory pressure on these autonomous cities is hinted at. The eighth is international fruta: returning to being a serious partner for Europe, America, and Israel after years of damage, according to this reading. Here consensus is minimal: some believe changing the tone is enough; others think the damage is structural and that Spain is already labeled as an unreliable partner. "Banana republic," someone calls it.

Housing and Immigration: The Two Bombs Already Exploding

The ninth and tenth feed each other. It is argued that in 2018 there was a stock of 75,000 available homes and now around 1.5 million are missing, blaming immigration policy. In recent days, according to this narrative, more than 400,000 homes have been withdrawn from the rental market due to lack of legal security for owners. The proposed recipe is simple: tighten the penal code, imprison squatting, restore security to landlords, and build prisons along the way. The opposing recipe also has defenders: without public intervention, the market does not correct itself.



The list of ten bombs has a trick: some seem like fairground firecrackers. Omitting items in the General State Budgets, as suggested regarding chiringuitos, does not require a bomb disposal expert, just a pen and a parliamentary majority. Others, however, demand something that cannot be bought or decreed: iron hands and time. And time, in politics, is the scarcest resource. God help us, they say. Or at least catch us with our shoelaces tied.

Also available in: Deutsch

Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (53 replies).

More summaries

All summaries in English →

-
Back