Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.

And, lo, has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable: Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’

Cosas de España

Yesterday’s general election: The bottom line . . . Pedro Sánchez might well have pulled off an outrageous gamble but the indecisive election leaves Spain with weeks of instability born of political haggling and horse-trading. And the prospect of another election thereafter. Not good for the country. Nor for the EU, with Spain having just taken of the Presidency for 6 months. Madrid and Brussels won’t be happy cities this morning.

Some good news: The execrable far-right Vox party lost a significant number of votes and seats in parliament. The PSOE’s Project Fear was clearly successful, to some extent, at least. So, we can expect it to be implemented again, if there is another election later this year.

Headlines:-

• El País in English: The left’s resistance thwarts a PP-Vox majority and leaves all possibilities open. The PP wins most seats but the PSOE has increased its votes and seats from the last election and their leader will seek to craft a governing alliance.
• The Times: The Socialists defy early predictions but neither party looks able to form a government.
• The Telegraph: The socialists dash the centre-right PP’s hopes for power. The PP leader says he will try to form a government after the party fell short of a working majority in parliament. But the result paves the way for the continuation of the minority socialist government that has lasted almost 4 years
• The New York Times: An inconclusive election thrusts Spain into a political muddle. No party wins the support needed to govern, leaving the country facing weeks of uncertainty.

Spain’s electoral weather: Here in Galicia daytime temperatures are in the normal 20-25 degree range for summer. The Times reports that: In the sun-baked streets of Madrid, temperatures reached 36. As if they don’t every year, when nighttime temperatures above 30 make sleep a challenge. At least for those of us from northern Spain.

Spare a thought for reader María, who had the misfortune to be appointed Presiding Officer for the polling station in her Galician district . . . The biggest problem? . . . The forms to be filled out after the count, along with the mistakes corrected after someone comes over and says “But wasn’t this the number….?” I don’t want to see a pen in 5 days, she adds.

Cataluña: The PP leader says that, if he forms a government, he’ll reduce tension there. With Vox as his coalition partner, this would demand a bloody miracle. So, no one believes him, of course. As with other election ‘promises’ from both sides.

Smaller scale stuff . . .

• If you’ve done one of the – 40 plus ‘authentic’ – caminos to Santiago de Compostela, you might well have enjoyed the spectacular botofumeiro performance during the Pilgrims’ Mass there. I’ve done it a couple of times and wondered how many people have been injured by the huge incense burner, which comes perilously close to heads on both sides of the altar. Here’s something of an answer to that question.
• A couple of happy campers answer a different question: Is Valencia the best place to live in Spain.
• Talking of foreigners . . . HT to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for the news that they buy just under 19% of homes in Spain, mostly on the coast, of course. The Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Valencian Community are the regions with the highest percentage of the market while Galicia, Cantabria or Extremadura with the least. But things could change significantly before I pop my clogs. Good for local house values, I suspect . . .
• In my first few years here, I and my elder daughter rescued and found homes for several dogs abandoned in the forest behind my house. Sometimes there were small packs of them. But I haven’t seen any for quite some time, so was surprised to see a half-tailed canine at the contenadores yesterday. But it was nervous and loped off when I tried to attract it. It seemed reasonably well-fed.

The UK

British politics ought to revolve around just one question. Why are we falling behind other advanced economies? That question should be the focus of every party manifesto. It should occupy our front pages and lead our news bulletins. Yet it is being almost wholly ignored as we quarrel about equality, obesity, trans rights and other ephemera. . . We refuse to acknowledge, let alone address, the causes of our decline. Discuss.

Germany

Something my old Hamburg friend showed me ahead of this impressive conversion.

A less positive development?

Russia

Reduced to bombing cathedrals. Some interesting views on and questions about ‘the ghoul’ responsible.

The Way of the World

Elon Musk is said to be planning to replace the Twitter bird with an X. As this can represent an ‘unknown quantity’, this seems pretty appropriate.

Spanish

Bulo: Hoax; Unfounded rumour; Fake news. Plenty of these during the election campaign, says Lenox, who pays far more attention to Spanish media than I do.

Finally . . .

To amuse . . . As someone with 2 boys below 5 in the house, this made me laugh . . .

For new readers:- If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there – updated a bit in early July 2023.