Tag: Madrid

Once, he faced down major music industry giants over the file-sharing software he created. Now, as Madrid's head of open government, Mr Soto has launched a platform where citizens dictate policies to city hall and choose what to spend taxes on. "I don't think of myself as a politician," the councillor says. "We challenged a whole system of representation in which a few people have 100% power of decision for years, without having to explain or allow citizens to participate." From street protest to digital democracy Mr Soto turned to technology to open up the decision-making process. The politicians cannot block it," Mr Soto says. In Madrid's process, citizens can vote online or in person to decide how to allocate €100 million in spending - a significant part of the council's total investments every year. But Mr Soto believes people can be trusted with political decisions. "The idea is as old as democracy itself," he says. Mr Soto does not plan to stop at Madrid, and notes that his platform could now be used to connect people across the globe in joint decision-making.

Theresa May has given way to Madrid’s demands over the future of Gibraltar after the Spanish prime minister threatened to “veto” the Brexit deal due to be signed off by EU leaders on Sunday. Sánchez said: “Once the UK has left the EU, Gibraltar’s political, legal and even geographic relationship with the EU will go through Spain … “Spain will be a fundamental pillar of the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU as a whole. “We have negotiated on behalf of Gibraltar, they are covered by the whole withdrawal agreement and by the implementation period. Donald Tusk, the European council president, sent a letter of invitation to Sunday’s summit to all the leaders on Saturday afternoon. Quick guide The European Union withdrawal agreement bill What is the withdrawal and implementation bill? A white paper published on Tuesday mainly takes in areas already dealt with by the initial agreement with the EU – reciprocal citizens’ rights, the transition period, and the divorce bill. Spain does not have a formal veto over the 585-page withdrawal agreement and the 26-page joint declaration by the leaders, but the EU would have been unlikely to go ahead with the summit without Madrid’s support. Spain has always insisted that Gibraltar could only be covered by any agreements struck between the EU and the UK with Madrid’s consent. Spain was furious when an article in the withdrawal agreement appeared to suggest that any future trade deal would cover Gibraltar. This is the same position as for the first phase of the negotiations.

The lower house of the Spanish parliament is debating whether to end Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s close to eight years in power and supplant him with the leader of the Socialist opposition. (Francisco Seco/Associated Press) MADRID — The rhetoric in Spain’s political crisis, in which Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a no-confidence vote amid a corruption scandal engulfing his party, is turning ugly. The PP then struck back, saying the alternative would be for opposition Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to head a “Frankenstein government” supported by anti-establishment and regional politicians that would be doomed to failure. While Rajoy’s chances of political survival have been dealt a severe blow, the veteran politician is fighting back. Spanish media dissected the case, from an unprecedented raid at PP’s national headquarters, to the destruction of hard drives there, and even published a barrage of private messages between Rajoy and Barcenas. All major parties have called for Rajoy to step down, but the prime minister has fended off pressure saying that political instability is bad for the country and for the economies in Spain and the European Union. Backed by his party and the far-left anti-establishment Podemos, Sanchez was due to speak Thursday in a bid to convince Catalan and Basque nationalist lawmakers to support his government plan and achieve at least 176 of the 350 votes needed to supplant Rajoy. The key is in the hands of the Basque Nationalist Party, or PNV, which has yet to decide how it will vote in Friday’s motion. “But it’s definitely the beginning of the end of Rajoy and his Popular Party.” If the Basques support the Socialists motion and their leader wins, Sanchez would take over from Rajoy immediately and possibly be sworn in as early as next Monday. But a minority Socialist Cabinet would be a “Frankenstein government,” as the Popular Party has characterized it, with hard to please nationalists and anti-austerity lawmakers.