318- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Power structures
Spain is a constitutional monarchy, as established
by the constitution of 1978.The King is head of state,
overseeing but rarely interfering with the Cortes
Generales, a two-house parliamentary system.
The Congreso de los Diputados is the lower house,
made up of 350 deputies elected by the good folk of
Spain through proportional representation every four
years.The deputies in turn elect the Presidente del
Gobierno (more often referred to as the Prime Minister
by English speakers), usually choosing the leader of
the party with most seats.The Senado, the upper
house, is smaller with 208 elected members and a
further 51 appointed by the autonomous communities.
They’re elected on a first-past-the-post basis. In theory
the houses share legislative power but the important
decisions and debates are shaped in the Congreso.Devolving Spain: regional politics
Each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities elects its
own parliament and has its own president.The number
of deputies in each varies according to the region’s
population size, but all hold elections every four years.
The parliaments wield varying degrees of power over
their respective regions’ affairs. Largerautonomíasand
those claiming a historical ‘nationality’ – Catalonia, the
Basque Country, Galicia and Andalusia – have significant
control over areas like education, culture and policing.
The smaller territories with closer ties to Castile have
less power. Catalonia and the Basque Country, always
the most devolved regions, have never been shy at
pushing autonomy forward.8.3 Big issues: politics, the state and the environment
Bushes named and shamed
The Spanish use of the
wordPresidentecan
confuse the English
speaker more used to
calling the elected leader
of a constitutional
monarchy ‘Prime Minister’.
Poor old Jeb Bush, former
governor of Florida and
brother of George W,
gaffed by thanking the
‘President of the Spanish
Republic’ during a 2003
visit. George W, who
famously mispronounced
the name of former
Spanish PM José María
Aznar, no doubt lent a
shoulder to cry on.
“THE CONSTITUTION
IS BASED ON THE
INDISSOLUBLE
UNITY OF THE
SPANISH NATION,
THE COMMON
AND INDIVISIBLE
HOMELAND OF
ALL SPANIARDS,
AND RECOGNISES
AND GUARANTEES
THE RIGHT TO
AUTONOMY OF THE
NATIONALITIES AND
REGIONS WHICH
MAKE IT UP AND
THE SOLIDARITY
AMONG ALL OF
THEM.”
Article Two of the
Spanish constitution
After the 2004 general
election 36 per cent of
congress seats were
occupied by women.