THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - June 5, 2018 - Topic 2
The
strain in Spain
Spain’s conservative-led minority government,
which fell on Friday, has been swiftly succeeded by a wobbly minority
government led by the Socialists. It counts on support from, among others,
Catalan and the extreme left parties. In this sense, the changeover represents
continuity of the relative uncertainty that has characterised Spain since the
2016 general election. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had held office since
2011, was voted out after top functionaries of his People’s Party were
convicted for operating a slush fund during Spain’s construction boom in the
last decade. The judicial verdict centre-staged Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist Party
chief who masterminded the no-confidence motion against the government.
Ironically, Mr. Rajoy had managed to form a minority coalition in October 2016
only after Mr. Sánchez’s failed bid for premiership and ouster as party leader,
breaking a prolonged political deadlock and averting a third general election
in the space of a year. But in a remarkable comeback, Mr. Sánchez reclaimed his
party’s leadership in May 2017 and has now emerged as Spain’s Prime Minister
after leading the Socialists to consecutive election defeats in 2015 and 2016.
His biggest challenge is to work with the Catalan separatists, whose demands
for statehood have long united the country’s conservatives and Socialists in
their opposition to the idea, seeing it as a threat to Spanish nationhood.
Madrid had imposed direct rule over Catalonia last year after it declared itself
independent. Now, a new Catalan government has been formed under Quim Torra,
who too is insistent on pushing for independence. No less of a complication for
Mr. Sánchez would be working with Podemos, the far-left anti-austerity party
that has sought to capitalise on the eroding base of the Socialists to project
itself as the more credible progressive platform in Spanish politics.
Moreover, given the slender support his disparate
new coalition commands in Parliament, Mr. Sánchez has little
room for manoeuvre in terms of either economic
or political policy ahead of the scheduled 2020 elections. A ray of hope amid
this prevailing sense of instability is Spain’s steady recovery from the deep
recession triggered by the banking and housing crisis earlier this decade. The
country’s double-digit unemployment figures are way above the Eurozone average.
But the current healthy rate of growth in per capita gross domestic product is
projected to persist over the coming years, according to an International
Monetary Fund forecast. This positive trend possibly explains the state of
overall political equilibrium in Spain, as compared with the hollowing out of
the middle ground in several other countries in southern Europe. Yet, political
parties should not lower their vigil against anti-immigrant and anti-European
Union forces trying to gain a foothold. Rising above narrow party interests to
promote the common good will be the challenge before Spain’s mainstream
politicians.
Vocabulary
Continuity: the
unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of
time.
Example: Pension
rights accruing through continuity of employment
Uncertainty: the
state of being uncertain.
Example: Times
of uncertainty and danger
Synonyms: unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness, chanciness, precariousness
Convicted: declare
someone to be guilty of a criminal offense by the verdict of a jury or the
decision of a judge in a court of law.
Example: Her
former boyfriend was convicted of assaulting her
Synonyms: find
guilty, sentence
Ouster: dismissal
or expulsion from a position.
Example: A
showdown that may lead to his ouster as leader of the party
Remarkable: worthy
of attention.
Example: A
remarkable coincidence
Synonyms: extraordinary, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding
Insistent: insisting
or demanding something; not allowing refusal.
Example: Tony's
soft, insistent questioning
Synonyms: persistent, determined, adamant, importunate, tenacious, unyielding
Austerity: sternness
or severity of manner or attitude.
Example: He
was noted for his austerity and his authoritarianism
Disparate: essentially
different in kind; not allowing comparison.
Example: They
inhabit disparate worlds of thought
Synonyms: contrasting, different, differing, dissimilar, unalike, poles
apart
Equilibrium: a
state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.
Example: The
maintenance of social equilibrium
Synonyms: balance, symmetry, equipoise, parity, equality, stability
Mainstream: belonging
to or characteristic of the mainstream.
Example: Mainstream
politics
Synonyms: normal, conventional, ordinary, orthodox, conformist, accepted
