On October 26-27, our expert Professor Maria Wincławska, Adam Reichardt, editor-in-chief of “New Eastern Europe” and Daniel Gleichgewicht, editor of the online portal “NEE” visited Madrid on a study visit. It took place within the framework of the project “Protecting European Values” co-funded by the European Commission.
At the meeting on October 26, Nico de Pedro, director of strategy at Earendel Associates described Russian disinformation, the Kremlin’s interference in Spain’s internal affairs and the actions of its agents of influence addressed at the left, Catalan nationalists, the far-right VOX and society at large. During the next meeting, Ana B. Soage, journalist and political analyst, emphasized the volatility of VOX’s electoral results, the importance of forming the leftist Sumar coalition and the key role of the Catalan issue in Spanish politics. According to her, support for the EU in Spain has remained at a high level for years and no significant changes in this matter should be expected in the future. At the third meeting, José Ignacio Torreblanca from the European Council on Foreign Affairs (ECFR) presented the historical context and contemporary perspective of Spain on European integration, the phenomenon of the popularity of the Vox party and the broader landscape political country, including regional and national issues.
On October 27, our experts met with experts from Real Institute Elcano (Raquel García, Ignacio Molina, Miguel Otero Iglesias and Jorge Tamames), who talked about the most important challenges for Spanish democracy, including the political polarization of society and the media. In their opinion, Spain still considers itself a “model” EU member, for example in terms of supporting Ukraine.
Luis Miller from the Spanish National Research Council discussed in-depth the polarization between the traditional left and right in Spain and the influence of Russia Today on the Catalan issue. He also noted that Spaniards’ attitudes toward the monarchy vary by age. Snap elections in July have led to political instability as the coalition government formed by the Socialist Party and Sumar needs the support of Catalan nationalists, provoking serious tensions within the Spanish society.
