Spain may extend state of emergency [National elections prevented]

News24.com ^ | 6 December 2010 | (Reuters)

[J Aguilar]

Madrid - Spain may extend its state of emergency for up to two months to train military personnel to take over the jobs of those air traffic controllers who are sacked or face legal action, El Mundo newspaper said on Monday.

The army took over air control towers late on Friday...

[J Aguilar]

According to the Spanish Constitution, the State of Emergency can only be declared on causes such as disasters (earthquakes, floods, urban and wild fires or big accidents), sanitary crises (such as epidemics and wide contaminations) or shortage of basic need items.

It allows its declaration if essential services are stopped only when it also concurs one of the aforementioned causes.

The State of Emergency declared by the Socialist government does not allow the dissolution of the Parliament, thus preventing the legislative power to make Zapatero's government fall.

[johniegrad]

Interesting. Barry would like this (or is it Bill now?).

[null and void]

Somewhere a Kenyan is taking notes...

[bunkerhill7]

I need some Sangria quck!

[bunkerhill7]

I need some Sangria quick!

[J Aguilar]

Next step towards Venezuela-like dictatorship.

[Tex-Con-Man]

Obama decides trickle down economics isn't so bad after all, and now Spain's Socialist government is using Ronald Reagan's Air Traffic Controller union busting playbook...politics sometimes is forced to deal with reality.

[2harddrive]

FIRE the striking air traffic controllers! Shades of PATCO.

[tbw2]

Isn’t Spain at a 20% unemployment rate?

[MCF]

This sounds like the Union and the Government are conspiring to bring on a Dictatorship.

[Tex-Con-Man]

Isn’t Spain at a 20% unemployment rate?

Twice that for under 25 year olds.

Socialist utopia suddenly realizes the light at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train of fiscal reality.

[Starboard]

“Interesting. Barry would like this (or is it Bill now?).”

No doubt its already in his playbook and will be used on a 4th and 1 situation.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Some think that Portugal is going the way of Ireland and Spain is not far behind. If Spain goes, then so does the Euro.

[VOA]

“
Spain may extend its state of emergency for up to two months to
train military personnel to take over the jobs of those air traffic controllers
who are sacked or face legal action...
“

My goodness!
Sounds like there is a virtual version of Ronald Reagan at work in Spain.
(RE: Reagan’s firing of the PATCO flight controllers when they went on strike)

[J Aguilar]

Please, take into account that the controllers stop working after the Socialist government targeted them in a rush economic decree:

The air traffic controllers' walkout out came only a few hours after the Socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero rushed in new economic measures regulating their working hours and pledging to sell part of state-owned airport authority AENA raising up to €9bn.

However, the controllers are not responsible for Spanish economic situation (not even AENA's, sacked in the government investment in new airport terminals); therefore, one cannot but conclude that Zapatero's government seek confrontation with them on a Friday before holiday in Spain, in order to impose an illegal State of Emergeny

[Hostage]

You’ve got to be on drugs to think there is any comparison between Ronald Reagan - PATCO and Zapatero - state of emergency to dissolve parliament.

The PATCO members went on strike and BROKE THEIR OATH. There was no state of emergency, just one of many principled actions by one of America’s greatest presidents.

[diogenes ghost]

"You've got to be on drugs to think there is any comparison...."

Oh really?

If Zapatero thinks the sick-out is illegal, and the controller's failure to agree to salary cuts hurts his country's economy, why do you not equate that with Reagan?

Both supporting the needs of the country they preside over.

Not a perfect comparison, to be sure, but you certainly don't need to be on drugs to see it.

[J Aguilar]

Zapatero’s actions, begining with the investment spree he ordered, has hurt AENA and the Spanish economy more than anything the controllers can do.

[J Aguilar]

In addition, a previous decree by the Zapatero’s government ordered the controllers to work just 1,600 hours per year, since they were getting a lot of money doing extra hours. Since Zapatero did not hire new controllers, on Thursday, hours before the government’s last decree, some of them reached that limit and began going back home. That is, the crisis was seek by Zapatero.

Moreover, now controllers are under military rule and will be prosecuted by military justice.

[Hostage]

There is no comparison because the underlying principles are completely different.

Reagan did not fire the ATCs because of compensation disagreements. He fired them because THEY BROKE THEIR OATH and because of that they needed to be fired without any other consideration.

Reagan did not declare a state of emergency that would prevent an election.

If Reagan had done this to any other union that had taken an oath and then broken it, then a firing would have had the same consideration.

The ***only thing*** in common with Spain is that it has to do with air traffic controllers and nothing else.

That PATCO is still whining after all these years about Reagan shows they haven’t learned their lesson:

When you take an oath to the United States of America, you don’t break it ever.