Spain’s attorney general resigns after sentence, possible terror incident investigated in Madrid, and more news from Spain on Tuesday.
Spain’s attorney general resigns following Supreme Court ruling
The Spanish attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, submitted his formal resignation early on Monday morning just days after the Supreme Court sentenced him to two years of ‘disqualification’ and a fine.
The sentence, unprecedented in Spanish legal history, was for disclosing confidential information about an investigation into Madrid President Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s boyfriend, Alberto González Amador.
This comes amid ongoing legal investigations into allies and family members in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s circle, including his wife, brother and two former high-ranking Socialist (PSOE) officials. Sánchez supporters claim the cases are clear examples of politically-motivated lawfare.
Knife attack in Madrid investigated as possible terror incident
A Spanish court is investigating a possible act of “jihadist terrorism” following a knife attack against three people in Madrid’s Vallecas neighbourhood last weekend. The suspect, an 18-year-old man, was shot by police officers.
Legal sources have confirmed that the appointed judge, María Tardón, has opened proceedings for an alleged crime of terrorism.
“Everything indicates that this is a radicalised individual because when the officers arrived at the flat to arrest him, the attacker was reciting the Koran and when they identified themselves as police, he attacked them shouting allahu akbar,” police sources told Spanish outlet 20 Minutos.
Far-right Catalan separatist party rises in the polls
Polling shows that the far-right Catalan separatist party Aliança Catalana would surge in an election and equal voting intention with centre-right Junts per Catalunya, one of the region’s two main pro-independence parties.
Junts has in recent years enjoyed elevated political influence at the national level after making (and then breaking) an investiture agreement with governing Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
This is according to voting estimate data published by the Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió (CEO) political opinion barometer, which shows that Aliança Catalana would go from the two seats it currently holds to around 19-20 seats, tying with Carles Puigdemont’s Junts.
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Spain telecoms giant Telefonica to seek up to 5,000 job cuts
Debt-laden Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica will cut up to 5,040 jobs at three subsidiaries as part of a major restructuring, the UGT union said Monday.
Some 3,649 jobs would go at Telefonica Espana, 1,124 at Telefonica Moviles and 267 at Telefonica Soluciones, the union said in a statement.
A UGT representative told AFP the group would announce 279 more job cuts in its Movistar Plus+ division on Tuesday.
“UGT has demanded that any measure adopted be structured as a strictly voluntary process based on early retirements,” the statement added.
Telefonica declined to respond to an AFP request for comment.
Telefonica, which employs 100,000 people worldwide, is streamlining operations to focus on its core markets — Brazil, Germany, Spain and Britain — as part of a strategic shift to boost profitability.
The company booked a net loss of €1.08 billion ($1.2 billion) between January and September this year, weighed down by losses linked to asset sales in Latin America.
Telefonica has also said it will cut its dividend by half next year to 15 cents per share as part of an effort to reduce its debt.
