King Felipe VI visits Melilla following firm sovereignty warning in Ceuta
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King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia have arrived in Melilla, the second of Spain’s two North African exclaves on their itinerary. In the first, Ceuta, the King took the rare step of addressing Morocco directly, urging ‘good faith’ and declaring Spanish sovereignty beyond negotiation. The royal visit coincides with a migration crisis and a long-standing judicial request for border surveillance footage that has yet to be delivered.
The left is attempting to find its own borders before Friday’s deadline for electoral alliances. Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau has offered to withdraw her candidacy and rename her Frente Amplio party if it will coax Podemos into a single list. For those not following the negotiations, the government has offered a more tangible concession: a 20-cent fuel subsidy will remain through November, despite inflation hitting 4.9%.
In Madrid, a strike by teachers has begun to test the regional government, while on the national stage, the opposition has demanded a ‘cleaning’ of the electoral roll. The People’s Party claims the Supreme Court backs the move; the government calls it an import of American-style election denialism.