[New Europe] Spain's Government Wields Lockdowns as a Political Weapon

Spanish paratroopers stand guard in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol (Photo: EPA/EFE/David Fernández)

Lifting a quarantine demands a tricky balance of health, economics — and politics.

That partisan motives may creep into the mix along with people’s lives and livelihoods sounds atrocious and improbable in equal measure — let alone take precedent over them. Yet Spain’s government seems to be plotting against the country’s wealthiest region in precisely this way. Twice in a row, the coalition government of the center-left PSOE and the far-left Podemos has singled out Madrid with a prolonged lockdown for no apparent reason but the leanings of its regional executive, led by the center-right PP and the centrist Ciudadanos.

This piece was co-authored with Fundación Civismo's Juan Ángel Soto. Read it in its entirety at New Europe here.