The Central Government has managed to get a decree extended, which imposes outside, mask wearing, by packaging it together with one related to pensions.

The PSOE is not the first ruling party in Spain or elsewhere to use this tactic, but nobody was under the illusion that it was a dishonest move because nobody was prepared to vote against a one-off, extra payment for pensioners.

The major party in the ruling coalition, PSOE, counted on the backing of regional parties with representation in the national parliament to get it through: PNV, Compromís, BNG, Coalición Canaria, Nueva Canarias and the Partido Regionalista de Cantabria.

Other parties that normally back the coalition but were no prepared to vote in favour, were the Basque independentist party, EH Bildu,” it’s a manoeuvre that we are becoming too accustomed to from the Executive,” said the party’s Spokeswoman, Mertxe Aizpurua.

Coalition partner, Unidas Podemos, recognised the decree is controversial because it included obligatory mask use in exteriors. Party Spokesman, Pablo Echenique, admitted that although they voted in favour, “it is true that the Ministry of Health has said that this measure could be withdrawn once contagion numbers drop.”

As for the Spokeswoman for En Comú Podem, Aina Vidal, she said that she would have preferred a decree that was “a little cleaner.”

The main opposition party, the PP, announced before the vote that they had no intention of supporting the Government, as did Vox and Ciudadanos.

However, some regional governments governed by the PP, including party strongman and Prime Minister of Galica, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, had previously asked for the use of masks in exteriors to be made obligatory.

Editorial comment: quite whether masks should still be obligatory, even when people can maintain a distance between each other, is one thing, but sneaking it through by including a one-off pension increase (to vote against one is to vote against both) was despicable.

(News: Spain)