Whatever their political positions, all Spaniards agree that today, Thursday, June 20, 2005, is “historic.” Before dissolving for the summer, the Spanish parliament, led by the Socialists, votes in favour of extending marriage rights to same-sex couples on the same terms as heterosexuals. The government also announces that the commission of enquiry into the terrorist attacks of the previous year, which left nearly two hundred dead, will stand down. Neither decision is uncontroversial, with the opposition People's Party accusing the Socialists of exploiting both events for partisan purposes. While the hastily convened “Forum for the Family” (surely not unconnected to the conservative TV viewers’ associations) has mounted large demonstrations against gay unions, President Zapatero claims that the new law enhances the dignity and freedom of all citizens and queer groups stage a massive, festive Pride carnival on the following Saturday.

Keeping the nation's calendar, Spanish TV also prepares itself for the long summer holidays. The schedules are awash with gossip and variety shows. On Saturday night TVE airs a traditional “gala” featuring the sentimental songs beloved by Spanish grandmothers. Meanwhile Tele5's talk show Salsa rosa (Pink Sauce, classified as suitable for “over 18s”) extends for an interminable four hours from 10 pm Saturday to 2 am Sunday. In one lengthy studio segment the intrusive panelists grill a minor celebrity (hapless or clueless?) who has agreed to submit to their questions: how can she claim her marriage was happy when she starting dating other men so soon after her husband's death? The audience’s text messages, for and against the merry widow, flash over the bottom of the screen. On Tele5 the big coup is the summer return of reality talent franchise Operación triunfo (American Idol in the US, Pop Idol in the UK) for its fourth season. Dropped by public broadcaster TVE, which refused to pay the high fees charged by Gestmusic-Endemol (the independent producers of Crónicas marcianas), it has now resurfaced on the private channel with a popular new host: openly gay Jesús Vázquez, who the press claim will soon marry his male partner. Crónicas marcianas itself, continuing its policy in recent seasons, hitches its cart to reality programming, with current episodes relying heavily on the newly revitalized Operación Triunfo. After over 1250 episodes, Crónicas is now scheduled to come off the air on July 21.