Donald Trump may have worked the U.S. political scene into a frenzy filled with cringeworthy rhetoric and violent chaos, but Spain is also having their moment in the scandalous sun. This viral video from a Wednesday political rally — where a teen sucker punched Prime Minster Mariano Rajoy in the face — arrives with a backstory.
Rajoy seeks re-election, but he’s not too popular with the country’s youth. Much of the problem lies with the nation’s alarmingly high unemployment rates, which are hovering above 20% in the third quarter of 2015. This is an improvement over recent years, but it’s not enough to make the pain of joblessness disappear for those affected. Angry fingers point towards Rajoy’s austerity measures, and unemployment rates tend to disproportionately hit younger citizens.
Rajoy is so disliked that he outranks former dictator Francisco Franco in millennial approval circles (which express 94% contempt for Spain’s harsh economic situation). This does not bode well for Rajoy’s current campaign, especially when it comes to, uh, getting punched in the face. Rajoy’s glasses suffered a fatal blow, and his visage showed the punch’s lingering effects.
https://twitter.com/DoriToribio/status/677207087026425857
The El Pais newspaper reports how the 17-year-old male approached Rajoy, feigned the desire to take a selfie, and delivered a sucker punch instead. The teen told police, “I’m very happy I did it.”
Being that this is the internet, someone took the video and overdubbed it with WWE-style narration.
Rajoy's best moments in WWE. pic.twitter.com/LiiX5YDyJc
— Telmo (@Telmometro) December 16, 2015
Twitter enjoyed the show, and most reactions looked like this:
Spanish prime minister punched in the face by teen at election event. Okay, so there's one thing that hasn't happened in this U.S. election
— Mary Jordan (@marycjordan) December 17, 2015
The world is going INSANE. A 17-year-old just punched the Spanish prime minister in the head after posing with him for a selfie.
— Tunku Varadarajan (@tunkuv) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/ciccmaher/status/677294138677661696
(Via BuzzFeed)