Spanish Prime Minister Proposes Ditching Neckties to Save Energy

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made a bizarre proposal for people to ditch neckties in order to save energy in the country.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Sánchez proposed that his fellow citizens adopt a casual dress code every Friday in order to conserve energy while providing few details as to how the plan would help.

“I’d like you to note that I am not wearing a tie. That means that we can all make savings from an energy point of view,” the prime minister told reporters. “So I have asked all ministers and public decision-makers [to follow suit].”

“We will all be contributing to the energy savings that are so necessary in our country,” he added.

Sánchez did not say how ditching neckties would help conserve energy, but as Fox News noted, many Spaniards have been leaning on air conditioners in recent days as temperatures soar well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the country. Teresa Ribera, Spain’s environmental minister, however, said recently that Spaniards will not be ordered to limit their gas consumption via legislation for the time being and that the country would oppose any European Union (EU) proposals to limit gas usage.

“We will not introduce in a law an obligation to set the temperature of homes’ thermostats,” she told local radio Cadena SER.

“The logic says that if our role in terms of solidarity is to be the reference in gas storage and re-exporting it is absurd to think we have capacity to reduce in absolute terms our gas imports,” Ribera said.

The European Commission recently proposed that all EU countries voluntarily cut gas consumption by 15 percent between August and March.

“Several countries such as Austria, Germany and Denmark have said they are considering emergency plans that would ultimately entail gas rationing,” noted Reuters. “The EU plan has faced resistance from other member countries including Poland and Hungary.”