Question: Who is the leader of the PSOE? Answer: Now, I am. The leader of the PSOE, the leader of a party, is whomever it presents as a candidate at general elections. Question: I’d say that the leader of a party is whoever is in charge. Who’s in charge of the PSOE? Answer: In the Socialist Party, I’m in charge. Question: If you are the leader of the party that supports Zapatero in Parliament, one would suppose that he would consult you on major issues. Answer: One would suppose that. The above is a translated excerpt from the interview published on Sunday that El País editor Javier Moreno carried out with Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Socialist (PSOE) candidate in the … [Read more...] about Who’s in charge in Spain?
Archives for September 2011
How Sarkozy “turned Andorran politics upside down”
In 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was responsible, according to the United States, for forcing the head of the Andorran government to give up a reelection bid, having issued a bitter public warning to the tiny Pyrenean principality’s leader about banking reform. The French leader's anger essentially helped the opposition take control of the government, the US believed. Explanations of what Sarkozy said and why he claimed he was “enraged” by the Andorrans are contained in a confidential cable from the US Consulate in Barcelona released earlier this month by the Wikileaks whistleblower site. Sarkozy had accused Andorra of slowing down a modification to the principality’s bank … [Read more...] about How Sarkozy “turned Andorran politics upside down”
Truth is the casualty as Spain’s campaign heats up
The last few days haven’t been good ones for truth and accuracy on Spain’s political scene. In fact, for those who follow the news closely, it’s been downright confusing. Popular Party (PP) spokesman Esteban González Pons should shoulder at least some of the blame, after sheepishly backtracking on a pledge, made on September 7, that his party would create 3.5 million jobs over the next four years if it wins the November 20 general election. It was a target that meant slashing Spain’s unemployment rate by 70 percent. 3.5 million? Of course not, González Pons said the next day, after PP apparatchiks were left scrambling to make sense of his boast. What he meant to say, he explained, was … [Read more...] about Truth is the casualty as Spain’s campaign heats up
La Liga dances to the beat of super-agent Mendes
One name dominated this summer’s transfer window in Spain, which closed on August 31, and it was not a player, manager or club president. Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes was everywhere, with his clients starring in many of the biggest, and also most curious, La Liga deals. The largest outlay by a Spanish club was the €40 million paid by Atlético Madrid to Porto for Mendes’s client Radamel Falcao. Falcao had a record-breaking season last year, scoring 17 goals in the Europa League, including the winner in the final. His signing was a real coup for Atléti, who had just lost Sergio Agüero to Manchester City, but the €40-million fee raised eyebrows given the Colombian’s lack of top-level … [Read more...] about La Liga dances to the beat of super-agent Mendes
In Basque Country, ETA’s silence is democracy’s gain
Over a year without murders or attacks, a drop in street violence and an end to the extortion of Basque businesses. Looking at those bald facts, ETA would seem to have come a long way since making its ceasefire announcement in September 2010 - an announcement that the organisation hoped would lead to a new peace process with the Spanish government. But ETA’s ambition of returning to the negotiating table currently looks as difficult to achieve as ever. The last year has seen some extraordinary developments in the Basque Country, yet the terrorist group appears to have been marginalised from the most momentous events. That ceasefire declaration itself was symptomatic of ETA’s … [Read more...] about In Basque Country, ETA’s silence is democracy’s gain
‘The Skin I Live In’: another Almodóvar masterpiece?
The international press has been fulsome in its praise of Pedro Almodóvar’s latest movie, The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito), with some reviewers hailing it as a masterpiece, the work of a maestro confidently taking risks, pushing the boundaries of cinema while at the same time entertaining us. With the exception of El País’s Carlos Boyero — whose loathing for Almodóvar is long-standing — the Spanish press has been equally gushing, using that peculiarly empty and baroque language employed when the writer can’t think of anything genuinely meaningful to say, but has to fill the columns: or perhaps in this case it’s simply a way to avoid spoiling the plot. Because that is where the … [Read more...] about ‘The Skin I Live In’: another Almodóvar masterpiece?
Stable Valencia dreams of challenging Spain’s top two
A couple of years ago, Valencia CF were staring into the depths of an abyss that included foreclosure of their assets and potentially the end of their very existence as a football club. The club’s debts were huge, they had finished out of the Champions League places in sixth, and the departure of their prize players, David Villa and David Silva, looked a certainty. Enter Manuel Llorente, the latest and apparently looniest of a long line of very loopy Valencia presidents. Llorente’s ingenious policy towards tackling Valencia’s money troubles seemed to be to pretend they didn’t exist and hope they would go away. Behold the mysteries of the times we live in, it seems to have worked a … [Read more...] about Stable Valencia dreams of challenging Spain’s top two
Fear and resignation in Spain’s deficit cap
A swiftly agreed, bi-party accord to safeguard the Spanish economy’s future. It should be music to every Spaniard’s ears. The governing Socialists and opposition Popular Party have finally reached consensus on a major issue, putting aside their ideological differences and petty electoral interests to introduce a constitutional reform that puts a cap on the public deficit. Such statesmanship harks back to the spirit of the Transition. Or does it? Having heeded the plea by the French and German leaders for deficit controls to be enshrined in eurozone magna cartas, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy have responded. This extraordinary measure, they argue, will calm the jittery … [Read more...] about Fear and resignation in Spain’s deficit cap