Question: who works for Rupert Murdoch, leads a prestigious think-tank, is an accomplished long-distance runner and learned to speak fluent English in his early fifties? Answer: José María Aznar, prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004. The above description is highly selective, of course, but it gives an idea of the man we are talking about – probably just the kind of idea Aznar himself would like us to have of him: an active figure on the right-leaning world stage whose discipline and motivation have given him influence and a well-honed body. Aznar, 57, has become something of a fetish figure for many on the Spanish right, and with good reason. He governed for two … [Read more...] about Aznar lets his hair down
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Bye-bye to Spain’s savings banks
Once there were 45, now there are 17. And within a few months there could be even fewer. Spain’s savings banks, or cajas, a common feature of the country's financial landscape for almost two centuries, are becoming an endangered species. The smallest and weakest have fallen first, gobbled up in a series of inter-bank mergers and acquisitions triggered by their exposure to the worst of the fall-out from the international financial crisis and the popping of the Spanish property bubble. New rules introduced by the Spanish government will ensure the consolidation continues apace. The government will require all lenders to raise core-capital levels to 8 percent by September. … [Read more...] about Bye-bye to Spain’s savings banks
Morocco: the next North African revolution?
So has the European Union actually backed a winner in Morocco? As the shockwaves from the unexpected uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt spread across the region, Morocco –the only North African country with advanced EU neighbour status– has seen relatively little unrest. The cynical and ultimately short-sighted European approach to the regimes facing its southern flank was exposed when Tunisians exploded in outrage against a government Brussels had looked on kindly. The French, Italian and Spanish governments were all lobbying for Ben Ali's regime to be given preferential partner status. Morocco, meanwhile, has made a number of strides towards democracy during King Mohammed VI’s 11-year … [Read more...] about Morocco: the next North African revolution?
What’s eating José Mourinho?
“I’m too old to receive messages through newspapers. These little messages don’t reach me. I make the team. The decisions are mine.” We’re used to hearing José Mourinho fire broadsides at his opponents. We’re less used to hear him do it at his own employers. But his above remarks, made on January 19, were clearly aimed at Real Madrid’s Sporting Director Jorge Valdano. Valdano sparked the Portuguese’s ire after a 1-1 draw with Almería when responding to a television journalist’s question about Madrid’s possible signing of a new “number 9” -or striker- in the coming days, something Mourinho has expressly requested of the club. “We had a number 9 on the bench,” said Valdano, in reference to … [Read more...] about What’s eating José Mourinho?
ETA stumbles to ceasefire but can it convince?
ETA’s latest ceasefire announcement may have captured the headlines, but it did not surprise anyone who has been following Spanish politics in recent months. Pressure has been building on the group to offer a convincing sign that it is committed to peaceful politics ever since it declared in the vaguest of terms on September 5 that it had ceased “offensive armed actions”. Much of that pressure has come from ETA’s own political support, the izquierda abertzale. Arnaldo Otegi, the most visible figure within that collective, is one of many key players who have stressed the need for the terrorist group to end its campaign of violence. In addition, there has been a degree of coercion on an … [Read more...] about ETA stumbles to ceasefire but can it convince?
Spanish music mourns passing of Pacheco and Morente
As 2010 comes to a close, the Spanish cultural firmament has been dimmed by the loss of two of its brightest stars: in November record producer Mario Pacheco died, and then in December flamenco singer Enrique Morente passed away. Pacheco, who died of cancer aged 60, founded Nuevos Medios, the groundbreaking record label behind the “new flamenco" scene in the 1980s. The label, which has a catalogue of more than 900 records, launched the careers of many of Spain’s most original musicians, making flamenco fashionable, and shedding the genre's image as tawdry spectacle or the preserve of experts. Best remembered for reviving the fortunes of flamenco through its stellar roster of artists … [Read more...] about Spanish music mourns passing of Pacheco and Morente