Gregorio Peces-Barba, one of the authors of Spain’s Constitution, and an advocate of the role therein of the monarchy, died on July 24 aged 74 after being admitted to hospital a week earlier suffering from a kidney complaint and heart problems. From a well-to-do family that backed the losing side in the Spanish Civil War — his father, a lawyer and advisor to the Republican army, was given a death sentence, later commuted — Peces-Barba grew up in Madrid during the harsh years that followed General Francisco Franco’s victory, first attending the Lycée Français with exiled King Simeon of Bulgaria, and then the Complutense University where he obtained first a law degree and then a … [Read more...] about Gregorio Peces-Barba: symbol of the transition and staunch monarchist
Politics
Spain’s true crisis isn’t economic, it’s institutional
As Spain has moved closer to what looks increasingly like economic disaster, there have been a couple of surprising - even heartening - moves by the country’s senior politicians lately. One was the announcement made by Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba that his party offered its full support to the conservative government going into the key European summit in Brussels on June 28. This rare instance of political unity was accompanied by an unusual show of stark public honesty by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. “We can’t finance ourselves at these levels of interest much longer,” said the man who had denied that Spain would request a bank bailout days before it did so, and who said he … [Read more...] about Spain’s true crisis isn’t economic, it’s institutional
Spain’s Basque Country glimpses peace despite political barriers
As citizens of Barcelona recently commemorated 25 years since ETA's bombing of Hipercor supermarket, which killed 21 and injured 45, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon that the Basque Country is entering a new, if somewhat arduous, era of peace. Following ETA's announcement of a permanent end to armed activity in October last year, earlier this month the group considered to be its youth wing, SEGI, also disbanded. The arrests of 90 of its members in the space of three years, as well as the increased difficulty of entering the ranks of ETA, undoubtedly contributed to SEGI's decision to fold. Tuesday June 19, 1987 is a day that would go down as the bloodiest in ETA's history. The … [Read more...] about Spain’s Basque Country glimpses peace despite political barriers
Payback time for Spain’s top judge Carlos Dívar
Carlos Dívar, the president of Spain’s Supreme Court, finally resigned on June 21 after allegations last month that he used public money to pay for up to 32 private trips to Marbella and other destinations. But the 70-year-old has refused to accept the misconduct accusations, simply telling the 20 members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the judicial oversight board of which he was appointed president in 2008 — and from which he will also be standing down — that he was “unaware of any wrongdoing”, acknowledging instead that the situation had become “unbearable”. Fellow judge José Manuel Gómez Benítez accused Divar on May 8 of spending €5,000 from his expenses account on … [Read more...] about Payback time for Spain’s top judge Carlos Dívar
Profile: Luis de Guindos, the man behind Spain’s bank bailout
The story goes that right up to the day Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy appointed him economy minister, Luis de Guindos was unaware that he was to be landed with the job of repeating for six months that Spain didn’t need a bailout before eventually taking part in the “victory”— as described by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy — of accepting the European Union’s offer of up to €100 billion to keep Spain’s banks afloat for a little longer. Until last December, the 52-year-old De Guindos led a quiet life, mainly employed as the director of the PwC Centre for Finance at Madrid’s IE Business School, while enjoying the benefits of sitting on the boards of several companies, among them Endesa … [Read more...] about Profile: Luis de Guindos, the man behind Spain’s bank bailout
Portugal’s spy who came in from the cold
Jorge Silva Carvalho is a Portuguese former spy who was in charge of the country’s external intelligence services from 2008 until 2011. Well-connected and ambitious, Carvalho had dreamed of one day being appointed interior minister. But instead he was seduced, in 2011, by a better job: internal “agent” at a private company, Ongoing, a media outlet run by Nuno Vasconcelos with Angolan capital. But the former spy is now in the eye of the hurricane, after public prosecutors charged him with abusing his position, corruption and violating state secrets. According to those charges, Carvalho, after signing a lucrative contract with Ongoing, used his connections within the Portuguese secret … [Read more...] about Portugal’s spy who came in from the cold
Profile: Esperanza Aguirre, Spain’s very own iron lady
Never one to miss the chance of a headline, last week Esperanza Aguirre, the Popular Party’s head of the regional government of Madrid, aroused the ire of Catalans and Basques when she called for the Copa del Rey soccer final to be played behind closed doors, “somewhere else”, rather than in the Spanish capital. Why? The likelihood of whistling and booing by fans of the two sides, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, during the playing of the Spanish national anthem, as happened when the two sides faced each other three years ago in the final, in Valencia. In the event, Aguirre took a rain check on the match, leaving Prince Felipe to stand stoically through the national anthem amid the catcalls … [Read more...] about Profile: Esperanza Aguirre, Spain’s very own iron lady
Rajoy’s labyrinth
When looking back on the first five months of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government, it’s hard to recall many striking images of the man. That’s probably because he is so studiously media-shy, giving as few press conferences as he possibly can, and leaving most major policy announcements to his number two, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría. But while Rajoy has been typically low-key during his opening spell in office, events have not and a couple of moments from those rollercoaster first months do stick in the mind, telling us apparently contradictory things about the man. One is his comment to his Finnish counterpart, Jyrki Katainen, back in January, that the labour reform he was … [Read more...] about Rajoy’s labyrinth
Education strike highlights Spain’s teaching problem
Tuesday’s nationwide education strike included representatives from all levels of the sector, marking the first time such an action had been staged in Spain. The strike was propelled by the austerity measures affecting the sector. These include up to €3 billion cuts in spending, the addition of two hours to teachers' weekly classroom timetable and an increase in the pupil-classroom maximum ratio, currently at 25 in primary level and 30 in secondary. Early reports suggested a good level of support among teaching staff. However, while unions claimed an 80-percent turnout, as expected, government figures were decidedly lower. A more pressing question to ask about Tuesday's action, … [Read more...] about Education strike highlights Spain’s teaching problem
And there was peace in Portugal
An average Portuguese citizen might make about €800 per month, has bought a house and is paying back the loan to the bank, leaves home each day at 7am and returns at 7pm. He has one child, whom he leaves at school all day. Take those €800 and let’s do some math. The mortgage will cost an average of €300, leaving €500 for food, transport and basic services. By the end of the month his bank account will just have small change left – if not a huge credit card hole. This data is accurate as of May 2012 and can be checked at Pordata, the private national database, run by the former Socialist Party agriculture minister from the seventies and eternal presidential candidate, the respected … [Read more...] about And there was peace in Portugal