Spain may have voted in a new prime minister in 2011, but it’s fair to say that Mariano Rajoy has not been a towering figure on the country’s political landscape. Instead, he let his Socialist rivals’ desperate struggle with the economic crisis do his talking for him. The Popular Party (PP) leader revealed little of his own plans for the Spanish economy, but others in the party were more forthright. Among them was party number two María Dolores de Cospedal. This year saw her step further into the limelight as she overthrew a longstanding Socialist government in Castilla-La Mancha to become the region’s new premier. On taking power there, she swiftly announced heavy, controversial cuts to … [Read more...] about María Dolores de Cospedal
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Modern Spain’s legacy: airports, deficits and brutal cuts
Last week, Spanish newspapers reported that a recently busted gang of drug smugglers had planned to buy part of Ciudad Real airport in order to ship cocaine into the country. It was hardly the kind of news that the Castilla-La Mancha authorities would normally have enjoyed hearing, but right now, almost any potential buyer of this huge building with a four-kilometre airstrip will be welcomed with open arms. The Aeropuerto Central Ciudad Real, as it is known, is now as representative of Spain –particularly 21st century Spain– as the windmills and plains that surround it. Built in 2008, it was, for a time, presented by the local government as a bold way of putting the land of Don … [Read more...] about Modern Spain’s legacy: airports, deficits and brutal cuts