A year after he took office on December 21, 2011, many Spaniards would be forgiven for asking: who is Mariano Rajoy? His first 12 months in power have been so full of contradictions that a clear image of the Spanish prime minister is yet to emerge. His conservative Partido Popular (PP) has one of the biggest congressional majorities Spain has seen. And with it, his government has embarked on one of the boldest reform programs of the democratic era, with opponents frequently accusing it of authoritarianism. Yet still Rajoy is seen as hesitant and equivocal, a politician being led by events and EU orders, rather than leading his people. “Mariano Rajoy governs without his own voice, … [Read more...] about Rajoy’s difficult year
economic crisis
Iberians of the Year 2011: Spain’s Indignados
From Tunis to Cairo and from Madrid to Manhattan, outrage has been the overwhelming theme of 2011. Outrage at ineffectual, unrepresentative political systems, outrage at coddled elites, outrage at the financial system and the perceived culprits for the economic turmoil that has spread around the world. The year of outrage began on the streets of Tunisia in January, spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East as Arab Spring revolutions unfolded across the region, and, by late spring, the wave of indignation hit Europe. In Madrid in May, the seed of a different style of revolution was planted as thousands of activists - mostly young, many unemployed - set up camp in the city … [Read more...] about Iberians of the Year 2011: Spain’s Indignados
Spain’s ‘indignados’
[sharethis] Last May, as the campaign for Spain’s local elections got underway, it looked like business as usual. Neither of the two main political parties was managing to inspire voters with hope or ideas as the country’s jobless line grew and the economic crisis deepened. But on May 15, the Sunday before the elections, a group of well-organised, mainly young, activists gathered in Madrid and marched to the central square of Puerta del Sol. They set up a makeshift campsite, declared the Spanish political system unrepresentative and obsolete, and within days their support had snowballed across the country and the eyes of the world were on them. Six months on, los indignados, or the … [Read more...] about Spain’s ‘indignados’
Spain’s woes fail to deter Africans from life-threatening crossing
The European economy is going through a rollercoaster ride right now, with Spain one of the biggest victims of the upheaval. And since German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s invitation earlier this year to Spanish professionals – particularly engineers – to go and find work in her country, many Spaniards are looking abroad as they consider their future. And yet, boatloads of Africans still make the incredibly dangerous journey across the Gibraltar Strait to the shores of Andalusia. The first half of this year saw around 1,000 come to the Spanish mainland (arrivals in the Canary Islands have dropped heavily). That doesn’t sound like a massive number, but the high season for crossing is only … [Read more...] about Spain’s woes fail to deter Africans from life-threatening crossing
Ideology is first casualty of Spain’s economic crisis
The day José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s dream ended was not even marked by a speech from the unlikely new champion of glum realism. As Congress in Madrid debated in late May cutbacks effectively imposed by Frankfurt and Brussels, the Spanish prime minister, who had tended his very personal flame of optimism with so many smiling words, saw his political future turn to ashes without even taking the stand. The Socialist who had vowed to bring the benefits of economically successful Spain to the disadvantaged now looked on as Catalan nationalist Antoni Duran i Lleida announced that his bloc would save the government in the vote to cut public workers’ wages and freeze pensions, but declared that … [Read more...] about Ideology is first casualty of Spain’s economic crisis
Running on Ẽmpty
A year after Spain’s centre-left government officially launched a massive stimulus package known as the Plan Ẽ, workers are still losing their jobs, public debt levels are scaring markets, and the economy is not likely to emerge from recession until 2011 at the earliest. Plan Ẽ, with its billions for public works projects, tax breaks and subsidies, was never intended to be more than a temporary bandage to get Spain through the worst of the fallout from the international financial crisis and the collapse of the domestic real estate and construction sector. But the wounds inflicted on Spain’s once booming economy have turned out to be slow to heal, and tearing the plaster off - as, for … [Read more...] about Running on Ẽmpty