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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Batasuna does legwork as ETA inches towards Basque peace
As ETA moves closer to what looks potentially like a full ceasefire that commits the Basque group to laying down its weapons once and for all, Spain’s politicians are offering some strictly scripted rhetoric. For most mainstream Spanish parties, scepticism and suspicion are the watchwords as they comment on ETA’s shift towards what could be lasting peace and the end of the separatist organisation’s 51-year history. The group’s September 5 announcement that it had halted all “armed offensive actions” was deemed too half-hearted and vague by the governing Socialists and the opposition Popular Party (PP). They regarded it as a ploy to ensure the legalisation of ETA’s political support, … [Read more...] about Batasuna does legwork as ETA inches towards Basque peace
Spain and Morocco’s annual spat over for another year
It has become a summer classic; argy-bargy across the Strait of Gibraltar. With the arrival of September’s UN gathering in New York, the Spanish prime minister and Moroccan king have drawn an apparently effortless line under several weeks of apparently simmering tensions, blazing front-page headlines and much talk of a diplomatic crisis. “The photograph is the main thing,” José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero muttered toward Mohammed VI in New York as the pair smiled amid the camera flashes, the Spaniard later explaining that there had been little in the way of details included in their discussion. There was no need, he said; that was what the upcoming summits and ministerial meetings would deal … [Read more...] about Spain and Morocco’s annual spat over for another year
Sarkozy’s Gypsy policy a boon for Spain’s xenophobes
France has done Spain a couple of big favours over recent years. For one, it has kept up police pressure on Basque separatist group ETA, which has for decades used southwest France as a haven for its terrorists. Cooperation between Spanish and French authorities has led to dozens of arrests, leaving the organisation on its knees. Also, President Nicolas Sarkozy boosted his neighbour’s international profile by ensuring Spain had a seat at G20 summits, even though the country was not part of the G8. With that in mind, perhaps it is not so surprising that Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero backed Sarkozy during the recent controversy over France’s deportation of Romanian … [Read more...] about Sarkozy’s Gypsy policy a boon for Spain’s xenophobes
Political turmoil threatens to rock Spain’s recovery
Only a few weeks ago, the big argument raging about Spain was whether or not it was “the next Greece”. The size of its deficit, difficulties in getting the economy growing again and its harsh treatment at the hands of international markets all made it look like the prize candidate for the EU’s next massive bailout. Many observers suspected a visit by IMF head Dominique Strauss-Khan to Madrid in June was the prelude to just such a move as José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s handling of the economy came under immense scrutiny. Now, however, the situation is slightly different. The bailout has not transpired and while the country has certainly not emerged blinking in the sunlight of market … [Read more...] about Political turmoil threatens to rock Spain’s recovery
Basque ceasefire offers Zapatero illusion of a lifeline
The latest ETA ceasefire has the look of a Trojan horse. All previous truces have ended in a return to bloody violence by the Basque terrorist organisation. But in Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s mind, a little spark of optimism has surely been reignited at a time when he and his governing Socialist Party are in desperate need of a positive development. Yes, that very “optimism” which Zapatero expressed just hours before ETA ruptured its previous ceasefire, detonating a car bomb at Barajas airport and leaving two dead in late 2006. The prime minister has since spoken of his upbeat attitude towards the peace talks in Switzerland of that autumn as his biggest mistake. But … [Read more...] about Basque ceasefire offers Zapatero illusion of a lifeline
Opposing Spain’s abortion law: don’t blame the Church
On July 5, Spain introduced legislation bringing the country’s abortion laws into line with those across northern Europe. In essence, the new law allows the procedure without restrictions up to 14 weeks and gives 16-year-olds the right to have abortions without parental consent. Until now abortion had been illegal unless the woman could prove that she was raped, that the foetus was malformed, or that the pregnancy endangered her physical or mental health. In practice, the latter reason was used across a network of private clinics, which perform around 100,000 abortions a year. The issue has been reported in the international media as a battle between the secular Socialist Party … [Read more...] about Opposing Spain’s abortion law: don’t blame the Church
Dark horse Díez races into the limelight
It’s a good time to be an outsider in politics. With the world economy still recovering from recession and politicians struggling to assert their moral credentials, the conditions are ripe for the self-proclaimed rebels to hog the spotlight. In the United States the right-wing Tea Party movement is gathering steam on the back of anger at traditional politicians’ lack of dynamism. In Britain, where an expenses scandal has undermined MPs, neither Labour nor the Conservatives were able to win a majority in the general election. In Spain, Rosa Díez, leader of Unión Progreso y Democracia (UPyD), must be rubbing her hands with glee as she looks at a similarly disgruntled electorate. She … [Read more...] about Dark horse Díez races into the limelight
The market tears up Zapatero’s social contract
“My government’s ambition is to make this an innovative, creative, entrepreneurial country while upholding the social welfare state… I think we should learn the lesson of the Great Depression: when an economy enters a deep recession, the only way we can come out of it is from a big push from the public sector.” José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero uttered these words less than a year ago. At the time, with Spain mired in recession, critics could argue with his ideological stance, but nobody could doubt his convictions. However, the prime minister’s announcement on May 12 of a broad and radical raft of austerity measures has seen him perform the biggest U-turn of his six years in government … [Read more...] about The market tears up Zapatero’s social contract
Catalonia, immigration and populism
The attorney general’s announcement on January 20 that plans by the Catalan town of Vic to stop registering undocumented immigrants on its census were unlawful appeared to bring the furore surrounding the case to a close. After an outcry on the part of immigrant and human rights groups, Joaquin de Fuentes Bardají insisted that any immigrant should be able to register in their local municipality with just a passport (a visa or other documents being unnecessary) and therefore gain access to health and education services. But while Vic now appears unlikely to push ahead with its controversial initiative, this town of less than 40,000, just under a quarter of whom are migrants, has managed … [Read more...] about Catalonia, immigration and populism