Who says the Christmas period is boring for news? Right now, Spain has three judicial investigations or court cases involving intrigue, royalty and expensive suits. The trial of the Popular Party’s Valencia boss Francisco Camps for allegedly taking sartorial kick-backs in return for granting favours to private sector cronies is probably the most “normal” of this trio of cases. It seems to be a clear-cut case of did-he-or-didn’t-he, involving a senior politician and a shady character with an enormous moustache aptly known as Bigotes. More complex is the case against Baltasar Garzón, Spain’s best-known celebrity judge. The man who wanted to put Osama Bin Laden on trial will soon be in … [Read more...] about Spain’s refreshing royal scandal
rey juan carlos
King Juan Carlos
The boyish grin, the Bourbon nose, the endless joshing: even if he wasn’t the king of Spain, you could spot Juan Carlos a mile off. But despite the down-to-earth bonhomie, he has a livelier CV than most living monarchs. Juan Carlos accidentally shot his brother dead with a hunting gun as a child. He then became the protégé of dictator Franco, expected to ensure the country stayed “old school”. But Juan Carlos proved he was more than a tyrant’s puppet by steering Spain into democracy and then foiling a 1981 attempted coup with a now-historic television address to his people. All by the age of 43. Who can blame him for enjoying the high life since? … [Read more...] about King Juan Carlos
Wikileaks: Washington’s peculiar view of Spain
The amount of information related to Spain that has emerged as part of the recent Wikileaks revelations is enormous. With El País nominated as one of the five newspapers to benefit from the distribution, this was inevitable. Since the first day of publication, on November 28, we have seen reports of how the US government pressured Spanish legal authorities to drop the case against American troops blamed for the death of cameraman José Couso in Iraq; of how Washington pressured Spanish firms to leave Iran and the Spanish government to approve internet anti-piracy legislation; of Madrid’s covert support for Morocco’s cause in the Western Sahara conflict; and of Prime Minister Zapatero’s … [Read more...] about Wikileaks: Washington’s peculiar view of Spain