1. Blaming the previous government can only get you so far. The Socialists left the public accounts in mess, let unemployment soar, and failed to acknowledge the crisis in the first place…We’ve been hearing all that for the last two years or so from the Partido Popular (PP). And turning the Spanish economy around in the near future, given the state it was in at the end of 2011, is a tough –some would say impossible- task. So far the governing party’s own support has remained steady, according to polls, even if Rajoy’s has slipped slightly. But at some point very soon, Spaniards are going to stop thinking about Zapatero’s feeble economic legacy and start focusing exclusively on the … [Read more...] about Five things Mariano Rajoy has learned in his first 100 days
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Andalusia election gives Rajoy a reality check
Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular (PP) may have won the most seats of any party in Sunday’s regional election in Andalusia, but he will view the result as a resounding failure. Rajoy’s conservatives finished the vote count with 50 seats, compared with the Socialists’ 47. In the Socialists’ biggest regional stronghold, that might look like a triumph, but with the United Left (IU) taking 12 seats, the left did enough to govern in coalition. This election came three months into the tenure of Rajoy as prime minister and was seen as a gauge of his national government, as much as the performance of his Andalusian candidate, Javier Arenas. Andalusia has enormous symbolic significance. Ever … [Read more...] about Andalusia election gives Rajoy a reality check
Energy debt burden looms large in Spain’s deficit reduction push
To say that the Rajoy government inherited a rough legacy is rather an understatement. The economy appears to be in even worse shape than the incoming Partido Popular government first thought and even as they chop away at public spending, confidence at home and abroad continues to slip. Less than three months in and Rajoy and his party were forced to restructure deficit reduction goals, much to the chagrin of austerity-minded allies in Brussels and Berlin. Unfortunately, the government’s campaign to rein in spending and reduce the deficit does not yet address one particularly large elephant in the room – namely, Spain’s beleaguered energy sector. Sure, we’ve seen the Rajoy government … [Read more...] about Energy debt burden looms large in Spain’s deficit reduction push
Squatting wave pushes for improved Spanish housing policy
“If they throw us out, I don't know what we're going to do. Now we have nothing,” says Trini, who lives with her partner and son in a squatted building in central Madrid. The €500 she earns taking care of seniors is the only income her family has. Trini wants to buy or rent a house, but at a price that her family can afford. Trini is part of a massive squatting wave that is sweeping across Spain as a response to the failure of public housing policy. Once, squatting was seen as an act of defiance, done mainly by young people. Now it is more commonly done out of necessity, by families who feel they have no other option. Since 2007, there have been more than 350,000 evictions as a result … [Read more...] about Squatting wave pushes for improved Spanish housing policy
Privatisation through the back door
The messages that have come out of the recent demonstrations in Valencia are not just about the effect of the cutbacks on schools and the poor spending decisions of the Valencian government. Even police brutality is only a small part of the story. There is also the underlying accusation that private schools, unlike the state sector, are having their budgets protected. This is not an austerity measure. This is a political spending decision that will create a trend of irreversible privitisation of schools. And it’s not just in Spain. The coalition government in the UK is responsible for something very similar. As school budgets are squeezed and the UK braces for more cut backs, the … [Read more...] about Privatisation through the back door
Rajoy’s smoke and mirrors have worked – for now, at least
If we have learnt anything about Spain’s new prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, since he took power in December, it’s that his reputation for being anything but straightforward when conveying his intentions is well deserved. Rajoy has often been portrayed as the embodiment of retranca, a tendency his fellow Galicians are known for to answer questions with ambiguity and multiple meanings. The first two months of his tenure have seen Rajoy behave every bit like the stereotypical Galician. An early example of this was when the prime minister deployed his front-line ministers to announce a major tax increase, just days after himself announcing that “my intention is not to raise taxes.” And now … [Read more...] about Rajoy’s smoke and mirrors have worked – for now, at least
A bit of Greece in Valencia
Even before the disturbances this week in Valencia, the city and its surrounding region laid claim to some pretty worrying badges of honour. It’s the capital of Gürtel, the biggest political corruption scandal in Spain of recent times, and the home of Francisco Camps, the former Valencia regional premier who was absolved of any involvement in the affair after insisting he pays for his €3,000 suits in cash and doesn’t bother keeping the receipts. It’s also the most heavily indebted region in Spain, with a €20-billion deficit, leaving it perilously close to failing to make a debt payment to Deutsche Bank recently. It hosts Castellón airport, perhaps Spain’s most notorious white-elephant … [Read more...] about A bit of Greece in Valencia
Rajoy, reform and the burden of employment expectations
As thousands took to the streets at the weekend, it quickly became clear that the Partido Popular’s approach to job creation had more than a few critics. Focusing their anger on reforms passed on February 9, critics called out the new government’s efforts to reduce mandatory severance pay from 45 to 33 days per year worked and allowing what they felt was an unfair freedom for companies to opt out of collective bargaining agreements and adjust wages and hours according to their financial standing. The Rajoy government insisted that it “wants to give firms the ability to modify workers' hours in response to demand rather than simply laying them off, bringing an end to the rapid rise in … [Read more...] about Rajoy, reform and the burden of employment expectations
The importance of being ‘El País’
One of my clearest memories from the years I spent working at the English edition of El País newspaper was a 6pm editorial meeting in 2007, the day of the launch of rival publication Público. These evening meetings are when the paper’s section heads tell editor-in-chief Javier Moreno what they are going to publish. I remember them as dull but rather tense affairs, where each head would deliver his (it was almost always a man) spiel, and hope not to have it verbally machine-gunned by the boss. But on this particular occasion, Moreno began the meeting with an appraisal of new arrival Público. “Whatever else one might think, they have a very clear idea of Spain and who their readers are,” he … [Read more...] about The importance of being ‘El País’
Jobless in Spain: a personal viewpoint
In January of this year, I became one of Spain's five million unemployed. The redundancy in itself has not hurt me badly. I receive a decent monthly unemployment benefit (with entitlement for 16 months) and, on a personal level at least, must admit to being pleased that my husband is one of Spain's 2.5 million job-protected funcionarios. The circumstances surrounding my redundancy, though not atypical, were legally ambiguous. “Ambiguous” because I had been hired to work until the completion of an unspecified project (or 'Fin de Obra') under what remains to date the most common type of contract in Spain. As I was hired in 2009, more than two years prior to recent changes in … [Read more...] about Jobless in Spain: a personal viewpoint