The statisticians may argue for some time to come about the success or otherwise of Spain’s general strike. To nobody’s surprise, the UGT and CCOO unions, which organised the country’s first nationwide strike in eight years, described the protest as an overwhelming success, while the government said participation was “uneven”. Judging by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s insouciant demeanour as he entered Congress on the morning of the strike, his government had little to worry about. And yet, the mass closure of businesses for the day, the crippling of the country’s bus services and thousands (or 70 percent, according to the organisers) of workers marching through Spain’s … [Read more...] about Spain’s general strike: too much, too late
spain pensions
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