Gregorio Peces-Barba, one of the authors of Spain’s Constitution, and an advocate of the role therein of the monarchy, died on July 24 aged 74 after being admitted to hospital a week earlier suffering from a kidney complaint and heart problems. From a well-to-do family that backed the losing side in the Spanish Civil War — his father, a lawyer and advisor to the Republican army, was given a death sentence, later commuted — Peces-Barba grew up in Madrid during the harsh years that followed General Francisco Franco’s victory, first attending the Lycée Français with exiled King Simeon of Bulgaria, and then the Complutense University where he obtained first a law degree and then a … [Read more...] about Gregorio Peces-Barba: symbol of the transition and staunch monarchist
spain transition
Spain’s true crisis isn’t economic, it’s institutional
As Spain has moved closer to what looks increasingly like economic disaster, there have been a couple of surprising - even heartening - moves by the country’s senior politicians lately. One was the announcement made by Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba that his party offered its full support to the conservative government going into the key European summit in Brussels on June 28. This rare instance of political unity was accompanied by an unusual show of stark public honesty by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. “We can’t finance ourselves at these levels of interest much longer,” said the man who had denied that Spain would request a bank bailout days before it did so, and who said he … [Read more...] about Spain’s true crisis isn’t economic, it’s institutional
The Tejero coup, North Africa and back-slapping
That day is widely seen as a turning point in modern Spanish history – the moment when the country’s commitment to democracy was bolstered following the firm action of King Juan Carlos in putting down the putsch. But in his column Ramoneda identifies an exaggerated sense of self-congratulation in the memory of that day now, charging that “we commemorate 23-F in a tribe-like way, without being capable of thinking for one minute about those who today fight for democracy.” And those who fight for democracy today are on Spain’s doorstep. Spain and Europe have failed to send a clear message to North Africa in recent weeks, Ramoneda charges. Spain is a country with particular … [Read more...] about The Tejero coup, North Africa and back-slapping