As early Basque elections loom, there is one issue that rages on despite efforts by the central government to let it lie: that of the controversial release of convicted ETA killer and kidnapper Iosu Uribetxebarria Bolinaga. On September 5, the Public Prosecutor's Office exercised its right to appeal against a ruling in favour of his conditional release. With a regional election scheduled for October 21, it is no surprise that even those in the Basque Partido Popular (PP) have been keen to nip the Uribetxebarria issue in the bud. Even Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hoped to silence those in his party – most prominently Basque MEP Jaime Mayor Oreja and Madrid premier Esperanza Aguirre – who … [Read more...] about Clemency for ETA?
spain
The ego has landed
To have one Portuguese egomaniac in your football club, as Oscar Wilde might have said, is unfortunate. To have two, is careless. In which case, Real Madrid are guilty of the latter. But the club’s argument for having José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo on its payroll is that they are the best in the world and their results speak for themselves. Mourinho’s weird tantrums and coded outbursts have become an accepted part of the Spanish football season – like the regular threat of a players’ strike, or unsubstantiated media claims that referees are being paid by Barça. Normally, Mourinho has some kind of objective when he performs them: pressuring for a new striker, for example, or agitating … [Read more...] about The ego has landed
La Liga: Ronaldo’s sulk overshadows Real Madrid win
On Sunday night, there was temporary relief in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid had finally secured their first win of the season, coming rather belatedly on matchday three against Granada at home. It capped a week in which Madrid had defeated Barcelona on away goals at the Santiago Bernabéu to lift their first piece of silverware, the Spanish Supercopa. But as journalists in the mixed zone looked for a few quotes and prepared for a slow news spell during the upcoming two-week international break, something altogether unexpected happened. For one, Cristiano Ronaldo who had notched a brace of goals on the night, stopped to talk. When one journalist innocently asked why he didn’t celebrate … [Read more...] about La Liga: Ronaldo’s sulk overshadows Real Madrid win
Rajoy prepares for an autumn of discontent
They call it operación retorno: hundreds of thousands of Spaniards get into their cars at the end of their holidays and drive back to their towns and cities to resume their lives. This year, like most, it has seen endless queues of overheated cars fill Spain’s roads on the last weekend of August, peopled by families dreading the return to the office or school. Just eight months into his tenure and with a handsome majority in Congress, Mariano Rajoy should be bounding back to work with a springier step than most. But instead, the prime minister could be forgiven for wishing he were in one of those sweaty, late-summer traffic jams. Rajoy’s honeymoon period finished months ago, if indeed … [Read more...] about Rajoy prepares for an autumn of discontent
A new take on the American abroad
Young American poet Adam Gordon is a fraud and a bastard. And the fact he’s spending a year in Madrid, as the recipient of a prestigious fellowship, is thanks to total pretence. Officially, he’s in the Spanish capital to write a “long and research-driven poem… about the literary response to the Civil War.” But Adam intends doing no such thing (thank god). Instead he smokes pot, takes prescription drugs, forms wafer-thin relationships and frets constantly about the validity of his experiences. If that narrative risks coming off as trite, then Leaving the Atocha Station, by American poet Ben Lerner (who spent a year in Madrid as a Fulbright scholar), is far from it. The book, which is thin … [Read more...] about A new take on the American abroad
Malcolm Tucker meets Mariano Rajoy
Far be it for me to tell Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy whom he should hire as his press secretary. But recently, as two members of his cabinet once again clashed in public (this time Energy Minister José Manuel Soria and Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro contradicting each other over energy policy) I wondered, after watching an episode of The Thick of It, if the answer wasn’t staring me in the face. Malcolm Tucker, the rabid, Scottish, über-swearing PM’s press secretary in the TV series, could be the answer to Rajoy’s prayers. Witness his "handling" of wayward minister Hugh Abbot: Admittedly, Tucker would either have to learn Spanish, or Rajoy would need an extraordinarily clever … [Read more...] about Malcolm Tucker meets Mariano Rajoy
La Liga: Getafe upset leaves Real Madrid still seeking a win
El Derbi madrileño may be a forgone conclusion most years, with Atlético Madrid rolling over every time for their neighbours, but Real Madrid are always given a much tougher time by their other cross-city rivals, Getafe. Jose Mourinho’s men took to the pitch on Sunday night looking to collect three points for the first time this season. Instead they left with none. They began comfortably when Gonzalo Higuaín – who has an excellent record against El Geta – scored from close range in the 27th minute at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, but eight minutes after the break, the home side levelled when Juan Valera nodded past Iker Casillas from a free-kick. The visitors failed to capitalise on their … [Read more...] about La Liga: Getafe upset leaves Real Madrid still seeking a win
Land and liberty
It may be a slow summer; it may be that the world’s media can’t get enough bad news from Spain as the country sinks deeper into depression. In such a context, news editors are particularly susceptible to stories about latter-day Robin Hoods. Which is what Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, the Communist Party mayor for the last 33 years of Marinaleda, a village near Seville, has been gleefully dubbed after he and groups from the Andalusian Workers’ Union that he helped found went into two supermarkets in early August and made off with trolleys of basic foodstuffs that they said they were going to distribute among unemployed agricultural labourers. Speaking to journalists after he and his … [Read more...] about Land and liberty
Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
The announcement on Tuesday by the Basque premier, Patxi López, that the region will hold early elections on October 21 was a reminder of how much things have changed since he took power in 2009. Since López entered a governing partnership with the conservative Partido Popular, the terrorist group ETA has been increasingly weakened, culminating in last autumn’s announcement by the group that it was laying down its arms for good. The date of the scheduled elections – a year and a day after ETA’s announcement – is no coincidence. López himself was not coy about underscoring his government’s part in the new atmosphere of peace that the northern region is enjoying. “We have done what we … [Read more...] about Basque Country enters an era of uncertainty
La Liga: Villa’s return a boost for new Barça boss
La Liga returned at the weekend, and while sports daily Marca may have had a front cover dedicated to the seemingly duel never-ending duel between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, a marginally less celebrated player, who could prove the key to FC Barcelona’s attempts to wrestle the league title back from Real Madrid, was also back and doing what he does best. David Villa marked his return from an eight-month layoff by netting Barça’s final goal in a 5-1 drubbing of Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou. He scored in the 84th minute, having come on as a substitute only seven minutes earlier to a standing ovation. The Asturian striker’s relief was evident as he wheeled away in celebration, … [Read more...] about La Liga: Villa’s return a boost for new Barça boss