Spain
has been watching the annual State of the Nation debate in
parliament. On corruption, the President's response to Opposition
criticisms has been the traditional Spanish “Yeah but you're
worse!” (Y tú más!). Specifically - “At least our party
hasn't been condemned by the courts, unlike yours.” Grown up
politics?
The
Spanish government has decided to do something about excess levels of
(corrupt) government – by tinkering with the lowest levels. More
than 50,000 mayors and councillors are to lose their jobs and mayoral
salaries will be abolished or severely reduced. Personally, I'd have
thought the latter measure was guaranteed to increase corrupion, not
reduce it. More importantly. The targets should be the regional and
provincial empires, where the corruption really lies.
President
Rajoy has said it wouldn't be right to change the harsh mortgage
system here as this would affect current mortgages and, besides,
Spain has the best mortgage set up in Europe. OK, I know that 'Hard
cases make bad law' and all that but where does he get off claiming
that a few evictions (not to mention the suicides) should not be
allowed to force changes in the law? Is it possible he has banker
friends?
The
good news imparted by Sr Rajoy is that the deficit for 2012 looks
like coming in at 7%. This is only good news, of course, if you
completely ignore all the targets and forecasts that were
tabled/ imposed/dreamt up during last year. On now to 3 or 4% this
year. Maybe. But at least it's coming down. Which must make all the pain easier to bear.
Corruption:
There seems to be an emerging consensus that Spaniards are angrier
than they've even been about this is because they no longer take the view
that “Well, we're all in it, aren't we, one way or another?”.
Maybe it's the scale of things or, more likely, it's because the
biggest fraudsters are the same people who are ruthlessly imposing
austerity on the populace. So, it's not only a question of degree but
also of fundamental equity. In the good times, of course, this
doesn't apply. It's a free-for-all.
And
one which many politicians and businessmen thought, thanks to the EU,
would never end. Hence all the empty new roads and airports, like
that in Castellón and this one in Murcia – Corvera. No
doubt all the feasiblity plans were signed off by competent,
independent accountants. Who, somehow, never got to play “What if?” on
their computers.
Finally
. . . Today I decided I'd been an Epicurean for at least the last 15
years, but probably much longer. Epicureanism must not be confused,
as it ususally is, with hedonism, or even with the modern adjective
Epicurean. Meaning, basically, someone who likes good food and his
creature commforts. If you're intrigued, click here.
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