So,
where are we in the Never-Never world of the Catalan independence
referendum, originally schedule for 9 November? Well, following the
Constitutional Court's verdict of illegality, the plans for it
have been formally shelved but the process will continue.
Whatever that means. And the people of Barcelona, like those of Hong
Kong, have flooded the streets under umbrellas to demand that the
referendum takes place. The Spanish government, of course, continues
to insist it won't and their spokesperson has sanctimoniously said
that without law (and adherence to it), there's no democracy. As I've
said, this is hard to stomach from a party which clearly thinks the
anti-corruption laws don't apply to its national, regional or local
administrators. Including those who hang on to power while sitting in
the dock. And they accuse the Brits of hypocrisy!
Which
reminds me . . . The Justice minister resigned a week ago, after
failing to keep his ('reactionary') abortion bill in the government's
program. This week it's been announced he's joining the Consultative Council of the Madrid Region. He'll attend
one meeting a week and get €8,500 for doing so, or €102,000 a
year. Perhaps €119,000, if he gets the standard Spanish arrangement
of 14 months' payments. So he didn't exactly hurl himself into the
void when he resigned, on principle.
You
may recall the American plan to build a mega-casino outside Madrid
which aborted a year or so back. Well, a new project has surfaced, to
be financed by a Chinese businessman. Truly does politics (and
economics) make for strange (but wealthy) bedfellows.
Talking
of economics . . . Spain's budget for 2015 sees growth rising from
the last forecast of 1.8% to 2.0%, and unemployment falling from 25%
to 23%. Let's keep our fingers crossed, especially for the 350,000
who are forecast to find employment. Though possibly not in
education, where the budget has been slashed again, taking the
reduction to 25% over the past 4 years. And it's not as if Spain were a big spender in this vital area.
Talking
of 2015 budgets . . . That for public expenditure here in Galicia has
the AVE high-speed train at the head of the list, by a long way.
Whether this is justifiable is highly debatable but one thing's for
sure - the original finish date is many years in the past and the
actual finish date is many years in the future. But no one seems to
care much. And no heads will ever roll. Así son las cosas.
Finally
. . . In a small town near the Galician city of Lugo, our own brand
of nationalist terrorists struck again this week, blowing up bits of
the town hall and nearby houses. Fortunately, this was at 4am and no one was injured.
That said, this is 'progress' from their normal targets of rubbish
bins and cash machines.
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