The King of Spain this week dipped his toe into the murky waters of North African politics. During a visit to Algeria, he voiced support for the Moroccan proposal to give Spain’s ex-colony, the Western Sahara, a large degree of autonomy. Spain has been in dispute with Morocco over this territory since the latter annexed it following Spain’s departure in the late 70s. As Algeria has claims to at least some of the place, in his response the president naturally made no reference to this proposal.

In his marvellous book Roads to Santiago, Cees Nooteboom comments:- “Nothing is more important to a Spaniard than his roots, his native region. Anyone hoping to truly understand Spain should read Gerard Brenan’s The Spanish Labyrinth, in which the importance of these local sentiments is so lucidly expressed” – Spain is the land of the ‘patria chica’. Every village, every town is the centre of an intense social and political life. As in classical times, a man’s allegiance is first of all to his native place, or to his family or social group within it, and only secondly to his country and government. In what one may call its normal condition, Spain is a collection of small, mutually hostile or different republics held together in a loose federation. At certain great periods (the Caliphate, the Reconquista, the Siglo de Oro) these small centres moved in unison; then, when the impetus given by this idea declined, they have fallen apart and resumed their separate and egoistic existence. It is this that has given its spectacular character to Spanish history”.

This seems to me to be as true in 2007 as it was in the 1930s when it was written. So I do hope it isn’t considered a superficial view of Spain.

Galicia Facts and Perspectives

So far this year, 19 pedestrians have been killed by motorists here, compared with ‘only’ 36 in the whole of 2006. The Voz de Galicia is running an on-line survey of who its readers think is responsible for this slaughter. Of the 2,371 who have voted so far, 45% blame the pedestrians themselves, against 34% for the drivers and 19% for the local authorities. Hmm.

International Appeal

If I make it, Friday’s blog will be number 1,000. And, if I’m very lucky, this will coincide with 50,000 hits. This requires around another 1,300. Or 433 a day. So could you all please try very hard and get your relatives and friends to log in. They don’t, of course, have to read any of it.

Incidentally, my blog ranks quite highly in the Top Blogs España list of those in English. Above it lies Biopolitical’s blog – to which I have nil objection. But also higher is a running account of a baby’s development by his bloody father. Now this does stick in the craw.