I wrote yesterday that only the Spanish can increase their self-belief and change the negative perception of the country that holds sway elsewhere. Actually, I’d go further and say all depends on whether Spanish women move to improve things. So, I think I’ll do my bit by voting only for women candidates from now. This is despite the fact I’m more terrified at the prospect of being ruled by María Teresa Fernández de la Vega than Graeme over at South of Watford is in respect of Esperanza Aguirre. But things could be worse; my elder daughter could take Spanish nationality in a few years and rise to become President. Or take the quick but horizontal route by doing a Bruni. God forbid.

Talking of Spain’s external image . . . . The Spanish can be a bit confused – and confusing - when it comes to race and racism. Possibly because their innate sense of fun and their live-and-let live attitude are taken to extremes. It’s commonplace here to hear comments like “I’m certainly not a racist, though I hate gypsies.” Then the speaker goes on to explain that something the rest of the world regards as racist really can’t be as:- 1. It wasn’t meant to hurt, and 2. Anyway, it was funny. Having penned that, I’ve just seen this prime example of the genre from a Spanish commentator on a Times article about the weekend taunting of Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona:- Dressing up for fun is part of the Spanish culture, so what is wrong with dressing up as a black person? If Hamilton were to be blonde, they would have carried blonde wigs. There is no racism in that picture. I imagine we’ll now get quite a lot of what might be called the Luis Aragones defence in respect of the insults hurled at Hamilton. By which I don’t mean the [acceptable] banners calling him a bigmouth. More seriously, with immigration having very rapidly reached the level it is now in Spain, I fear the racism problem here will get worse before it gets better. Especially if the economic downturn becomes a recession. There are testing times ahead for the Spanish view of themselves on this issue. Perhaps it’s illustrative that the media here seemed to pretty much ignore the Hamilton episode until the threat of cancellation of the Spanish Grand Prix.

During a BBC Radio 4 discussion of the current credit crisis, two comments were made about the City of London which made me think of Spain’s property boom. Not sure why but here they are:--
When greed becomes rampant, fear of risk is anaesthetised, and
There never has been a boom which stopped at the right time.

Another Radio 4 program talked of the astonishing scientific advances in the Arab world a thousand years ago, including a theory on natural selection which foreshadowed Darwin’s. Coincidentally, BBC 4’s TV series on Spanish Art began last week with a eulogy to the fantastic Arabic architecture of Cordoba and Sevilla. I guess one day all Spaniards will be able to see this as a source of pride. Which I suspect is not quite true right now.

Finally . . . There are two more links on this blog today. These are to new offerings from me, entitled How to Drive in Spain and How to treat Strangers. I shall be adding to them as and when things happen to me during my daily grind. I prefer this option to the one of boring readers of this blog with my petty gripes. Honest. If you go to the one on driving, be sure to read the first entry of yesterday, as this gives a basic grounding.