I guessed yesterday that President Zapatero would say nothing about the French president's current folies de grandeur, lest he lose the latter's support for his campagn to force out of President Bush an invitation to November's global finance conference in New York. El País tells us today that, in truth, Zap is concentrating all his personal energy on Sarko, seeing him as his greatest hope. So continued silence - or even support - must surely be expected.

El País quotes a German newspaper's support for Spain's attendance on the interesting grounds it was Spain who entered the crisis with the most recent experience of bank failures - in the early 90s - and so with the most tested regulatory measures aimed at preventing another one. The rest of the world, therefore, had something to learn from Spain. Which must all have been music to President Zapatero's ears. Perhaps his chances are rising. And maybe I will be making that apology in due course.

El País also has an article on 40 savings banks [cajas/caixas] here, stressing their exposure to the stalled construction sector and repeating the established conventional wisdom that mergers are inescapable.

The leader of one of Spain's national political parties has resigned his post, demonstrating considerable disenchantment at its internal workings. His parting advice was that his colleagues should try to be less 'sectarian, dogmatic and tribal'. Interestingly, the party is called The United Left.

Galicia

My UK visitor has now been here 3 days and has, alongside many positives, experienced three unforgettable negatives about Galicia. The first, of course, was the inedible pig's ear of Friday and the second two were:- 1. Tony bawling his kids off to school between 7 and 8am, and 2. Tony and his family holding a party until 5am of a Sunday morning and paying not the slightest heed to any interest their neighbours might have in getting off to sleep.

I should add he's also had the experience of being told at Pontevedra's only post office that they didn't have any stamps. Thank God for the tobacco shops.

My guest and I partook of my usual Sunday lunch of squid and Albariño down in Market Square at midday. After we'd been reading the papers for an hour or so, this little chat took place:-
Guest: Do you think we should give up this table now?
Me: Eh?
Guest: Well, are there people waiting for tables?
Me: Probably but what's that got to do with us?

Who says I'm not adaptable?