Spain
is different:
I've occasionally smiled at the tendency here to sometimes quote
numbers to the second place of decimals, theorising that its purpose
is to give specious accuracy to dubious data. The government's
numbers on the growth/decline of property sales would be one example.
And possibly an unemployment number of 26.24%. But, in two important
areas, the opposite obtains. When it comes to exam marks, they're
always given out of 10, albeit to one decimal place. Say, 6,5. And
blood pressure readings are (usually) given as, say, 13/9, rather
than 139/99. I'm not sure whether the latter is a significantly more
important number but I think it is.
This
morning came the unprecedented news that “An anti-corruption drive
has netted an executive accused of cavorting with gigolos, a young
woman who owns 11 apartments, a provincial official with 47
mistresses and a deputy-mayor with ties to a drug gang.” No, not
Spain but China. This couldn't happen here. An anti-corruption driven
by the government? I don't think so. Leave it to the police and the
(even slower) courts.
Talking
of corruption . . . I've mentioned the accusations made against the
ex president of the Ourense provincial government. A man who's
singlehandedly kept alive the 18th-19th century concept of
the corrupt political baron(cacique). Well, President Rajoy
came back to Pontevedra again for Xmas and some reporter asked him
what he had to say about corruption in the Galician branch of his PP
party. “I am here for
something else today”, he said, fly-whisking the question. His
appointee to the position of President of the Galician government, Sr
Feijoo, (we have an awful lot of presidents) was also asked by El
País to say something about the allegations against the Ourense
ex-president. “Well, we know that the PSOE party made the
allegations in 2010” he said, “and that the full force of the
courts must come down on him, if proved guilty. But, until that
happens, he is an innocent man.” He then moved on to another
subject, having said precisely nothing about corruption.
Incidentally, the cacique is now reported to have filled 400
of 475 council positions with people from or connected with his
family. So he was pretty subtle about it all. He's referred to, by
the way, as Baltar1, Baltar2 being the son he crowned as his
successor. To an elected position. Only in Galicia? I doubt it.
Sr
Baltar is not the only Galician provincial president with a cloud
over his head. Our own Pontevedra province incumbent is a man who's
said to have gone from relatively poor origins to a millionaire
lifestyle. On a civil servant salary. He hasn't, though, been accused
of anything. Officially. And it may well be a case of smoke without
fire. Envious gossipers and all that.
I
mentioned enchufes
the other day, the practices of nepotism and croneyism. Reader Sierra
has kindly told me of a good example of the latter. The Parador chain
– long regarded as one of the best things about Spain – is in
serious financial trouble. In 2007 it moved out of profit and into
losses which have continued ever since. This coincided with the
appointment of a chief executive who knew nothing about tourism or
hotels but was a close friend of the then Spanish President, Sr.
Zapatero. Of course, one can't say his (mis)management was behind
this change of fortune but it would be a tad annoying if he were paid
bonuses during this period. For one thing. What's hard to understand
is why Rajoy didn't dump him in favour of his own placeman when he
came to power a year ago. Possibly got more important matters in his
in-tray.
Talking
of bonuses, I received from my friend Dwight this morning a schedule
of salaries, bonuses, pensions and pay-offs given to bankers who've
been let go during the industry restructuring of the last year or
two. The sums are staggering but what's particularly interesting is
that around 40 bankers declined to give their numbers to the Bank of
Spain. I guess they'll be the first to swing, come the revolution.
See the details here.
And
talking of the Paradors . . . I tried to make a reservation for
Wednesday in Ferrol. I entered 9.1.2013 but the confirmation kept
coming up 1.9.2013. The breakfast also seemed steep at 28 euros a
head. When I phoned to make the booking, I was told the price was 16
a head. If this sort of nonsense is going on all over the country, no
wonder business is being lost. And you do have to blame Zapatero's mate, for a fish, as they say, always stinks from the head.
Finally
– and to lighten the mood - here's a nice story from the doyen of
BBC Radio2, Terry Wogan:- A few years back, a listener of mine
told a tale of his grandparents during an air raid. As the sirens
went off, everybody in the house rushed out to the relative safety of
the good old Anderson shelter. As they ran, the grandma stopped
suddenly and turned to run back .
“Where
are you going, woman?” shouted her husband.
“I’ve
left me teeth indoors!” came the reply.
“For
heaven’s sake!” roared Granddad, “They’re droppin’ bombs,
not sandwiches!”
For
me, this story doesn't quite ring true; there are no expletives before 'bombs' and 'sandwiches'.
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