Just
going back to the intemperate response to my 5 points about the silly
mayor's Gibraltar montage (or, if you like, the mayor's silly
Gibraltar montage) . . . A Spanish friend simply couldn't understand
why I couldn't be bothered to reply to it in kind. She even drafted
an (insulting) response and was mortified when I declined to use it.
It's in the blood, it would seem.
The
Spanish economy may or
may not be improving. It may even, as the government claims, have bottomed
out and turned the corner, promising growth by the end of the year. But it's hard to say. On the negative hand, final figures for 2012 have increased the decline in
GDP, from -1.4% to -1.6%. On the positive hand, the 2nd quarter's GDP decline was much less than the 1st
quarter's, allowing the government to crow that the recession was
finally (almost) over. The one certain bright spot is continuing growth in
exports but this is offset by a continuing decline (37 months now) in
domestic demand. And the (official) unemployment figure continues to
be exceptionally high at 26%, with no one predicting it's going to
fall any time soon. As to public perception, one commentator reported
that "Spaniards on the street scoff
at proclamations of an end to the crisis." And the IMF has
sharply reduced next year's growth forecast from 0.7% to zero. Which
is less than encouraging. Their figures for 2015 and 2016 are growth
of 0.3% and 1.2% but I suspect we can take these with the proverbial
pinch of salt.
There
was an interesting contrast in parliamentary politics between
the UK and Spain this week. Here in Spain, delegates of the PP party
rallied around their beleaguered leader, Sr Rajoy, to protect him
from judicial investigation for corruption. Over in the UK last
night, several members of the Conservative party voted with the
Opposition to scupper David Cameron's plans for supporting the USA in
an attack on Syria. As a result, some say, Cameron is now holed below
the water-line and will soon be replaced as leader and, possibly,
Prime Minister. It's impossible to imagine this happening In the more tribal environment of Spanish politics.
I'm
not sure it has any real significance but Rajoy's PP party - having
refused to do anything about a mayor who made scurrilous remarks
about socialists shot during the civil war - has announced it's going
to take action against party members who, one way or another, evince
fascist - even Nazi - tendencies. I guess they could hardly do less,
even if their heart isn't really in it.
Finally
on the PP . . . It's confirmed that computers used by the
ex-treasurer accused of taking and making illegal payments have all
had their hard drives wiped. Just before being handed over to the
investigating judge. Nothing could better show a balls-out contempt
for the judicial process and for the public. Not many of whom, it's
reported, believed Sr Rajoy's protestations of innocence last month. And who could blame them?
Talking
of judges . . . The Spanish criminal system is founded on an initial
investigation by a judge, who decides whether and how things are to
proceed further. These judges thus become media figures, especially
if they're young, female and pretty. And so they come under pressure
both from the media and the government. Perhaps this is why the
Spanish public are rather less positive about their judiciary than is
the case in other countries. In a word, they see corruption there as
well as elsewhere.
Well,
something must be happening in respect of my mobile phone; while my
previous phone languishes in the shop where it's going to be
'liberated', the one Movistar lent me tells me my September bill just
rose to 9 cents. Maybe I'll understand this when I get a paper copy.
If
you don't understand how rugby works or if you want to see what's
claimed to be the greatest-ever try, click here.
Finally
. . . Some statistics on Americans I've just read:-
76%
believe in the biblical account of creation
79%
believe that the miracles in the Bible actually took place
76%
believe in angels, the devil and other immaterial souls
67%
believe they will exist in some form after death
Only
15% believe that Darwin's theory of evolution is the best explanation
for the origin of human life on earth
Wow. If
you've got a humanist agenda in the USA, you're certainly up against
it.
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