Dawn

Dawn

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Legal immunity; Corrida risks; Ana Mato's high living; A Brexit?; Football foolishness; & Book booing.


Well, the new Spanish king may have inherited legal immunity from his father but Queen Letizia hasn't. He can sue her for divorce but she can't sue him. Meanwhile, 2 people are trying to get the courts to prove they are illegitimate offspring of the old king but time isn't in their favour; the Spanish government is racing to restore the immunity he lost when he abdicated.

There comes a point in every bullfight when the matador turns his back on the exhausted bull and struts arrogantly towards one section of the crowd - usually after he's triumphantly placed his sword on the bull's lowered brow. I guess the theory is that the beast is now too confused, weakened and exhausted to take advantage of the situation offered him. But this week José Tomás - widely considered Spain's best living torero - painfully discovered he'd committed the tyro's mistake of turning his back on an angry and resentful beast who still had the strength to go for him. And poor José was severely gored as a reward for his misplaced presumption. Sic transit gloria mundi, as they say in the bull pen.

El Espía en el Congreso tells us that the Minister of Health, Ana Mato, is implicated in the so-called Gurtel corruption case, having had numerous luxury hotel bills paid for around the world, as well as the hire or purchase of 8 luxury cars for herself and her husband. None of this, he says, has appeared in the Spanish media "for fear of publicity reprisals'. Which means withdrawal of finance, I guess. A free press?

If you follow the "EU, In or Out" saga in the British media, you'll know from Richard North that a Brexit - however desirable - is almost certainly a lost cause. Which is odd. As, if you read Matthew Parris in today's Times (sorry, paywall) you'll find he's convinced that a Brexit is virtually certain. "Britain is heading for the exit", he says. "Something seriously impressive has to be achieved to change our course". Which is exactly what North believes, except in the opposite direction. Confusing or what? One possible explanation for this dichotomy is that Parris is talking about the 'promised' 2017 referendum, whereas North says this is logistically impossible, if Cameron is to achieve real changes to the British settlement with the EU. Not long now.

In tonight's World Cup game, the ITV commentator - Clive Tyldesley - informed us that "Lots of the Iranian players display their Christian names on their shirts". Really, Mr Tyldesley? Players representing The Islamic Republic of Iran have Christian names?

Talking of footballing stupidity - I see that the highest paid World Cup coach is one Fabio Capello, who gets 6m quid a year for coaching Russia, after failing with England. It must make sense to someone. The oligarchs, I assume

Finally . . . There's said to be a great to-do in Spain about the sale in El Corte Inglés of books advising parents how to prevent or stop their kids being homosexual. However unscientific these may be, it strikes me that, in a country boasting free speech, there's little one can or should do about them.

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