Spanish
Politics 1: It's not only the majority of voters who are unimpressed
by the government of President Rajoy; after the Catalan debacle of
the weekend and the first half of this week, his predecessor in PP power - José María Aznar - has
publicly harangued him with ‘Your position is seriously
compromised’. "People will be asking" he claims, "why the Party of Government was incapable of leading the Constitutionalist forces in
Catalonia?". We all know the answer to that - utter
incompetence and rigid dogmatism. Not to mentions a total lack of common sense and diplomatic skills.
Spanish
Politics 2: As the PP wallows in
ignominy, incompetence and corruption, the "centre right' party
to watch is now Ciudadanos. This started in Cataluña not so
long ago but is now national - in the Madrid, not Catalan, sense of
the word. Its rise has been meteoric and it will
be fascinating - even to we residents who aren't allowed to vote - to
see how the party does in the December general elections.
Spanish
Politics 3: Cataluña: Here's the
estimable Don Quijones on the Catalan imbroglio. And here's the
equally estimable, always readable John Carlin on the same issue. DJ
opines The bitter tensions and
divisions, both within Catalonia and between Catalonia and Spain,
seem set to deepen and widen further, especially with the separatist
factions determined to continue with the secession process and
Spain’s central government seemingly determined to create judicial
martyrs out of Mas and his colleagues.
And JC opines: The point now is that the
Spanish government has to show some maturity and pragmatism and deal
with this issue: the world is as it is, not how we’d like it to be.
If for no other reason than political expediency, the starting point
has to be respect, which is precisely what Rajoy and company have so
conspicuously failed to show over the years. And the result is
political chaos in Spain and Catalonia, a chimps’ tea party.
Some hope.
Spanish
Internet Access: The national average is said to be a download
speed of 8.9 Mbps. I had to laugh. For 15 years, mine has never
reached even 1Mbps. Which is why I signed an 18m contract yesterday
for radio wi-fi which will rocket me up to a (promised) 3 megas! I'll be like a fly in the proverbial. At least for a day or so.
Finally
. . . A Nice Politician: I think I'd find it easy to vote for
Inés Arrimadas, leader of the successful Ciutadans party. Whatever
their policies are. Superficial? Moi?? Which reminds me . . . Someone told me last night that I have a reputation in Pontevedra for being obsessed with women. It's true, I replied. What on earth is there better to be obsessed about? I suspect it was meant to be a criticism.
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