Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Yesterday saw the start of a two-day debate in the Spanish parliament on the state of the nation. Depending on which paper you read, President Zapatero either floored the hapless leader of the Opposition (El País) or was pummelled by him against the ropes (ABC). Either way, both embraced the Spanish tradition of labelling the other a liar.

In a follow-up post on the Spanish economy, Edward Hugh gives his take on the latest slew of statistics and says the process of correcting Spain’s various serious distortions has barely begun. The Economist recently carried an article on the high levels of unemployment here and, in the absence of public discontent, stressed that “Spain is lucky that strong social networks (helped by the black economy) help to prevent civil unrest.” As ever, the comments from Spanish readers are more interesting that the article itself.

Pending the arrival of the green shoots of recovery that Edward, for one, can’t yet see, El Mundo reports that Spain’s cajas (savings banks) have stopped publishing their balances and that none has announced its first quarter results. Looks a tad ominous.

Almost three months after I got the ticket – and 17 days after the date on it – I’ve now received notification of a parking fine of 100 euros. The offence is designated ‘serious’. As I was parked outside a ruined house in a cul-de-sac and not on any yellow lines or chevrons, one wonders what the criteria for a non-serious offence are. Or whether they exist at all.

Finally . . . My house in the hills has a malfunctioning water pump, located at the end of a rope down a deep well. The plumber I finally managed to get to come to see it a few weeks ago said I needed an electrician. Today, I succeeded in getting one of these to come to the house but he took one look at the well and said I needed a plumber. I’m not sure where I go from here. Perhaps a course in Plumbing Plus Basic Electrics.

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