The
front pages of all Spanish papers today majored (and minored) on the
slash and burn program announced by President Rajoy yesterday. In
pursuit of a deficit of 3% by 2014, from anything between 6 and
8% as of now. Benefits cuts, tax increases and an attack on the
comfortable life of civil servants, which probably won't make much
difference to anything but is certainly symbolic. Bang goes their
Christmas bonus of an extra month's salary and wham goes their extra
paid holidays. In the short term at least, I suspect their
productivity will decrease rather than increase. But this may not
impact on the Spanish economy at all. Meanwhile, given all the
pronouncements made and assurances given since he won the general
elections last November, the question is whether Sr Rajoy is smart or
stupid. Or just another lying politician who makes it up as he goes
along, 'guided' by Mrs Merkel and the Brussels Secretariat.
As
I recall, a year or more ago Edward Hugh forecast that the Spanish
economy would end up effectively being managed from Brussels. I
thought of this when reading this paragraph:-
El Pais has
stunned the nation by publishing the leaked “Memorandum” imposed
by the eurozone’s creditor bloc as the condition for Spain’s
€100bn bank rescue. The
draconian terms include an EU takeover of the Spanish financial
system, with calls for haircuts on €67bn of junior and hybrid bank
debt, a bad bank to wind down crippled lenders, “on-site” raids
by inspectors, and intrusive demands across the gamut of fiscal
policy.
So, is this Mrs M's revenge for being ambushed by Sr Rajoy and M
Hollande at one of their recent crisis meetings? There've been so
many of these, one is easily confused as to which one.
Once
upon a time, there were two Galician savings banks, both stuffed with
directors on high salaries. These were Caixa Galicia and Caixa
Nova. Forced by failure to merge, they became the mouthful
NovaCaixa Galicia. Because
both of them had to be fully represented in the new name, regardless
of any other considerations. After a year, a bow was made in the
direction of simplicity, common sense and reality and the entity
became Novagalicia Banco. But only in regions in the north
west of Spain. Elsewhere, it became EVO, "The intelligent
bank." Got it? Confused? Well, stuff you. You're only the
customer, actual or potential. In Spain, you hardly ever count.
Talking
of customers . . . Big problems for 02 in the UK yesterday and today.
As you may know, the company is owned by Spain's MoviStar
(Telefónica). I've just heard their spokesman duck the
question of whether there'll be any cash recompense. So it'll be
interesting to see whether customers are being treated better than
they probably would have been back home in Spain.
I
touched the other day on whether talking on your phone while driving
lacks the stigma here it has elsewhere. The same question occurred to
me about smoking when I saw two young women puffing away on the table
next to mine today. Interestingly, the young man with them wasn't
smoking, a not uncommon scenario these days. I
suppose one could, if one wished, adduce it in evidence for the claim
that, for all the good it does them, men are smarter than women. More
seriously, I read today that stopping smoking leads to an average
weight gain of five kilos. Which probably weighs heavier on the minds
of Pontevedra's young Twiggies than any possibility of shrivelling
their lungs years from now.
I
was hailed in the Corner this morning by an accountant who,
introduced to me by a mutual friend, did some work for me last year.
We talked about Panama hats and I took the opportunity to press her
for a (long-overdue) bill. She told me not to worry about this. And
then went and paid for my coffee. Or 'invited' me, as they say in
Spain. What can I do? This is Spain and I'm never going to get a bill. So, I'm in hock to her. She has a favour in my(her?) favour bank
and I must now reciprocate some time before I die. Though God knows
how. I'll talk to our mutual friend about this. I hope she doesn't
want English lessons . . .
Finally
. . . Miscellania
-
Three
biscuits today in the Corner!
I suppose I could ask Aquilino to stop being so generous.
-
The café's original name was Porta
da Vila.
Which I'm pretty sure is Gallego/Galego for City Gate. And there can
be no doubt that, walking up from the port and past the bullring,
George Borrow entered the city through this gate, at the start of his
few days here in the late 1830s.
-
If you get an email saying you have a private message from someone
you know, bin it. It's the latest phorm of phishing. Don't click on
the message.
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