Twitteretter

In amongst all the US presidential election kerfuffle many, even in Spain, may have missed the sentence of the trial against Josep Lluis Trapero, the ex-commander in chief of Catalonian police, accused of rebellion by Spanish prosecutors. Major Trapero has been exonerated, to the chagrin of Spanish nationalists and the elation of Catalonian ones. The former will see it as evidence of a corrupt court system soft on independentists, the latter as evidence of an oppressing Spanish state. Both are extreme interpretations. It is no more than the completion of a normal process in society and evidence that the separation of powers in Spain is alive and well. An accusation with sufficient merit is brought, heard and adjudicated on the basis of the case built. For justice to be done, however, we still need to see Trapero restored to his role, if he still wishes to fulfil it, and the mitigation of any pecuniary and other personal damages the ultimately unsuccessful prosecution may have caused h...

The Spanish coalition government has just announced its first budget with a chance of coming into effect, given the precarious balances in the Spanish Congress. Progressive newspapers hailed it as the end of austerity and neoliberalism. Conservative ones received it with the moniker ‘the only effective tax increase in Europe’. I guess, given its moderation, it is difficult to criticize it on grounds of radicalism or fiscal irresponsibility. But there is no need. Single it out as going against perceived wisdom elsewhere, that should be enough to discredit it. Change, positive or negative, is only possible by being, at some point, the only something doing something. Without this pioneering, adventurous self-exposure, change is not possible. I, for one, am happy to see change. We know the status quo is not working for many. We know policies which are possibly sensible and logical elsewhere in the EU may not work in Spain. Thus, differing, in this case, is not good or bad, it just is  ...