What is wrong with politics in Spain?

[El Profesor]

For some time now I have been bemused at people talking about when "La crisis" is over .... as if it is a seasonal or cyclical thing.
I remember Spain (and Ireland) were the poorest countries of Europe before the injections of funds from Brussels. And nothing much has changed since then ... it all works about the same ... there always has been high unemployment, that's nothing new.

I don't see the "crisis" as a cyclical thing, I see it as a permanent state.
I just can't see any sign of the politicians here having any sort of strategy other than close everything down and hope nobody will intervene from outside. They can never admit it is their fault.
I really can't see how Spain can drag itself out of this stagnant apathy.

And then last week I read this article in "El País". It was the whole centre page spread of the Sunday edition and it is a chapter from a forthcoming book.

For me this article is spot on ....
it's quite long but if anyone has time to plough through it, I recommend it. The best article I've read about current politics in Spain.
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2012/09/08/actualidad/1347129185_745267.html
link

In a nutshell .....
it explains how the political classes in Spain have become an undemocratic self interested machine for creating economic bubbles;
building - we all know about that first hand; renewable energy - we are paying 15% of the total global premium for renewable energies in our electricity bills; useless infrastructure - roads that go nowhere, airports with no flights; the systematic looting and bankruptcy of most of the savings banks........ and that is to name but a few.

All these are being treated as external problems ... as acts of God .... like an eartquake - there are victims but it is nobody's fault.
The perpetrators are a bloated political class that is constitutionally undemocratic - they have closed list where you vote for a party and they choose who stands (cronies and cousins mainly) - who have become an "extractive elite" with their own interest before the national interest. (PP and PSOE both)

This explains why they are prepared to close down the country rather than have any sort of sovereign intervention.

The article goes on to argue that rather than have political reform imposed on them, they will take Spain out of the Euro and soon.
This of course would be catastrophic for Spain, but - rather like Assad in Syria - they would rather be in control of a diminished host than have their power taken away.

That's a nutshell - (except the comparison with Assad ... that was me. In the article the comparison is a giant vampire squid like Goldman Sachs)

I think it is a frightening, sad and depressing read. But it is very well written.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Funnily enough, OH sent me the link to the article which I read shortly before seeing your post.  I have to say it left me feeling depressed.  The question nagging me is, is there anything at all we plebs can do to throw out our overlords and restore democracy?  Then I realise there doesn't seem to be, outside of outright revolution in the streets, and I get more depressed. 

[Guanche]

It's frightening to think this was the situation prior to the last civil war! and the minor one before that. The only difference between then and now is that the people have a vote now. Part of the problem is there are only two main parties and there exactly the same. Bit like the Uk now I think about it!

The problem, as I see it, is that there's too many chiefs and too many Indians. The bureaucracy would put Russia to shame.
There is institutional corruption at every level and every one knows  it. Even when caught the investigation takes years to conduct and years to get to court. When it does get to court the sentencing is weak to say the least. Take the Marbella corruption scandal, 10's of millions of euro stolen by the council and local government. The scale was vast. But still almost 10 years on the offenders have not been sentenced. Justice must not only be done it must be seen to be done. In Spain its not.

The central Government in Madrid seems  to be just a figurehead with little or no power. The real power in the country seems to rest with the regional presidents. As I said to many chiefs.

[Janet]

it's late and I don't have time and I'm tired ... but I just wanted to say ....

I don't see the "crisis" as a cyclical thing, I see it as a permanent state.
I just can't see any sign of the politicians here having any sort of strategy other than close everything down and hope nobody will intervene from outside. They can never admit it is their fault.
I really can't see how Spain can drag itself out of this stagnant apathy.

Agreed, totally ...

there doesn't seem to be, outside of outright revolution in the streets

well Cataluña had a massive massed protest rally the other day. I wouldn't rule this out ...

[Perikles]

I think it is a frightening, sad and depressing read. But it is very well written.

Agreed. Excellent article. It really does appear that regional governments have far too much power to spend public money for reasons which are not in the public interest, throwing money at useless projects where only the construction company gains, and whoever is involved, doubtless the politicians themselves. It is worth noting that as the article states, there is nothing wrong with decentralization, but the implementation has to be right. Germany is technically a federation of states, but they have a strong central government which has financial control, and everything seems to work well (no surprise there!) whereas in Spain the various levels of government seem to operate independently of each other and for self-serving reasons.

It looks to me like the inevitable effect of a very immature and inefficient democracy which hasn't worked out how to operate very well yet. Another comparison with Germany: they had their constitution of a federation of states set up for them by the allies after WWII, so they hit the ground running in 1947. In Spain, facists are still operating and pretending to be democrats.

[El Profesor]

It looks to me like the inevitable effect of a very immature and inefficient democracy which hasn't worked out how to operate very well yet. Another comparison with Germany: they had their constitution of a federation of states set up for them by the allies after WWII, so they hit the ground running in 1947. In Spain, facists are still operating and pretending to be democrats.

  yep

[Perikles]

Perhaps it is a relief to know that things are perhaps even worse in Italy, with a touch of absurdity which only they can provide. Here is an example of misuse of public funds which is probably just one of many. I don't see why the funds are public, not party funds, unless the state gives the political parties some pocket money.

Note the regional president Polverini spends 75,000 euros a year on party photographs and has her personal secretariat consists of 189 assistants, and she is supposed to be a good guy. 

[Janet]

Thousands protesting in central Spain now for the third day on the trot ...

[Janet]

and now an article in the Guardian about it too ... HERE ...

in a nutshell:

As Spaniards respond with dismay to the violence shown by demonstrators, who launched attacks on police, and the response of some riot police, during scuffles in the area around Madrid's parliament building last week, the long-running drama of the country's deflating economy has lurched into a newly confrontational stage, amid fears that there will be more violence to come.
...

Ministers have said that €10bn (£8bn) of cuts and tax increases must come in next year's budget just to cover a leap in interest payments. On Friday night, they said a coming round of bank bailouts, paid for by the eurozone rescue fund, would send the country's debts soaring by some €50bn. Spending is to be cut by 7% next year, bringing another wave of cuts in health, education and other welfare services. Yesterday, Spain's civil servants heard that, for the third year running, their wages were being frozen.

A period of calm in Europe's more troubled economies created by the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, when he announced plans to buy the debt of countries who asked for bailouts in the future, also seemed to have come to an end. And with the threat of Catalan separatism adding to worries about Rajoy's ability to control events in Spain, many now expect him to ask for a full bailout for the country – placing it in the hands of those who have forced Greece, Portugal and Ireland into round after round of spending cuts.
...

With unemployment at 25%, however, and the economy already set to shrink for the next two years, Spaniards see no end to the tunnel of misery.

[Guanche]

In some way I feel sorry for the Spanish Government. Everything I have read so far says that until recently the government has been fiscally sound. The problem being, in the main, a banking and construction problem, and not forgetting the institutional corruption.
But ultimately it's the governments fault for turning a blind eye to the problem and a massive lack of forward planning.

Spain is now like a small village in the Alps in winter, just waiting for the avalanche. The only thing thats stopping it is silence. As soon as someone shout's for help...........