Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*
Covid 19 in Spain and Galicia
The latest announcement of the Spanish government.
An interesting article which questions several of the assumptions, strategies and actions of the last months.
An unexplained sharp fall in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the Brazilian city of Manaus has led experts to consider whether a form of herd immunity has been achieved in the Amazonian capital. The city was once a symbol of the threat that the virus might pose to the developing world. Drone images of mass graves caused alarm around the world 4 months ago as Covid-19 ravaged the city and burials were running at five times their normal rate. Yet last week, despite no formal lockdown having been imposed, and tests suggesting only 20%% of its population has been infected by the disease, “excess deaths” were listed at close to zero.
Living La Vida Loca in Spain and Galicia
In the Catalan article I cited yesterday it’s claimed that 3/4 of the Spanish hate the founder of Inditex/Zara. The red poppy syndrome. Possibly this reflects the fact that the defining sin of the Spanish is said to be envy.
I’d never heard of the black Irish until I read this yesterday. But it wasn’t new to read again that both the Irish and Galicians have myths which insist that Ireland was colonists by Iberiains from here. . . The Goidels (Gaels), leave Egypt at the same time as the Israelites (the Exodus) and settle in Scythia. After some time they leave Scythia and spend 440 years wandering the Earth, undergoing a series of trials and tribulations akin to those of the Israelites, who spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Eventually, they reach Hispania by sea and conquer it. There, Goídel's descendant Breogán founds a city called Brigantia, and builds a tower from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland.[4] Brigantia refers to Corunna in modern-day Galicia, in Spain, (which was then known as Brigantium)[5] and Breogán's tower is likely based on the Tower of Hercules, which was built at Corunna by the Romans.
Says the the FT, in an article here and below: The 1978 constitution was a success because it achieved enviable political stability as Spain made its transition to democracy. But over time, the focus on stability has ended up eroding the Spanish political system. Worth a read if you want to understand Spanish (polarised) politics.
My TIE saga: I wondered yesterday if my problems had been caused by responsibility for issuing them being switched from the local to the national police. But, no, a check confirmed that both the normal and the temporary offices belong to the latter.
Talking of the infamous Irish bureaucracy, a friend has sent me this morning this report of Messi having to send a burofax to his employers, not just a simple, unregistered letter of notification of his desire to leave.
The Way of the World
To the current generation of youngsters, the use of a full stop/period at the end of a text message indicates an excess of emotion, specifically anger. Can it be much longer before punctuation marks are all seen to be colonialist, imperialist, hegemonic, and/or white-supremacist?
English/Spanish
Three more refranes:-
- You are what you own: Tanto tienes, tanto vales.
- You can judge a man by the company he keeps: Dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres.
- You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink: Puedes darle consejo a alguien pero no puedes obligarle a que lo saga.
Finally . . .
Google's Blogger seems determined to drive me away from it. Their lates irritation is to remove the ability to check the links you've inserted. I'm guessing Google will end Blogger soon, as they did with The Reader a few years ago. And Google +
THE ARTICLE
A Royal scandal shows Spain needs a more accountable democracy: The nation is paying a high price for the political stability it enshrined in 1978: Miriam Gonzalez Durántez, an international lawyer. [And also the wife of Nick Clegg]
The crisis of the Spanish monarchy has lifted the lid on a wider problem in Spain: the lack of checks and balances for those in power, and for political institutions generally. The country is divided between those who want to preserve the monarchy and constitution, and a growing minority who question them. However, the only way to guarantee the survival of the constitution is by introducing full political accountability into it.
Juan Carlos, Spain’s former king, fled to Abu Dhabi three weeks ago. His departure follows revelations of alleged financial irregularities over decades, including an offshore fund linked to an undeclared €65m “gift”from Saudi Arabia. The lack of transparency is such that it took two weeks for the royal palace to confirm his whereabouts, and there is no official confirmation on whether he will return to Spain. His departure looks dangerously close to being an exile.
Notwithstanding the gravity of the alleged misdeeds, Juan Carlos is unlikely to face trial for his actions while king. The Spanish constitution states the person of the king “is inviolable and not subject to [legal] responsibility”. Although the Supreme Court can consider cases related to actions after his 2014 abdication, one of the constitution’s drafters contends the inviolability still applies.
The reason why Spain’s political system grants such rights to the monarch is that, when the constitution was drafted in 1978, the main objective was to preserve the country’s political stability. After 40 years of dictatorship, Spain was transitioning to democracy.
Ensuring the irreversibility of the democratisation process was crucial. Unlike constitutions like that of the US, which aim to ensure that no one is too powerful, the Spanish constitution seeks stability at all costs. Power was concentrated within the political establishment, instead of being shared fully with the Spanish people so that the democratisation process could be properly controlled.
This explains why monarchs have so little accountability. But it also explains the excessive powers and privileges of the political establishment in comparison to their peers in other countries. In Spain, all members of the General Council of the Judiciary, which controls the justice system, are nominated by politicians. This has led to the increasing politicisation of the judicial system.
Politicians can also nominate absurdly high numbers of handpicked senior officials, without any transparency or meritocracy. Unlike ordinary Spanish citizens, politicians are tried only in higher courts, under the so-called system of aforamientos. Moreover, independent oversight bodies are simply non-existent. Even the national polling body is in the government’s hands.
If the Spanish constitution had an effective system of checks and balances, it would have been impossible for the alleged improprieties of Juan Carlos to have lasted decades without anybody — be that government ministers, senior officials, royal household staff, security personnel, the intelligence services, diplomats, businesspeople or journalists — denouncing such behaviour and triggering a prompt investigation.
It would have also been impossible for pervasive political corruption in Spain to have lasted for decades at all levels of governments and under political parties of all stripes. In the US, whistleblowing from a civil servant about the alleged misuse of public office by President Donald Trump kicked off an impeachment process last year.
In Spain, where there is not even protection for whistleblowers, a similar process is inconceivable.
The 1978 constitution was a success because it achieved enviable political stability as Spain made its transition to democracy. But over time, the focus on stability has ended up eroding the Spanish political system. If effective checks and balances were in place to hold the political establishment to account, perhaps there would not be so many Spaniards disenchanted with politics.
Given the persistent threats to the Spanish state’s unity from Catalan and Basque separatism, reform of the constitution is unquestionably a challenge. If badly handled, it could derail the political system and in turn break the country apart. But turning an outdated constitution into a fortress will do little to ensure its survival.
At the very least, a technical process of reform should be launched to start considering effective checks and balances for each and every political institution, including the monarchy. A constitutional reform that brings political accountability into the system is the only way to finish the process that started in 1978 but remains incomplete. This would be full devolution of democratic power from the political establishment to the Spanish people.
This article has been amended to make clear that prosecutors at the Supreme Court are investigating Juan Carlos
* A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant.