Only Joe King

By Only Joe King

Which European country has the most successful economy in Europe at the moment? Germany, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden? The UK, following a successful Brexit? Ha, ha, ha!!!

Nope, amigos míos, it’s SPAIN!

Economic growth

According to the latest figures, in 2022, Spain had the highest rate of growth among European nations, at 5.5%.

At the other end of the league table, in bottom place, below Russia, is that newly independent offshore island, the United Kingdom, despite all the advantages of Brexit. 

Russia is in a self-inflicted state of chaos, brought about by the illegal invasion of Ukraine, yet their rate of growth is above the UK, despite draconian sanctions, economic isolation and secuestered bank accounts abroad.

Spain has achieved this mark despite the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine, Covid-19, the energy crisis, supply problems, inflation, the rise in interest rates and the global slow-down.

Not to mention domestic issues such as the Catalunya question, the pardoning of Basque terrorists, domestic violence, abortion, VOX, Morocco, Solo sí es sí, strikes and the ongoing Covid-19 threat.

Yet prime minister Pedro Sánchez is pilloried throughout the land, even in former PSOE strongholds like Andalucía. He is not expected to form the next government after the general election later this year.

Despite being regarded on the world stage as statesmanlike, Sánchez is clever, charismatic and good-looking, with his command of English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Unlike his predecessors Mariano Rajoy, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (nickname Mr Bean), José María Aznar and Felipe González, who were mono-lingual when in office, and his presumed successor Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who is about as charismatic as ….. Sir Keir Starmer ….. and who speaks only castellano and gallego, surely a serious disadvantage for a senior politician nowadays.

So, well done, Spain! The future is looking promising with the return to pre-pandemic tourism levels.

Population growth

Alongside this economic growth, the population is also growing with a surge in foreign immigrants moving to the country. Spain is now home to more inhabitants than ever before. Census data published this week by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), puts the number of people registered as resident in Spain on January 1st 2022 at 47,475,420, a historical high, and 90,313 more inhabitants compared to the previous year (a 0.19% increase).

The increase in population is mainly due to a rise in the foreign population, which increased by 102,784 people to 5,542,932 people and now accounts for 11.7% of the national total.

In Málaga province alone in 2022, the population grew by 5.3%, ie 14,343 people. In the province of Málaga, foreigners now account for nearly 17% of the population, although in some municipalities the numbers are much higher.

In Benahavís 60% of the population is foreign, in Cómpeta and Sayalonga over 40%. In Fuengirola 37%. In Manilva, Nerja and Torrox the proportion is above 35%. One third of the population of Mijas is foreign.

Of these recent newcomers, the most are British (despite or, more likely, because of Brexit), followed by immigrants from Italy, Argentina, Germany, Russia, Colombia, France, Venezuela, Morocco and Poland. The total of registered British residents in Malaga province is over 56,000. From Morocco there are over 33,500, Italy 14,400 and Germany 9,500. Poles are relative newcomers and number 2,300.

With the Andalucia regional government offering tax breaks for foreigners who invest in property here, these numbers are likely to increase in the near future.

© Joe King

Sources:

El País

INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística)

SUR in English

Wikipedia

www.lamoncloa.gob.es 

Further Reading:

HOW TO ….. BUY A HOUSE by The Crazy Guy  

Tags: Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Argentina, Benahavís, Brexit, Colombia, Cómpeta, Crazy Guy, economic growth, Felipe González, France, Fuengirola, Germany, INS, Italy, Joe King, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, José María Aznar, Manilva, Mariano Rajoy, Mijas, Morocco, Nerja, Poland Russia, Sayalonga, SUR in English, Torrox, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Wikipedia

By Joe King

Joe King lost/mislaid his wallet last Friday night. He and his wife had gone out with another couple for dinner in a nice restaurant. After the meal he had his wallet out to pay. That’s the last time he can remember seeing it. The following morning when he looked for it he realised it was nowhere to be found!

I rang our friends to see if it had fallen on the floor of their car. Blank!

I rang the restaurant. The person who answered (our waiter from the night before, I think) replied that the cleaning lady hadn’t mentioned anything. A strange answer. Hmm!

I rang the Oficina de Objetos Perdidos at the Policía Local in Ronda but nothing had been handed in. “Try again on Monday,” said the bobby on the phone.

Mmm! It looked like my wallet containing 300€ in cash (I’d just been to the cajero), all my IDs, driving licence, health cards, tarjeta65, store cards, etc, was gone. Bugger, that meant I’d have to block my bank cards as a matter of urgency. Over the weekend I cancelled everything I could, which was not much, because most places do not have a 24 hour emergency telephone at weekends.

It then occurred to me that I was due to fly to the UK for a funeral in a few days. I had my passport still, but would I get back into Spain without my residence permit (TIE)? According to the internet, No, I wouldn’t! S**t!

On Monday morning I passed by the Policía Local. They had an amazing array of wallets, mobiles, ID cards, which had been handed in, but not mine, unfortunately.

So, next I went to the Comisaria de Policía Nacional to make a denuncia, necessary for applying for a duplicate TIA and driving licence. They reassured me that I would have no problem re-entering Spain after my trip abroad. Phew!

The rest of Monday I spent applying for a new Spanish health card, EHIC (European health card), and tarjetasesentaycinco. I also set in motion the process of getting a replacement TIE and carnet de conducir.

And I bought a new wallet to put all my new cards in, when I get them.

Tuesday was a local fiesta so I couldn’t do much.

On Wednesday first thing I got a phone call from the Policía Local: they had my wallet! Amazing! I went to collect it immediately. It had been posted to them anonymously.

I checked the contents: everything was there …. Except the 300€ cash, of course!

So, it seems reasonable to conclude that whoever found my wallet, either in the restaurant or on the ground outside, snaffled the cash and sent the remaining items to the cops.

But thank God for that! That’s why I called this piece “Honour amongst thieves”. At least the “thief” was nice enough to let me have back all the stuff that he or she didn’t want, saving me a huge amount of stress, inconvenience and cost. Most places don’t charge for replacement cards, just some banks, the DGT and Ministro de Interior.

But, this episode turned out to be very costly overall; especially the meal on Friday night:

110€ for two meals

300€ “stolen”

Total: 410€

The dearest meal for two I’ve ever had, by far!

A harsh lesson, to boot!

The food was delicious, by the way! But it always is at Restaurante Almocabar in Ronda.

© Joe King

Tags: Almocabar, bank card, cajero, carnet de conducir, comisaria, denuncia, DGT, dinner, driving licence, EHIC, European health card, Joe King, oficina de objetos perdidos, policia local, policia nacional, restaurant, Ronda, Spanish health card, tarjetasesentaycinco, TIE