Europe – Spain

Impunity and Excess, Desperation and Violence: Two Worlds Collide in Spain

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By Don Quijones: Normally these two worlds co-exist relatively peaceably, barely cognizant of the other’s existence. Every now and then, their paths may intersect, only to quickly decouple. But this week they suffered a head-on clash.

Financial Tiki-Taka: Ugly Side of the ‘Beautiful Game’ in Spain

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By Don Quijones: On the surface and on the pitch, Spanish football has never been better. The national team of once-perpetual underachievers has won two European Championships and one World Cup in the last six years, a feat unmatched by any other European nation.

Epic Duel In Spain Between The Politically Connected CEO Of A Collapsed Bank And A Judge

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By Don Quijones: In most places these days, it’s probably easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than it is to pass a corrupt CEO of a failed bank through a wide-open prison gate. But a judge in Spain tried – and it’s costing him dearly.

Freedom Or Subjugation? It’s (Not) Your Choice

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By Don Quijones: While many Spaniards may spit bile and venom at the merest suggestion of Catalonian autonomy, they would do well to ask themselves what happened to their own national sovereignty. How is it, for example, that Spain is taking orders on virtually all economic matters from men in black dispatched from Brussels and Frankfurt?

The Rajoy Horror Picture Show Lumbers On

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By Don Quijones: Two years ago, Mariano Rajoy rode a wave of public anger to victory in Spain’s general election. The man who could never win anything was suddenly gifted the closest any politician can hope to get to absolute power in an ostensibly democratic society. 

Catalan Politician Does Unthinkable, Threatens Spain’s Creditors

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By Don Quijones: There are things politicians should never do – assuming they want to hold on to their jobs. Using the dirty “s” word (sovereignty) is a definite no-no. Also high up on the list of “don’t dos” is threatening the interests of foreign creditors and bondholders.

Spain, No Country For Young Men

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By Don Quijones: Despite a miraculous economic “recovery,” EU-wide youth unemployment hit 24%. New records were set in Spain (56.5%), Greece (57.3%), Italy (40%), and France (26%). The warnings from history are clear: governments that allow youth unemployment to escalate, do so at their own peril.

Portrait of a Kleptocrat

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For a certain segment of the population in Spain, albeit quite a small one, life has never been better.

This Is What Happens When A Spanish Judge Sends A Senior Banker to Jail

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By Don Quijones: Four months ago, Miguel Blesa, ex-CEO of failed Caja Madrid and senior member of the governing Popular Party, was in jail. Accused of felonies ranging from irregularities in Caja Madrid’s purchase of City National Bank of Florida to wrongful “appropriation of funds,” Blesa was not even granted bail by the judge. But now he is free, and the judge is in trouble.