MADRID | The new team in power in Spain never thought they could one day being mercilessly mauled by markets as the previous government was. Spanish Conservatism was supposed to stand as a safe harbour in a euro zone vastly dominated by fellow political parties. Swift implementation of sweeping reforms, coupled with an extremely tight budget, was expected to act as a powerful lever to winch up ailing credibility. And yet, Madrid…
His words appeared today scattered everywhere accompanied by odd yet expressive pictures, undoubtedly making for fitting material in the euro peripheral saga. He would have reaffirmed a commitment to abide by a deficit target that was negotiated rather than agreed with the European Commission, most accounts tell us, and scolded some his outspoken neighbours in a tit-for-tat monologue. Since Spain’s president Mariano Rajoy talked on Wednesday to his People’s Party parlamentary group,…
MADRID | Spain’s minister of Economy Luis de Guindos suggested, almost announced, without giving away much detail immediate reforms in health care and public education to adjust the final accounts of the State. The new austerity measures are meant to touch the very nerve in public spending since both departments sum up to one third of total government spending, apart from the pension system that belongs to another cash register. The…
MADRID | Governments become arrogant over time and the more arrogantly they behave, the worse they do their job. Indeed, arrogance is usually a bad influence, as it leads to confusion and errors. Former president of Catalonia and an old hand in Spanish politics, Jordi Pujol, in his latest memoirs wrote of former Spain’s presidents that José María Aznar’s political ambition dwindled away because of his pride and Rodríguez Zapatero’s did so…
MADRID | Elvira Rodríguez, who chairs the Spanish parliamentary committee on Economy and Competitiveness, and is a former State secretary for Budget and Expenditure, had two words to say about the government’s public budget: rigour and responsibility. Rodríguez published Monday an op-ed in the business daily Cinco Días, probably in advance of the heaviest wave of criticism that the country’s budget plans have had to endure during the last decade. She…
MADRID | The Spanish government claims the 2012 budget to be the toughest ever. On face value it embodies a 2.5% GDP deficit reduction, an awesome effort by any standard. Slashing expenditure amounts to two thirds of the squeeze, the rest falling on tax adjustments. Will budgetary crunch depress activity or axe main spending policies? A closer look dispels any anxiety over these daunting effects. Many of the cuts come…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | Spain’s 2012 budget brings a contraction in public spending of €18 billion and an increase in taxes of €9 billion, both items totaling €27 billion, which would put central government deficit at 3.5%. To reach the pursued 5.3%, the rest of the effort corresponds to the autonomous regional governments, not exactly the most successful part of the public administration in matters regarding austerity. In addition,…
By Juan Pedro Marín Arrese, in Madrid | The Spanish government will unveil today its budget bill for 2012. In the good old days, analysts and observers bent over its pages to find the clues for public sector priorities in the year. Nowadays you can dispose of such a demanding task. Brussels has unravelled its complexity, reducing the whole exercise to the simplistic aim to meet, no matter how, the deficit…
On March 29 at midday, while those joining the nation-wide protest in Madrid celebrated that a major store like Cortefiel had begun to close its doors, electricity demand recorded an almost imperceptible 1.5pc shorter fall that the 17.5% drop caused by the last general strike seen in the country, back in September. Having it had no discernible impact then, it seems rather logical to assume that this one will not leave any…
By Juan Pedro Marin Arrese, in Madrid | Big banks in Spain have entered the merger race purchasing former nationalised entities. This sudden shift from previous reluctance to get involved in rescue deals is seen by many observers as a move to fence off pressures to salvage Bankia. According to this view, there would be great concern in financial circles over an institution that seems too big both to fail and…