Spanish troops in Iraq, Storms in Spain, David Beckham in the Pink Panther

According to the pulsometro, a survey carried out regularly by Cadena Ser to measure public opinion about current affairs, 72% Spaniards support Zapatero's decision to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq if the United Nations is not handed over control of the situation by June. Only 15% of those asked oppose it.

Meanwhile, the weather continues to be the main news item all over Spain, as some areas have been cut off because of heavy snowfall, and others have suffered serious flooding. In Rincon de la Victoria, a village on the Malaga coast in the South of Spain, the local schools and medical center are closed today due to floods, and several families have been taken to alternative accommodation. Hundreds of vehicles have been destroyed, and many beaches along the coast have just disappeared. According to weather forecasts, this weather is likely to continue until Wednesday.

And finally the Spanish press all mention today the rumour that David Beckham is negotiating an acting role in a new Pink Panther film. Apparantly if the negotiations go well, the Real Madrid player and captain of England, would have a role in the film as an English footballer (surprise surprise) who helps inspector Clouseau to solve the murder of a famous football trainer and the robbery of the Pink Panther diamond. Filming is due to start in May, and Kevin Kline, Beyonce Knowles and Jean Reno will apparantly act in the film which is due to be released in July 2005.

Who said Spring had arrived?

Terrible weather all over Spain this weekend. Civil Protection has warned 14 autonomous regions of the risk of heavy snow (Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Region, Castilla y Leon, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragon, Catalonia, Madrid y Castilla La Mancha) and heavy rain (Murcia, Andalucia and the Canary Islands). The Valencian Region remains in alert because of both (heavy rain and heavy snow). Here is a breakdown of the weather in Spain at the moment:

Asturias, Basque Country, Madrid and Cantabria - snow on ground 600-700 meters above sea level. At least 5 cm of snow is expected to fall in the next 24 hours.
Castilla y Leon - from 3 to 5 cm snowfall 700-900 m above sea level.
Navarra, Huesca, Catalonia and La Rioja - heavy snow 600 m above sea level.
Aragon - heavy snow 800 m above sea level
Castilla La Mancha - very heavy snow between 700 and 1,000 meters above sea level
Valencian Region - in Alicante, up to 100 liters of rain per square meter in 12 hours, and heavy snow 900 meters above sea level.
Andalucia - possibility of storms, heavy rain and hail.
Canary Islands - heavy rain.

This sudden burst of cold, winter weather has taken everyone by surprise and is bad news for Spanish farmers as crops are likely to suffer. All the fruit of trees which were in blossom before the bad weather started will be damaged. Almond farmers in the Alicante region say they have lost at least 25% which means that the production and price of local produces such as turron (nougat) will be affected this year.

Aznar's last meeting with Europe's leaders

Aznar attended his last meeting with European leaders today, when the EU met to discuss issues related to the new European Union Constitution and terrorism. According to el Pais, European leaders have appealed to the United Nations to adopt a greater role in the transition of Iraq.

Aznar has appeared in a press conference after the meeting to reiterate his position against withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq. He repeated that governments should not be seen to be giving in to terrorism - despite the fact that international public opinion is increasingly rejecting the thesis that Zapatero will take a soft line on terrorism and is accepting the fact that his decision to withdraw troops from Iraq was part of the PSOE manifesto long before the terrorist attacks in Madrid. Spanish troops will remain in Iraq under the Socialist government if the United Nations is in control of the transition by June.

Yesterday, in his first meeting with Zapatero since the elections (and, as many Spanish reporters stated today, in the first meeting to be conceded to Zapatero by the Spanish President in the past 14 months even though the Socialist leader asked to have an audience with Spain's outgoing President on various occasions last year), Aznar asked the future President of Spain to submit in writing his opinion about what should happen next month when the Spanish soldiers in Iraq should be relieved by colleages from Spain. The future Defense Minister, Jose Bono, has said today that it is the first time that an outgoing government has ever asked for a written document to determine an incoming government's policy on something which has already been decided anyway.

Today the PSOE held its first executive meeting since the last elections. Zapatero repeated his determination to respect all opinions, whether or not they coincide with Socialist policies, but he rejected the thesis that the Spanish electorate's vote was determined by terrorism.

Meanwhile, just when Spring appeared to have arrived in Spain, suddenly the weather has taken a turn for the worse and there is snow on mountains overlooking Alicante. Bad weather is expected to continue for at least two days, and for the next week weather will be unsettled, so all holidaymakers planning on coming to the Mediterranean for their Easter holidays are advised to include at least one jersey and a waterproof in their suitcase.

Spain's Royal Family

All news bulletins last night and all Spanish newspapers this morning acknowledge the role of the King and Queen of Spain in the mass held in Madrid yesterday for the victims of the Madrid bombing and indeed throughout the last two weeks. The Spanish royal family is quite unique in the way they are respected and loved by their population, and when you see them act as they did yesterday, and in fact as they have done throughout the past two weeks, it is easy to see why.

King Juan Carlos played a fundamental role in Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy in reconciling the Spanish military and different political parties, and providing Spain with a figure of authority who firmly supported the creation of a democratic Spanish State. When Spain suffered its coup d'etat in 1981 and the military held government leaders hostage in the parliament, King Juan Carlos addressed the nation on television and radio, assuring Spanish people that the coup would fail and democracy would prevail, and ordering the Spanish military supporting the coup to surrender their arms and respect the constitution. He also played a key role in setting up an emergency substitute constitutional government until the political leaders were released by the military.

More recently, on the same day of the terrorist attacks, the King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe and his fiance Letizia all visited victims in the hospitals. They, and the princesses (who both work) have returned to the hospitals various times since, often without the press being told beforehand, according to witnesses, as well as chatting to patients, hospital staff and families, the King has even encouraged and helped victims to stand up and start walking again. In his speech to the nation on the day of the terrorist attack, the King was the only political leader who declined to name ETA as the perpetrator of the attacks.
The Prince and his fiance have cancelled all parties and firework displays scheduled to precede and follow their wedding in May, and have said that all the money that was going to be spent on these festivities will go to the victims families fund. Yesterday after the mass, the King ignored protocol and instead of walking out of the cathedral after the blessing, he and the Queen, followed by the other members of their family, greeted the victims family members one by one for over half an hour, offering their best wishes and commiserations and sharing in their grief. All members of the Royal family wept with the families. Even if you have your reservations about monarchies in general, especially given the behaviour and distant attitudes of some royal families across Europe, you cannot deny the ability of the Spanish Royal Family to get involved in national events and to succeed in getting close to the people and being respected by the vast majority of Spaniards.

Mass in Madrid

Today a state funeral was held in Madrid to honour the vicitims of the 11 M terrorist attack. Representatives of the victims' families, world leaders, Spanish political leaders and the Spanish royal family joined together to mourn the dead. A massive white sheet bearing a black ribbon (the sign of mourning which is still desplayed in shop, flat and car windows throughout Madrid) hung behind the altar, and the archbishop of Madrid led the mass. Giant television screens were erected in several popular locations in the city to carry the ceremony live and the Mass brought much of Madrid to a standstill.

Jose Luis Zapatero had meetings today with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President, Jacques Chirac, Polish President Leszek Miller, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, German President Gerhard Schroeder. According to Cadena Ser, the Socialist leader used these meetings to explain his policy regarding the removal of Spanish troops from Iraq. He stressed that withdrawel will only go ahead if the United Nations is not in charge of the transition in Iraq by 30th June, and that this decision should not be interpreted as taking a soft line on terrorism. Zapatero told world leaders that the fight against terrorism remains top priority for the Socialist Party.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, thought by many to be the probable Foreign Affairs Minister in the Socialist Government, appeared before the press after Zapatero's meeting with Colin Powell and told reporters that the US Secretary of State had offered to negotiate with Zapatero the future role of the UN in Iraq. Meanwhile, according to Moratinos, Zapatero urged Tony Blair to use Britain's role in the UN Security Council to try to negotiate within the next three months handing over control of the situation in Iraq to the United Nations.

Spanish media

Aznar gave his first interview since the elections yesterday. The interview was broadcast on Tele Cinco and Aznar spoke about the election defeat, Zapatero's intention to withdraw the Spanish troops from Iraq, and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Madrid. He denied any attempt to manipulate public opinion, and said that people who claimed the contrary were "vile" and "slandalous". He reiterated that his government has nothing to hide. He repeated his conviction that the decision to participate in the war against Iraq was the right one, and that it would be a mistake to bring Spanish troops home now. Although Aznar didn't acknowledge the fact that he and his government had made any mistakes, political commentators last night and this morning agree that he was much quieter and less agressive than in previous interviews.

It is interesting that the out-going President conceded his first interview to Tele Cinco (seen by many as one of the few objective television channels in Spain), rather than to one of the pro-PP television channels, which were accused of manipulating news and biased reporting in favour of the PP throughout this legislature and especially during the election campaign. The fact that Aznar chose Tele Cinco may suggest that he wants to get his arguments over to viewers who often criticise his methods and reject the political reporting methods used by the other television channels over the past few years.

Since the elections, employees of Grupo Radiotelevision Espanola (the state television and radio company) and Antena 3 (private, pro-PP) have for the first time openly criticised the way they were supposedly forced to cover news items with a strong bias in favor of the Popular Party. Zapatero has promised to pass a law to prevent government manipulation of state television and it is to be hoped that he keeps his promise. Aznar made the same promise 8 years ago before winning the 1996 election which bought him to power, but once he became President, the benefits of having a media platform from which to launch policies obviously outweighed the disadvantages from the point of view of democracy and independent information. Hopefully the new President of Spain will not make the same mistake. The sooner Spain has a more independent media, the better.

Meanwhile, this morning the judge leading the investigation into the terrorist attacks in Madrid has filed charges against four more suspects and ordered for them to be detained pending further investigation. One of the four men is Spanish. He is a retired miner who, according to news reports, has admitted supplying the terrorists with dynamite but claims he didn't know what they were going to use it for.

Various news items in Spain

This week the newly elected members of the Spanish parliament will start registration procedures in the Congress, prior to the creation of the new Government. 169 (48%) of the 350 MPs are newly elected members. The party with the biggest percentage of newcomers is the winning Socialist party - 96 of the PSOE members of parliament are new (53%) which is good news for people anxious for Zapatero to continue with the party's renovation from within, (source: Cadena Ser). Meanwhile according to a poll carried out by Cadena Ser, only 8% voters changed their vote after the 11 M attack.

A special law, Royal Decree, has been passed and gives any illegal immigrants in Spain affected by the terrorist attacks in Madrid 6 months, as from today, to legalise their situation. The day after the bombings, Government spokesmen said that all illegal immigrants affected by the attacks (including victims' families) would be granted Spanish residence. This announcement was made as it became clear that many illegal immigrants were holding back from going to look for family members in hospitals (or IFEMA where the bodies of people killed were taken), because they were scared of being discovered by the authorities. According to El Mundo, authorities now have quite a job on their hands, as hundreds of immigrants come forward claiming that they have been affected in some way by the train bombs.

This morning's news in Spain, as probably everywhere, (on internet, radio, tv) is dominated by the assassination by Israel of the founder of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, which is bound to escalate violence even further in that sad, punished region. Palestinian militants have already warned that with this murder, Israel has "opened the gates of hell" and should expect swift and bloody retaliation. It is difficult to know what Sharon and his government hope to achieve with acts like these, which only add further instability to the region and, ultimately, make it easier for extremist Islamic groups (which support terrorist crimes such as the one carried out in Madrid) to draw furious young people to their cause.

Stephen Frears in Spain

Stephen Frears is in Spain this week promoting his new film The Deal and el Pais publishes an interview with him today. According to the journalist who interviewed him, Frears answers questions politely but without enthusiasm, except when he is asked about politics and Blair - "Blair really has a strange way of choosing his friends.... Aznar, Bush, Berlusconi.... I would never choose people like that as my friends. Mind you, if you think about it, he hasn't got very many friends at all and quite frankly, as Prime Minister, he ought to have more. He could do with a good friend.... and a good therapist". The Deal is about British politics before the 1996 elections and especially about the relationship and rivalry between Blair and Gordon Brown. An actor takes the part of Blair, although Frears claims that the real Blair is an excellent actor himself: "If he wasn't such a good actor, he would probably be a much better Prime Minister. This is his great tragedy: he's so good at acting that he ends up convincing himself. I think it has got something to do with his training as a lawyer. He's used to defending cases whether or not he agrees with them morally"

This is what the Costa Blanca News makes of the recent elections here in Spain.

Spain's new Government will be sworn in in April

Jesus Caldera, one of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's closest colleagues and the MP responsible for negotiating the transfer of power from the Popular Party to the recently elected PSOE, said today that the new Government would be sworn in between 22nd and 28th April, if not before (see El Mundo).

According to El Pais, the dinamite used in the terrorist attacks in Madrid last week was robbed from a mine in Asturias last month. It is thought that a Spanish person exchanged some explosives for drugs He reportedly received drugs in return. According to the paper, he insists he only led the Moroccans to the warehouse and did not help with the robbery or know the Moroccans had Islamic extremist links.

The investigations into the Madrid bombings continue

Yesterday the Popular Party released confidential documents which they say prove that declarations made by the party spokesman, the Interior Minister and President Aznar immediately after the terrorist attacks in Madrid last week were based on documents pointing to ETA, and were not an attempt to manipulate public opinion. Whether or not the documents do prove this, depends on which paper you read. El Pais suggests that the documents released yesterday have been carefully selected and this morning Cadena Ser said that whole paragraphs are crossed out in places. El Mundo (whose owner and Editor is a great friend of Aznar and usually supports the Popular Party) limits its leading article to a simple reproduction of the press conference and the contents of the documents, although inverted commas here and there, when referring to "transparancy" and "honor", suggest it may be adopting a politely sceptical stance. Papers like ABC and La Razon remain fiercely supportive of the Popular Party of course, and take the documents as firm evidence that party leaders were misjudged last weekend by Spain's electorate as well as international public opinion.

Spanish police arrested five more suspects in the Madrid train attack yesterday, and this morning police have said that material evidence linked to the attacks has been found in the Lavapies area of Madrid.

Meanwhile, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero continues to form the government which will lead Spain for the next four years. So far he seems to be creating a mixed team of new faces ( Maria Jesus Sansegundo, a University professor, Minister of Education y Carmen Calvo, Minister of Culture...) and of PSOE heavyweights who have been very successful at a regional level (for example the future Defence Minister, Jose Bono, has been the President of Castilla la Mancha, one of Spain's largest regions, for the past 20 years and continued to be re-elected even during the PSOE's slump years, and Manuel Marin, future Leader of the House, was one of the key negotiaters of Spain's entry into the European Union).

Interestingly, according to El Mundo, Aznar's last visit abroad as acting President of Spain will be to Britain where he will be received by his friend Tony Blair next week. Apparantly they will have a meeting to discuss the attacks in Madrid, followed by dinner with their wives. He will also visit Brussels. These will be his only official visits before he hands the presidency over to Zapatero.

It is Saint Josephs day today (Father's Day) which is a fiesta and bank holiday in almost all of Spain. So congratulations and thank you to fathers everywhere, especially if you are called Joseph or Bryan. Anyone who is in Spain and near Valencia should try to check out Las Fallas.

Spain accused of easing up on the "War on Terror"

Several national and international newspapers this morning continue to interpret the decision of the new Spanish President to pull out of Iraq on June 30th (if the UN is not in charge by then) as a sign that Spain is weakening its stance on terrorism. Yesterday when asked about the possibility of Spain withdrawing from the alliance, President Bush used the term "cowardice" in his answer - although he didn't directly accuse Spain of this - and said he would continue to fight terror with friends. Quite a few papers in the USA are appalled at the result of the Spanish elections and are worried that it is a sign of Spain giving in to terrorism.

It is important to get the message across that Spaniards were still being led to believe, until the night before elections, that ETA was the main suspect, and although increasingly people were starting to question this fact, it certainly did not cross most voters minds that Al Qaeda had planted the bomb to coincide with elections and force a vote against the Popular Party. There is no reason for Al qaeda to feel that the PSOE party will take a weak stance on terrorism - the Socialists have supported all of the Popular Party's initiatives against terrorism throughout this legislature, and Zapatero has already promised to take a hard line on national and international terrorism.

For most Spaniards pulling out of Iraq is not a sign that the government is easing up on terrorism. The fact is that most Spaniards have never linked the "War against Iraq" to the "War on Terror" in the way that many North Americans and British people did. Spaniards believed that war was declared on Iraq for the wrong reasons, and that the allies were not being totally sincere about their reasons. They didn't believe that weapons of mass destruction existed, they were worried by the fact that this was an attack which neither NATO or the United Nations supported, and there was a feeling among Spanish people that their Government was leading them into a conflict which violated international law. President Aznar never argued his case to the extent that Blair and Bush did to Parliament and to public opinion. And he has never been prepared to explain his view of the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq after all.

Most Spaniards have a feeling of international responsability, they shared in the World's shock and grief when the USA were attacked on 11th September 2001, and identify with the fight against terrorism and their participation in this fight. But Spaniards lived in a dictatorship for 40 years, and their country was isolated from most international forums. There was great rejoicing in this country when Spain joined the European Union in the early 1980s, and the population voted to stay in NATO in a national referendum held in 1986. Spaniards enjoy participating in international bodies and international initiatives which are protected and approved by international law and the United Nations. They participated in the Gulf War, the Bosnian crisis, and Spanish troops are still working hard with their colleagues from other countries in Afghanistan. The fact that the war on Iraq was never approved by an international body will always be a sign for many Spaniards that the war should have been avoided at that stage, until there was more consensus or until other measures were taken.

All this means that in pulling out of Iraq, Spain is not necessarily giving in to terrorism. Zapatero announced in an interview on Onda Cero Radio this morning that he will take steps to improve national security, and he said two days ago that he would seek national and international consensus in the fight on terrorism. Spain wants to participate in the fight against terror, but in a global fight, not a fight carried out according to the rules and principles of one or two World leaders. And many Spaniards have never made the connection between the war against Iraq and the interntional war on terror.

Finally the Guardian publishes this article by a very popular Spanish writer, Almudena Grandes.

The investigation into the terrorist attacks in Madrid

According to El Pais, police in Spain have identified 6 Morrocans who could be linked to last week's terrorist attacks in Madrid. One of them, Jamal Zougam, is under arrest and being interrogated by police. Two witnesses travelling on one of the trains bombed claim that they saw him travelling on the same train before the bombs exploded. The names of the other five suspects have not been released. Spanish police warn that these 6 people may be part of a larger cell of one of the radical islamic groups related, directly or indirectly, to Al Qaeda and more nationalities could well be involved. Initial investigations point to a possible link between the attacks here last week and the attacks in Casablanca last year, and Morroccan detectives investigating that disaster are already in Spain working with their Spanish colleagues to pursue all possible links. Meanwhile, the Spanish government has announced that they will hold a summit meeting in Madrid to discuss the questions raised by the latest terrorist acts with all the anti-terrorist departments of members of the the European Union.

This evening at 8 O'clock, a mass is to be held in Madrid's cathedral, La Almudena, to remember the victims of last week's brutal attack.

Spains new President promises to introduce a new political style to Spanish government.

Obviously yesterday Spanish news was dominated by the election results. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was intereviewed for an hour first thing in the morning on the Cadena Ser (the only radio station who, last week, had invited Zapatero to talk about results the day after the elections) and also gave a long press conference later in the morning to a packed press room. He stressed the following points:
1. The Spanish political scene is going to change. His government will put the emphasis on dialogue, communication with all regional governments no matter which party is in power (one of the features of Aznar's government has been the terrible relationship between central government and any non-PP regional governments) and will respect and be willing to listen to alternative political ideas. The PSOE government will, according to Zapatero, remove the arrogance associated with the PP party, and will invite as many people as possible to participate in the political process and in democracy.
2. In the fight against terrorism, Zapatero intends to involve all parties and to seek consensus in policies
3. If the United Nations is not in charge of the transition in Iraq by 30th June, the Spanish troops will be called back to Spain. This announcement has been picked up by most of the international press, and interpreted by some as giving in to terrorism. This is not the case, since Zapatero (together with 90 percent of Spaniards who disagreed with the reasons presented to them by Aznar for invading Iraq) has been against the Spanish alliance with the USA and UK ever since Aznar signed the agreement in Azores a year ago. Zapatero always argued that the arms inspectors should be given more time, and that the supposed threat of the existence of arms of mass destruction had to be demonstrated before invasion was justified. He has always denounced Sadam Hussein, but has argued that violence can not be addressed by applying more violence, and has said that the allies policy in Iraq has been disasterous for world peace, for diplomacy and for the Iraq people. He has also repeatedly said that the invasion was an infringement of international law, and that for the transition in Iraq to reach any level of credibility, the United Nations (rather than the USA) needs to have the leading role. So he didn't say anything new yesterday and his decision to withdraw Spanish troops if the UN hasn't taken over control by 30th June should not be interpreted as reaction to the terrorist attacks last week.
4. Half of his government posts will be given to women.

According to the Catalan newspaper, La Vanguardia, "Spain is beginning a new era in the hands of a leader who is quiet and known for his willingness to discuss politics stubbornly and respectfully. With his first words following the victory he championed quiet change ... and promised to govern with humility".

Meanwhile, the losing candidate and new leader of the Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, appeared before the press yesterday flanked by Jose Maria Aznar (who has not yet spoken publically about the defeat since the night of the elections) and by other members of the PP Executive. He said that he was not going to resign and would lead the PP party in the opposition. Rajoy is considered to be much more open to dialogue than his predecessor, and his style is much less arrogant. So hopefully we will indeed see a new style of government in Spain.

Spanish elections: Democracy wins.

Last night Spanish voters taught the Popular Party a lesson they won't forget easily and used democracy's best tool to express their disagreement with their government and their desire for change and for a credible system. In a historic result, which we all found difficult to believe as we watched the television, and with a massive turnout of voters - 78% - the Spanish electorate defied all the predictions and pre-election polls. PSOE won 42.64% of the vote and the Popular Party just 37.64%, - 7% less than in 2000. Never before in Spain has a government with an absolute majority lost the elections in Spain.

This morning the Spanish media are all talking or writing about the historic nature of this election result and all tend to agree that the Popular Party has been punished by Spanish voters for the way they handled the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Madrid last week. Just before midnight Spain's new President appeared before the camaras and pledged to form a government based on respect, dialogue, transparency and integration. Zapatero has pledged to withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq if the United Nations does not take control by June 30 (this was a promise he made in his election manifesto), and has promised to look to look towards Europe rather than USA when defining foreign policy. He has also promised to include all political parties in the fight against terrorism.

Some international press reports have expressed the worry that if it is confirmed that the radical Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda was behind the bombing last week, then it will be the first time that this group has affected the outcome of democratic elections ("If al-Qaeda was responsible for Thursday's attacks, it appears to have had significant influence in changing the government of a leading Western democracy" BBC; "Did al Qaeda hijack Spain poll?" CNN.

Al Qaeda did not determine yesterday's election result. Spaniards have used these elections to punish the outgoing Government for its handling of the investigation of the train bombings. A democratic government must never be allowed to play political games with terrorism, and this is what a large percentage of the electorate felt their government was doing. Until last week, analysts and pre-election polls suggested that PP would lose their absolute majority, but would still win the elections. They only have themselves to blame for their defeat.

Aznar accused of manipulating public opinion

Spain's most popular radio station, Cadena Ser, has published a scathing attack on the Spanish government's attempts to make sure the Spanish media supported the thesis put forward by the popular parte that last week's terrorist attack was carried out by the basque terrorist group ETA.

Cadena Ser has published an unprecedented editorial on its website in which it denounces the government's tactics, explains how all the major television channels received clear instructions about how to cover events, and accuses Aznar and his government of manipulating the truth to suit their electoral ambitions. Foreign news correspondants say they received phone calls directly from the President's office claiming that the terrorist acts had been carried out by ETA. According to Cadena Ser, "Aznar's government has used all the state media, and all the private-sector newspapers, television and radio stations that are ideologically close to the goverment, in an attempt to keep alive their thesis that ETA was responsable for the brutal terrorist attacks last Thursday in Madrid. Aznar and his government have got involved personally by making telephone calls to the directors of national newspapers and to foreign correspondants in Spain" (El gobierno de Aznar ha utilizado todos los medios de comunicacion publicos y todos los medios privados cercanos ideologicamente al gobierno para tratar de mantener durante tres dias como unica tesis la autoria de ETA en los brutales atentados del jueves en Madrid. Aznar y el gobierno se han implicado personalmente llamando a los directores de los medios escritos nacionales y a los corresponsales extranjeros).

If it turns out to be true, this is a very serious accusation indeed. Not least because if this terrorist act turns out to be the first serious terrorist act carried out by Al Qaeda in Western Europe, the investigations have wasted 4 precious days which could have been used to explore evidence about members of the extremist Islamic group and to involve other EU countries in the process. You can read more about events of the last 24 hours in this article from Deutsche Welle in English or in German.

Spain elections - bigger turnout confirmed

Spain's Interior Ministry has released the first voting figures of the day. So far 41,02% of Spain's electorate have voted, almost 4 percent higher than the figure at the same time in the last general elections. Polling stations are open all day until 8.00 this evening.

Election turnout - higher than usual

Spain usually has a higher turnout than other West European countries at elections, partly because so many adults remember what it feels like to live in a dictatorship and be deprived of the right to vote. Today more people than ever are expected to vote, because events of last week are likely to drive the youngest voters (many of whom chose not to vote in the last elections) to the polling stations.

Election Day in Spain

It is difficult to predict the outcome of todays elections. Never before in the history of Spains young democracy has an overall majority government lost the elections. But these elections are being held in unique circumstances, with Spain still mourning the victims of Thursdays bombing, and the present government coming increasingly under attack for the way in which it has addressed the crisis.

You could never say that the Popular Party has been a transparent party in the face of disaster. During events like the Prestige (the oil spill along the northern coast of Spain last year) government spokesmen and ministers were accused of misleading the population about the extent of the crisis and never acknowledged - and much less apologised for - shocking mismanagement of the first few days of the crisis. They refused to put the participation of spanish troops in the war against Iraq to a parliamentary vote and Aznar is the only ally leader who has refused point blank to discuss the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been discovered in Iraq. And only two weeks ago, articles appeared in el Pais and Cadena Ser accusing the government of covering up information related to the death of 60 Spanish soldiers last year, when their plane bringing them home from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey.

The Spanish government has been reluctant to confirm evidence suggesting that ETA was not behind the terrorist attack in Madrid last week. So much so that the official line all day yesterday, until early evening, was that they still suspected the Basque terrorist group. The government has used the fight against ETA as the basis of its election campaign, accusing the opposition of taking a weak stance on Basque terrorism and criticising alliances between Socialists and Regionalist parties which have produced governments such as the one in Catalonia. If the bombs last week had been planted by ETA, the reflex reaction of thousands of Spaniards would probably have been to vote PP today.

Feeling here today is that the spontaneous protests outside PP headquarters all over Spain yesterday forced the government to give new information about the arrest of 3 Moroccan and 2 Indian men in relation to the bombing yesterday evening. And in the early hours of this morning, the Interior Minister Angel Acebes said police had recovered a videotape. 'It's a claim made by a man in Arabic with a Moroccan accent. He makes the declaration in the name of someone who says he is the military spokesman of al- Qaeda in Europe.'

11th March Madrid terrorist attack: Funerals of the victims
This is the third day of official mourning, and the first funerals for the vicitims of Thurdays bombing in Madrid are being held today. I think it is time to withdraw a bit from all the suffering of the families, and to let them express their grief and anger in private with eachother. The camaras have covered every single detail of the past 50 hours in minute detail, and all of us in Spain have become a bit addicted to the television and radio reports. I suggest that after the massive protest marches held yesterday all over Spain (where we were all given the chance to publically express our outrage at the terrorist attacks and to show how our sympathy and solidarity lay with the direct victims), it is now time to look ahead rather than behind us, to insist that the authorities start to inform the population about the investigations being undertaken to discover who actually planted the bombs, and to allow the families of the victims to mourn in peace and privacy. I'm not going to include any more items about the aftermath of March 11th attacks, unless new information is discovered and offered, about who is behind them.

Anti-terrorism marches in Madrid - news the day after.
In the end over 11 million people in Spain protested on the streets yesterday against terrorism - not 8 million as I wrote last night while the protests were still happening. One of the chants most heard throughout the evening in all the demostrations was "Quien ha sido, quien ha sido?" (Who did it? Who did it?). This is the question which should have been answered already, but with elections looming tomorrow, it seems increasingly unlikely that the government is willing or able to offer a credible explanation. Government sources continue to point at ETA as the prime suspects.

Protest marches in Spain: We want Peace
According to the latest figures, over 8 million people have taken to the streets this evening to express their outrage at the terrorist attacks, their solidarity with the victims and their overwhelming desire for Peace. Millions of Spaniards in Madrid (2 million, according to the latest reports) but also in villages, towns and cities all over Spain have marched through the streets shouting "en estos trenes, ibamos todos" ("we were all travelling in those trains").

ETA denies responsability for the terrorist attacks in Madrid
About an hour ago, the Spanish terrorist group ETA denied any involvment with yesterdays terrorist attacks in Madrid. An anonymous person telephoned the Basque newspaper Gara, said he represented ETA and denied "any responsability" for the bombs planted in Madrid. According to the latest reports, the caller said that ETA played no part in the massacre perpetrated yesterday in Madrid. ETA usually uses the same tactic (telephone calls to Basque newspapers) to claim responsability for terrorist attacks. It is the first time ETA has used this tactic to explicity deny any involvement.

According to The Guardian, "Responsibility for the attacks on the packed Madrid commuter trains - which also wounded 1,430 people - could be crucial to the outcome of Sunday's general election in Spain, which is going ahead despite a halt to campaigning. Spanish commentators say that while an Eta attack could help the centre-right ruling party - which was previously campaigning on the strength of its hardline policies towards the group - an al-Qaida linked attack could increase criticism of Mr Aznar's unpopular decision to join the US-led Iraq war. Spain's foreign minister, Ana Palacio, said evidence "pointed towards" Eta, but the investigation could not exclude any other possibility."

Spain the day after suffering the worst act of terrorism ever committed here.

Most people in Spain got up this morning still feeling shaken after yesterdays events. Many schools and universities have closed for the day, most bodies have been identified, over 500 people remain in hospital, all pre-election activity has been cancelled and protest marches have been organised all over Spain this afternoon. The marches are expected to be as numerous as Spains last massive national mobilisation last year, when millions of Spaniards took part in demostrations to protest against the Governments decision to support the USA and UK in the war against Iraq. Ironically, as all major news agencies have already mentioned, latest evidence emerging from the first investigations into this mindless act of terrorism seems to point at a possible Al qaeda link.

One of the unique features of Spain is its Arab history. Arabs lived in parts of Spain for nearly 800 years and their contribution to Spanish culture, language, food and agriculture is still evident today. Until very recently, Spain was trusted by many Arab nations as a friendly State, and even though new democratic Spain did not have a major role in many international organisations in the 1980s, Spanish politicians and diplomats were deeply involved in all the major international peace initiatives undertaken in the Middle East during that time. Southern Spain is the first stop on the long journey of thousands of north African and Moslem people searching to escape from poverty and find a new opportunity in Europe. One of the challenges of modern Spain is how to address its changing demographics and how to integrate a growing community of immigrants into the Spanish social structure.

If this terrorist act turns out to have been perpetrated by Arab extremists, it reflects just how much Spains position has changed over the past few years. In a world where increasingly violence is used to determine events, Dialogue, Cooperation and Respect are more necessary than ever. And only values such as these will succeed in wiping out terrorism.

All major television and radio channels and news web sites continue to devote all their time to the aftermath of yesterday's events. El Pais can still be accessed for free today, and was one of the first Spanish sources to quote the possible Al Qaeda link. Cadena Ser and El Mundo are other good sources of latest information. People can access a list of names people injured in the attack here. The list of victims is not yet available, and is expected to be released some time today.

Spains worst day for years
This has been a terrible terrible day. The scenes on TV showing people and bodies being dragged away from the wreckage left by the bombs have been harrowing. Hundreds of people still don't know where their families are. The government all blamed the acts on ETA this morning, but since when has ETA had the capacity and resources to launch such a massive attack on Spanish civilians? Latest reports hint at a possible Al Quaeda link (see El Pais - normally you have to pay a subscription to read news in El Pais, but today all news is free). Events like today make us all feel sick, vulnerable and very very sad. I regularly go to Madrid from Alicante, and I get off the train, or catch it, at Atocha station. At 8.00 a.m., when the bombs went off today, the station is packed with ordinary people. No politicians, no rich people (the rich people in Madrid go to work by car, because they have an underground garage supplied by their company where they can park their car), no famous people, no army corps. At this time of day, the station is jam packed with working and middle class citizens going to work, school, univeristy etc. They and their families have never done anything to deserve this. Whoever is responsible for these acts has mistaken its enemy. If it is Al Quaeda, the members of this terrorist organisation should bear in mind that over 90 percent of Spaniards were against the invasion into Irak, and remained so throughout the "war". Ordinary Spanish people (like the ones killed today) demonstrated tirelessly against the war, and argued fiercely against their government's decision to back the "allies" policy. The world is sick.

The number of casualities continues to rise.
According to the BBC, latest figures are that 131 people have been killed by the bombs, but Spanish emergency services warn that the figure could rise further. At least 500 people have been injured and Madrid's hospitals, swamped with casualties, have made an urgent appeal for blood donations. Spanish speakers can read latest developments on main news websites, for example Cadena Ser and El Mundo. All web sites, radio stations and television channels are dedicating full-time coverage to today's tragedy. And although the whole theme of ETA has dominated the election campaign over the past month, nobody expected a massive tragedy on this scale. All political parties have cancelled their scheduled meetings. The images on the television are horrific. What a mad, barbaric act.

Terrorist attacks in Madrid.
2 hours ago varios bombs in Madrid have killed at least 70 people. The whole of Spain is in a state of shock and news coming from the scene is still rather confusing. For latest reports, see Cadena Ser

Elections in Spain - Antonio Banderas.
According to the Cadena Ser, Spain's most popular radio station, Antonio Banderas has declared publically his support for the Socialist party ahead of the Spanish elections this weekend. In an email sent to the Socialist President of Andalucia (up for re-election), Banderas encourages him and his Socialist party to continue with their projects and sends his best wishes from the world of culture which, in his opinion, needs them (the socialists).

Leicester City footballers disgrace their country and supporters.
"The three Leicester City footballers accused of sexually assaulting three women in a Spanish hotel room returned to jail last night after lawyers for the club failed in a renewed bid to have them freed on bail. Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair spent a fifth night in the Sangonera Jail in Murcia on the order of a senior judge who was handed the case yesterday and was expected to make a decision on bail by the end of the week. Hopes of an imminent release for the players, jailed for the alleged attack at a luxury hotel in La Manga last Monday, were dashed when the lawyer for the three women said she would continue to oppose bail unless new evidence emerged to challenge the allegations made by her clients".

Personally I'm tired of British football dragging itself into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Why can't a British side win an international competition and hit the news because of that, instead of making headlines as a result of hooliganism or of the bad behaviour of professional players. If you want to read the rest of this story you can read it here, in the Independent.

Spanish elections.
According to a Guardian article published today, support for Spain's ruling Popular Party is starting to ebb away and its lead over the opposition Socialists has fallen to 5-7 points. It will be very difficult for the Socialist Party to win the elections, not least because the government controls almost all the Spanish media - tv and radio stations and most newspapers - and they use this control to manipulate news items as much as possible. And while it is true that the polls do show that PP support seems to have reached its peak, and the socialists are gaining ground, it would be a surprise for everyone if the elections this month produce a change in the national Government in Spain.

Clandestine immigrant detention room in Madrid's main airport may be illegal.
Since last Summer, the detention room at Barajas, known as Room 4, has held 1000 undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation, often for one or two days, but sometimes for up to two weeks. An investigation led by Spain's Ombudsman will investigate claims (denied by the Spanish government) that some immigrants are denied basic rights during their detention, such as access to a lawyer, family and friends or medical attention. More information here.

Spanish medics hit the headlines today, after transplanting an arm they had managed to "keep it alive" for nine days by attaching it to the patient's leg. Amazing but true. You can read the news item here if you're interested. The article is in Spanish, but if you use the Google translator you can get the gist of it. And the photo accompanying the article needs no explanation at all.....

Spanien: Wochenchronik

Property prices in Spain

One of the main worries in Spain at the moment is the price of housing. The property market has been on the rise over the past years, and housing prices have reached an all-time peak this year. 

According to a study released by El Mundo today, young Spanish adults spend on average about 56 percent of their wage on a 25-year mortgage. This percentage is 23.5% over the 33%  considered by financial sectors to be the ideal percentage of earnings.

The whole issue of housing is a prominant one in the election campaign. The Socialists have said that if they win the elections they will create a Housing Ministry to deal with the problem of high prices. Spanish young adults tend to live with their parents much longer than other European young adults, and one of the reasons for this is that the majority just can't afford to buy a house. It is uncommon for Spanish students to move to another town when they start university if their home town offers the degree they want to study, and the market for rented accommodation is very small compared to countries like the UK and Germany.

See this article in El Mundo

Possible errors in identifying soldiers bodies

The main debates in the radio and tv news programmes this morning center around a news item which was published by Spain's leading paper, El Pais, yesterday.

This paper and leading radio station, Cadena Ser, claim they have evidence which shows that Spanish Defence Ministry doctors may not have identified correctly all the bodies of the soldiers killed in a plane crash last year when they were returning from Afghanistan. Families of the soldiers want to return to Turkey to check and compare ADN tests carried out by the Turkish authorities. See the Cadena Ser report here: http://www.cadenaser.com/articulo.html?d_date=&xref=20040302csrcsrnac_3&type=Tes&anchor=csrcsrpor

The army general and medic who oversaw the identifying procedures was interviewed last night on Cadena Ser and denied all accusations of possible negligence. He implied that the media group to which the Cadena Ser and El Pais belong were guilty of misleading the public and of adding to the families' grief.

This is a new Euroresidentes blog, to give news in English, French and German (depending on the source) about Spain. We will include all the important news items from the major Spanish news sources, and provide a link to the original source. Send us any comments to: euroresi@euroresidentes.com