Spanish King asks Hugo Chavez to shut up

During the closing session of the 12th Summit of Iberoamerican Leaders and Heads of State held in Chile King Juan Carlos caused a diplomatic incident when he lent over and said to Hugo Chavez "Por qué no te callas" (Why don't you shut up?) when the Venezuelan president kept trying to interrupt Spanish president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (see below - click twice to see video):

The incident occured when Zapatero responded to Chavez's description of former Spanish PM José Maria Aznar. The Venezuelan president called Aznar a "fascist" and said he was "less human than a tiger or a snake". Zapatero was given the chance to reply and he reminded Chavez that when democratic governments meet to discuss their interests and differences, the underlying principle was always respect. "It is possible to be on opposite sides as far as ideology is concerned, and I am certainly nowhere near the ideas of Aznar, but he was elected by the Spanish voters, and I demand respect" he said.

While Zapatero was talking, Chavez kept interrupting him, even though his microphone was switched off. King Juan Carlos finally lost his temper and invited the Venezuelan leader to shut up. He then left the session in protest while Rodriguez Zapatero stayed in his seat to address any possible further comments. Juan Carlos returned, at the Chilean president's request, for the final part of the closing session.

After the incident Hugo Chavez said he stood by what he had said about Aznar, and he questioned Juan Carlos's attitude. "He may be a king, but he can't shut me up", he said. "We are both heads of state, the only difference is that I have been democratically elected three times" he said.

Aznar reportedly telephoned both Zapatero and the King after the Summit, to express his gratitude.

Zapatero offers French socialists "model of success"

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish president participated in a large rally in Toulouse yesterday in support of the Socialist candidate for the French presidency, Ségolène Royal. During the meeting, attended by thousands, he said that, Ségolène was the future for France. According to official sources this will be Ségolène’s last rally before the first round of voting on Sunday.

Zapatero said that Europe was waiting for an innovative, committed, brave and modern France to emerge from the elections. He also said that he was convinced that Ségolène would achieve this because she represented a real alternative and would offer another form of government. According to Zapatero Spain feels close to France. His speech, which was translated using subtitles on two giant screens either side of the stage, was greeted with applause and chants of ‘Zapatero, Zapatero’.

When asked why he had chosen to show such strong support to Ségolène he justified his presence saying that he wanted to accompany her in this decisive phase of her campaign because of the commitment to social democratic ideas which they both shared and to offer a model of success to the French.

Ségolène Royal, was given the nickname Zapatera by the press in 2004 when she became the first female president of the region Poitou-Charentes. When she was still competing to be the candidate for the French presidency, she visited Madrid to participate in PSOE’s annual political conference last September, where she had a meeing with Zapatero. The Socialist leader committed her party to following a similar programme of equality designed by Zapatero’s government.

The French opinion polls only show that three out of four voters are still undecided on who to vote for. Although the outcome is still uncertain, latest polls show Nicolas Sarkozy as the front runner and many foreign policy analysts will question Zapatero's very public display of support for the opposition candidate, especially since Franco-Spanish relations and cooperation are vital in the on-going fight against Basque terrorism.

Government calls for consensus in fight against ETA

The Vice President calls on the PP to support government policy against ETA

In a speech given in Marbella yesterday the Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, appealed to the PP (Spain’s main opposition party) to support government policy against ETA on Monday when president is due to appear before Congress.

This appeal comes just a day after thousands marched against ETA in Madrid and Bilbao, demonstrations which were not endorsed by the PP. All other political parties in Spain participated in the demonstrations.

De la Vega stated that the President’s appearance before congress would not include anything extreme that could not be supported by those who wanted to see an end to violence. She also stated that all democratic governments had tried to achieve a peaceful solution and not to do so would be irresponsible.

De la Vega spoke of the intolerable accusations that the PP had made against the government and asked how they could steep so low. She said that it was an insult to suggest that the government did not want to end terrorism against the state and that at no time had the Security or Justice departments lowered their guard.

She said that since May when Zapatero announced the government would be prepared to enter into dialogue with the terrorists the government had worked ceaselessly, responsibly and loyally in order to try and achieve peace. She also said that they had tried to gain the support of the PP because a united front against terrorism is much stronger. She said the government would continue trying to get the support of the PP in spite of the PP’s claims that the government was betraying the victims of terrorism and giving up Navarra.

De la Vega said that she was confident that the PP would support the government in parliament today and that it was a great occasion for all political parties to come together to show their opposition to ETA. She asked for the PP to stop creating divisions in this respect.

At the end of her speech De la Vega said that the Government felt proud of the solidarity shown in the demonstrations against terrorism on Saturday in Bilbao and Madrid. She concluded that if everybody united then peace could be achieved.

Spanish President in New York

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has travelled to New York to participate in the official presentation of the Alliance of Civilizations recommendations. UN General Secretary Kofi Annan presents the project to the United Nations General Assembly today.

The Alliance of Civilizations was proposed by Zapatero and co-sponsored by the Prime Minister of Turkey last year as a way of overcoming the cultural, regional and religious differences which can cause extremism, in the belief that all societies are interdependent, bound together in their development and security, and in their environmental, economic and financial well-being.

The Alliance seeks to forge collective political will and to mobilize concerted action at the institutional and civil society levels to overcome the prejudice, misperceptions and polarization that militate against such a consensus. And it hopes to contribute to a coalescing global movement which, reflecting the will of the vast majority of people, rejects extremism in any society and the idea was originally put forward to the UN Assembly by Rodriguez Zapatero last year.

Once approved by UN members, a committee of experts was given the task of designing an action plan. Their conclusions and recommendations will be put before the General Assembly members today and Zapatero will address the UN and express his gratitude to the committee members for the speed with which they have formulated the action plan.

During his visit, the Spanish PM will also sign a collaboration agreement with the United Nations Development Plan, pledging funds worth 528 million euros to development projects linked to the Milenium Objectives, making Spain the largest country doner to the UNDP.

Tony Blair in Madrid

Tony Blair arrived in Madrid yesterday evening for a two-day official visit and gave José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero a boost when he endorsed the Socialist Government's controversial decision to start negotiating with the Basque separatist group ETA. When asked if he supported Zapatero's decision, he said yes, he did, because "it's always worth a try".

Ever since José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq almost as soon as he was sworn in as President of Spain, relations between the Spanish President and British PM have been strained. Especially since Tony Blair enjoyed a very close working and personal relationship with ex-President José Maria Aznar (as he also did of course with Silvio Berlusconi) whom he invited to London after the Spanish election result for what was one of Aznar's last official trips as acting President of Spain.

However, tension has eased over the past couple of years, some progress has been made on the future of Gibraltar, and the Spanish government was quick to offer and supply the British government with help immediately after the London train bombings, when they sent anti-terrorist police and detectives who had successfully investigated the Madrid train bombings to advise their colleagues in the UK.

Yesterday's joint press conference was an illustration of their improved relationship, and both premiers were relaxed as they answered questions. The main Spanish opposition party, the pro-PP section of the Spanish media and even ex-President Aznar have openly criticised the Socialists for their decision to talk to ETA following the ceasefire called by the terrorist group earlier this year.

But yesterday Tony Blair endorsed Zapatero's pro-negotiation policy "it is sometimes difficult, but it is the right thing to do", and offered his support. He also reminded reporters that he was criticised and called naive by certain sectors during the long peace process in Northern Ireland, but "if you believe in it, you just keep going".

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero thanked the British Prime Minister for his support and confirmed that the peace process in the Basque country would continue but would inevitably suffer lows and reach highs. He refused to confirm or refute the rumour that talks with ETA have reached a deadlock.

Tony Blair's visit concludes today after co-chairing, with Zapatero, a round-table meeting with directors from some of Spain and the UK's top companies, including BP, Vodafone, Barclays, Acciona, Indra, Ferrovial and Telefónica.

Related articles:
Meeting between Blair and Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid
Gibraltar Agreement signed between British and Spanish governments

Penalty points system introduced in Spain

New penalty points driving license system in Spain.

Traffic authorities claimed that the immediate results of the new penalty points system were evident this weekend as the number of deaths in accidents caused by reckless driving fell sharply with respect to the same weekend last year. The Government hopes that the penalty points system will act as a deterrent to dangerous and drunk driving which is so common in Spain.

As from the 1st July all licences have a total of 12 points except in the case of drivers who have been driving for 3 years or less; licenses for those have just 8 points.

Points will be deducted from licenses of drivers caught committing all kinds of driving offences - many new to Spain. Offending drivers will have from 2 to 6 points deducted from their licence according to how serious the offence is (see list of possible offences and number of points deducted). Points can be recuperated for good driving (2 points for drivers who manage not to lose any points for two years), and for attending special refresher theory and road safety courses. Drivers who lose all their points due to repeated offences will have their license taken away for 6 months, if it is the first time, or 12 months if it is the second. They will have to attend special course and retake a driving exam before getting their licence back. When their licence is returned it will have just 8 points.

In theory the maximum points an offender can lose in one day is 8 points, although the new system does give traffic authorities to immediately withdraw the licence if the offence is considered to be extremely serious, i.e. driving under the effects of alcohol or drugs, refusing to do a breathaliser test or driving at over 50 percent the speed limit. This weekend one individual was stopped for driving under the influence of alcohol in Sevilla, and he is thought to have become the first driver to lose all his points (and his licence) at once.

Spanish PM and leader of the opposition discuss ETA ceasefire

Spain's president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met this morning with Mariano Rajoy, leader of the Popular Party, in what most sections of the Spanish media are hailing as a possible end to the bitter relations which have existed between Spain's two main parties ever since the Socialists won the 2004 elections following the Madrid train bombings two years ago, a result which many members of the Popular Party still deeply resent today.

Since ETA's permanent ceasefire announcement last week, the narrow gap dividing the two main parties in opinion polls has widened in favour of the PSOE, and as support for Zapatero has grown notably among the Spanish electorate, the Popular Party has started to moderate the aggressive tones its leaders generally use when commenting government policy on just about every possible topic on the political agenda.

Even though the first official reaction of the PP following ETA's announcement was typically scathing, when the leader of the Basque PP Party claimed the ceasefire was the result of the constant concessions made by Zapatero to separatists, since then all except the most radical members of the PP have taken care not to be too critical. Zapatero's gesture last week, when he refused to make any comment to the media about the ceasefire until he had personally informed Congress the same afternoon, and used the occasion to offer full participation in the peace process to all political parties and particularly to the Popular Party, was received in a positive manner by the vast majority of political commentators on all sides of the ideological spectrum. Apparantly King Juan Carlos rang Mariano Rajoy last week to ask him to support any peace process which could result from ETA's initiative. And yesterday for the first time since losing the elections, a press conference called by the PP to comment on the party stance after a session called by the leader to prepare his meeting with the Spanish president today, was chaired by a party moderate, rather than by hardline Acebes.

If today does mark the beginning of a thaw in the difficult relationship between Spain's main parties, then a large section of the electorate and the Spanish media will welcome the news. Both party leaders seemed to acknowledge that fact today when they spoke to the press after their two and a half hour-long meeting. Zapatero told reporters that today represented "a good first step forward after nearly two years of notable differences". Rajoy was more cautious, saying that the only priority right now was that the Government has what it believes is ETA's firm decision to cease all criminal activity. He pledged his party's support "without party or ideological lables" to Zapatero, providing that there would be no concessions to ETA, no violation of current laws, no contact with terrorist or illegal organisations and no violation of Spanish state law.

Zapatero to present ultimatum to Blair

According to reports this evening in Cadena Ser, Spanish president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero plans to present an ultimatum to Blair during his visit to London tomorrow. He is expected to tell the British Prime Minister that Spain is not prepared to approve any EU budget which does not guarentee the right of Spain to receive funds up until 2013.

The latest proposal made by the British presidency of the EU was for Spain to receive funds until 2010. An outright rejection of the proposal by a member state represents a veto. Spain wants the inevitable reduction of EU funds it has received each year ever since it joined the European Union to be a progressive process.

According to the Cadena Ser, Rodriguez Zapatero will also use his meeting with Blair to make a call for more solidarity to be shown by EU states towards the Eastern European countries, to ask for special attention to be paid to immigration policies and to call for greater investment in research, development and innovation.

The meeting between the Spanish and British PMs tomorrow was arranged after the proposal announced by the British presidency of the EU last Monday was overwhelmingly rejected by the European Commission and the vast majority of member states who accused Blair of showing a lack of solidarity with the newest poorer EU member states.

Timothy Garten Ash of the Guardian offers the following outlines for a possible compromise: Britain, in order to get a deal, should offer a bit more off its rebate. Other rich west European countries should be squeezed to contribute a little more. France should also agree to an EU budget review in 2008 or 2009. This would set the course for a further reduction of CAP spending, and send an immediate signal to the Doha round of the world trade talks. New members from central and eastern Europe should accept a small reduction in their budget allocation, though less than the cut proposed by Britain.
Then, probably some time in the early hours of next Saturday morning, after two days of ill-tempered haggling, everyone should go away for Christmas feeling equally unhappy. That is the European way of happiness.

Spanish president visits site of fire

José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero visited the scene of last week's forest fire in Guadalajara yesterday and declared the area a catastrophe zone. While showing him around, the Mayor of Ablanque, which is one of the worst affected areas, was unable to control his grief.

A political row continues to surround the tragedy in Spain, and the government has received fierce criticism from members of the Popular Party and locals. During the funeral held on Friday for the 11 firefighters who lost their life during the blaze, government ministers attending the service received boos, whistles and jeers from people outside the church.

The Popular Party has demanded a full investigation into the management of the crisis, and last week a MP from the Popular Party had to be held back in the corridors of Congress when he tried to assault Perez Rucalcaba the Socialist government's Spokesman.

During his visit to the area yesterday, Zapatero told the Spanish media that this week he will hold a meeting with the mayors of all the villages affected by the fire and with members of the Castilla de la Mancha's regional government to design a plan on how to begin recovery work on the vast area land and forests destroyed by the blaze. The Spanish President also promised to improve resources available for preventing and fighting fires. On Friday the government passed a series of emergency measures, including a ban on smoking in the countryside until November although no explanation has been given on how the ban can possibly be enforced.

President of Spain responds to victims of terrorism march in Madrid

Last Saturday hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in Madrid in protest against the Spanish government's proposal to begin talks with Eta. The march was led by members of the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) and leaders of the Popular Party.

The past month has been a difficult one for the Spanish government as far as its anti-terrorism policies are concerned, and things don't look like they're going to get any easier either.

Since the Spanish President sought the approval of Congress to start talks with ETA last month:

• The Popular Party has withdrawn its participation in the Anti-Terrorism Pact (in which both major political parties "agreed not to disagree" in Spain's fight against terrorism)
• The leader of the outlawed political wing of Eta has accused the government of lacking the "maturity" necessary to negotiate with Eta.
• The Association of Victims of Terrorism has promised to organize future protests and demostrations unles the Socialist Government promises not to talk to ETA and to return to the anti-terrorism policies implemented by the previous government
• Even the Washington Post has published an article in which it criticising Rodriguez Zapatero's policies against terrorism and claiming that the march this weekend marks the end of the Spanish president's "honeymoon" with the Spanish electorate.

One of the characteristics of Spain is that absolutely everything in this country somehow ends up becoming politicised: football, education, culture, wine.... and victims of terrorism. Instead of there being just one large association, there are several associations, organizations and foundations for victims of terrorism and their families in Spain. And each one has an, albeit undeclared, political allegiance.

Saturday's march was organised by the AVT, tradicionally more at home with the policies of Aznar's Popular Party government. Because of this the leaders of the Popular Party turned out in force. Even ex-PM Aznar participated in the march organized to protest at the proposed talks with ETA (a little ironic given the fact that when he was leader of Spain, Aznar authorised talks with Eta without even consulting Congress). Meanwhile, members of other victim associations (including victims of the Madrid train bombings) and political parties stayed away.

Yesterday President Rodriguez Zapatero offered to meet the leaders of all groups representing victims of terrorism and so far his offer has been welcomed by all involved. The talks will take place on June 21st and will consist of individual meetings between Spain's president, the Commissioner for Victims of Terrorism and the leaders of each association, followed by a general meeting with all groups and political leaders.

Zapatero said this morning that he did not intend to change his policies according to the demands of the AVT, but that he was prepared to listen first-hand to the concerns expressed during Saturday's mass demonstration. He also said that, unlike Spain's previous government, he was willing to acknowledge counter-opinions, explain his position, and seek consensus.

Although Aznar will probably use this as another example of "Zapatero the appeaser", if Rodriguez Zapatero succeeds in reconciling some of the differences which divide the different associations of victims it will be a step in the right direction along the very difficult road ahead.

Government in Spain proposes talks with ETA

After what has possibly been the bitterest week so far in Spanish politics with the split between Spain's two major political parties becoming wider and wider everytime a member from either party opens his or her mouth, Spanish members of parliament are expected to vote today in favor of the Socialist government's proposal to start talks with ETA if the Basque terrorist group agrees to drop all violent activity.

Last week was Spain's yearly Debate of the Nation, during which the President of Spain explains his government's policies and answers questions put to him by all parties for two days. After a series of bitter exchanges on the first day of the debate, during which the leader of the opposition party, Mariano Rajoy, accused the Socialist party of betraying the victims of ETA, the Popular Party formally withdrew its support from the anti-terrorism pact which has existed between Spain's two major parties for the past few years. The style of Rajoy during the debate was so reminiscent of that of ex-President Aznar that at one moment during one of his answers, President Rodriguez Zapatero referred to the PP leader as "Señor Aznar" by mistake.

According to a poll published yesterday by Cadena Ser, and despite frequent blunders made by this inexperienced government, Spaniards continue to prefer the moderation and messages of respect for political opponents and consensus of Zapatero to the often ruthlessly agressive style of the leaders of the opposition, and the the Spanish President's popularity has risen higher as a result of last weeks debate.

This is going to be a very complicated year for the Spanish government which needs the support of the Popular Party in order to fulfill one of its most controversial electoral promises: modification of the Spanish Constitution. Rodriguez Zapatero has pledged to inform all parties of any meetings with Basque separatists and if, as expected, the Spanish congress approves the government's motion to offer dialogue to ETA if the terrorists drop their weapons, the rift between the parties will probably become even wider (members of the Popular Party are the only representatives expected to vote against the motion).

For the results of any future negotiations between the Spanish government and Basque separatists to have any real meaning, Spain's main political parties will need to show a united front. However, relations between the two parties are at an all-time low, and it is difficult to see just how (or if) they will get out of the present rut.

Zapatero announces constitutional reform in Spain

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero continues to surprise many sectors in Spain with the speed at which he is working to fulfill his electoral promises.

Yesterday in what many newspapers hail as a historic occasion in the Spanish Senate, Zapatero led a debate centred around the theme of constitutional reform, one of the most controversial items in the Socialist electoral campaign for the Popular Party, who throughout the campaign warned that the unity of Spain would become more precarious under a Socialist government and maintained that the Spanish constitution should never be reformed. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero however has always insisted that a the constitution should reflect the will of its people, and that successful constitutional reform, achieved by dialogue and consensus, reflects the maturity of a nation rather than its weaknesses.

Yesterday Zapatero, flanked by 10 of the 16 government ministers, made a speech in the Senate which stressed his wish to give the Upper House a greater role in policies affecting regional autonomies, so that it effectively has more executive power and relevance in Spanish politics. The Spanish President wants all proposals for legislative reform affecting the powers and financing of Spain's autonomous regions to receive their first reading in the Senate, and to do this the text of the Third Chapter of the Spanish constitution has to be changed. Zapatero said he sought the support of all parties in this process "The best reform is that which achieves consensus" he said. At the beginning of his speech, Zapatero was booed by representatives of the Popular Party. "I told you that the Senate needed this debate" he replied, "and I hope that nobody will exclude themselves or will feel excluded" (from the process leading up to the eventual reform of the Spanish constitution).

During the debate the spokesmen of all the Spanish nationalist parties in the Senate welcomed Zapatero's appearance in the Upper House as well as the contents of his speech, and for the first time the Popular Party spokesman in the Senate said his party would not oppose constitutional reform if it served to give the Senate a new, relevant role in Spanish politics.

Yesterday was the first time since 1986 that a President of Spain has participated in a debate with representatives of the Spanish Senate, and the majority of Spanish newspapers this morning are supportive of Zapatero's decisive appearance in the Senate and of a new atmosphere of general consensus (this is the first time the PP has not opposed the notion of constitutional reform) in Spanish politics.

Zapatero says he will recall Spanish troops from Iraq as soon as possible

Spain's new President has said that Spain's 1,400 troops in Iraq will be withdrawn "in the shortest possible time". Zapatero said today "With the information we have, and which we have gathered over the past few weeks, it is not foreseeable that the United Nations will adopt a resolution that satisfies Spain's terms".

"I have given the order to do everything necessary to bring the Spanish troops stationed in Iraq home in the shortest time possible and with the greatest security guarantees," Zapatero said today in a statement broadcast on national television. Zapatero said Spain's government would continue to support Iraq's stability, democratization, territorial integrity and reconstruction.

Spain will also support any U.N. or European Union effort to help Iraqis' recover sovereignty and hold free, democratic elections in accordance with International Law, Zapatero said.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's new President

Yesterday Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero became Spain's new President having received 183 votes in his favour after the debates held on Thursday and Friday. It is the first time in Spain's new democracy, that any Spanish President has been voted in with only one party (the Popular Party) voting against. With the exception of the Popular Party, all the other political parties voted in favour of Zapatero, except the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Catalan Nationalist Party (CIU) who both abstained.