Spain Oddity

While in 2015 NASA has discovered salt water on Mars, earthly Spain seems incapable of looking up from its petty local affairs. After the recent December elections which have left the country in a governmental impasse, conservatives and socialists could have announced a grand coalition, in order to stop the power fragmentation that is already weighing down the economy. In Europe there are currently coalition governments in 21 of the other 27 EU member countries, 13 of which are large left/right coalitions. If Spain had the democratic seniority corresponding to its rank as the fourth European economy, the two main political parties would be working together with the King in order to get the country back on track.

But Spain seems to have trouble assimilating large political projects in positive format, while negative projects tend to get massive followings. Since Dictator Franco died, Spaniards of all political tendencies have been unable to join forces encouraged by noble ideas that might benefit their country. In the meantime the Spanish national football team is admired for the sportsmanship and fair-play which have enabled it to become one of the eight national clubs to win the FIFA World Cup championship, after coming first at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Currently the No.1 European champion, with titles in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, having defeated Germany and Italy in the respective finals, the Spanish “Selección Nacional” is the only state team with three consecutive victories at the continental championship and the World Cup.

Unfortunately, Spanish power games –played by corrupt politicians who paradoxically claim to admire the qualities that make Spanish football players the best in the world– have left the country stuck in the middle of the political regeneration that could finally transform the country into a real Western democracy.