Last weekend, The “Conservative” People’s Party in Spain won control of the Parliament, and Mariano Rajoy will become the new Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
Why did the socialists lose control and who is Mariano Rajoy?<\/p>\n
Spain has a long history of cultural conflict – the earliest settlers (Iberians) came from Libya (See:\u00a0 Christians were here first!) and Celts from the North.\u00a0\u00a0 Then the Phoenicians showed up (current day Lebanon), then the Greeks, then the Romans.\u00a0\u00a0 Note that the Romans who would ultimately force the Christian religion on Spain conquered Spain 200 years before Jesus of Nazareth walked through the gates of Jerusalem, for you fans of “Western Civilization”.<\/p>\n
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th Century, the Visigoths took control of most of the Iberian peninsula – they were Germanic tribes who had been converted to Christianity by the Roman rule.<\/p>\n
In the 8th century, the disorganized Spain was conquered by Islamic forces from the South.\u00a0 They would control Spain until 1492 (does that date ring a bell?) when the last Islamic stronghold fell and the Spanish Inquisition to purge non-Christians from Spain began.<\/p>\n
With this history and the lack of any real definition of what being “Spanish” means, Spain still has a lot of cultural and ethnic tension that bubbles up frequently.<\/p>\n
The Basque people are made up about 2 million people with an actual cultural identity along the Northern border with France – the Romans never tried to conquer them and neither did the Moors.\u00a0\u00a0 The Basques want their own country carved out of Spain and France.\u00a0 Hidden behind the national election was the new party in the Basque region that wants independence got 25% of the vote.<\/p>\n
The Catalans are another distinct ethnic group in Spain with their own language and culture – the 4 provinces in the North East of Spain.\u00a0 Catalans make up about 6 million of Spain’s population, mostly around Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Mariano Rajoy was born in 1955, the son of a judge.\u00a0\u00a0 He grew in in Galicia and Leon in far NorthWest Spain, far from the Basque and Catalan areas.\u00a0\u00a0 He went to private school, and then University to become a lawyer.\u00a0\u00a0 He almost immediately went to work for the government (not a businessman)… working his way up from property registrar to city attorney to President of the Province of Pontevedra, one of the four provinces that make up Galicia.<\/p>\n
He was elected to the national Parliament in 1986, but resigned to become VP of the regional autonomous government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia).\u00a0 He then worked his way up within the People’s Party.\u00a0\u00a0 When the PP won control from the Socialists in 1996, he took on the post of the Minister of Public Administration.\u00a0\u00a0 Much of his time was involved negotiating with the Basques and Catalans about the details of their autonomy from the Central Government.\u00a0\u00a0 Rajoy’s grandfather had been very active in the effort to get autonomy for Galicia.<\/p>\n
In 1999, Rajoy became head of the “Education, Culture and Sports” – he was able to get the country to establish Secondary Education (high schools) for all students.<\/p>\n
When the PP gained an absolute majority in 2000, he was appointed to be Vice President, then Minister of the Interior.<\/p>\n
In November 2002, the Greek owned oil tanker Prestigue sank<\/a> off the coast of Galicia.\u00a0 When the government failed to respond to the disaster, the popularity of the PP and Rajoy plummeted.<\/p>\n When the PP expressed support for the US invasion of Iraq (which was not supported by the people of Spain), it further weakened their political support.<\/p>\n Three days before the national elections, on March 11, 2004, 190 people died and 2000 were injured when bombs exploded on commuter trains.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 The PP government immediately blamed the attacks on the ETA (the Basque separatist\/terorist movement).<\/p>\n Later that day, a van is found containing a video tape and proof that Al Queda was responsible and directly claimed responsibility for the attack.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Basques are Roman Catholics, not Muslims. \u00a0 The incorrect accusation against the Basques for the bombings was clear by election day and cost the PP substantial support from the Basque region, and may explain the lack of PP support in this year’s election in the Basque region.<\/p>\n Following the attacks, the leader of the Socialists promised that if elected, the 1,400 Spanish troops in Iraq would be immediately brought home.\u00a0 The people of Spain swept the Socialists into office with an absolute majority, sweeping the PP from power.\u00a0\u00a0 The last of the Spanish forces left Iraq on May 21, 2004.<\/a><\/p>\n For some insight into the problems in Spain, take a look at this:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/debate\/article-2064249\/Spain-election-Mariano-Rajoy-faces-formidable-task-reasons-optimistic.html<\/p>\n The article begins with this joke making the rounds in England:<\/p>\n Some years ago a small rural town in Spain twinned with a similar town in Greece. The Mayor of the Greek town visited the Spanish town. When he saw the palatial mansion belonging to the Spanish mayor he wondered how he could afford such a house.<\/span><\/p>\n The Spaniard said, ‘You see that bridge over there? The EU gave us a grant to build a two-lane bridge, but by building a single lane bridge with traffic lights at either end this house could be built.’<\/span><\/p>\n The following year the Spaniard visited the Greek town. He was simply amazed at the Greek Mayor’s house, gold taps, marble floors, it was marvelous. When he asked how this could be afforded the Greek said, ‘You see that bridge over there?’<\/span> The Spaniard replied, ‘No.’<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last weekend, The “Conservative” People’s Party in Spain won control of the Parliament, and Mariano Rajoy will become the new Prime Minister. Why did the socialists lose control and who is Mariano Rajoy? Spain has a long history of cultural … Continue reading
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