Spain Papers Review - Wednesday May 21 2008

Spain Papers Review - Wednesday May 21 2008
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By h.b. - May 21, 2008 - 9:45 AM

Today's El Mundo with the fly on Ibarretxe's nose.

The arrest of the man considered to be the ETA Number One dominates the Spanish front pages today.

El Mundo headlines that López Peña has been arrested in France, describing him as the man who ordered the end of the ETA cease fire.
The paper says that as well as the ETA number one, three other members of the terrorist group were arrested by the Gendarmerie and the Guardia Civil. El Mundo says the four were led from the flat where they were detained shouting ‘Gora ETA, we will win’.
El País leads with the arrest and has a photo of the ETA number one who was known as Thierry.
ABC says that the part of ETA which held talks with the Government has now fallen in France. The paper says the four armed terrorists arrested yesterday looked after different areas of the terrorist organisation.
El Periódico leads with the fall of the ETA chief and says that he played a decisive role in the end of the cease fire.

The papers all cover the meeting yesterday between the legendakari, the President of the Basque Parliament, and the Prime Minister. El Mundo has a photo of Juan José Ibarretxe, oddly with a fly sitting on his nose, and says he told the press after the meeting that José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero got angry when he refused to offer him the same as he had offered ETA – talks in other words. El Mundo notes that after the two hour meeting the Prime Minister said he still ‘did not really know’ what were the real intentions of the lehendakari on his ‘journey to nowhere’.
EL Pais has a photo of the two and says that Ibarretxe is pressing ahead with his plans, despite the veto from the Prime Minister.

The latest episode in the Partido Popular draws much comment. El Mundo says that Mariano Rajoy has fallen in to the arms of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and asked him the question ‘Why do I have to go?’
The paper speculates as to whether the Mayor of Madrid is now set to be the new Secretary General of the Partido Popular.
ABC has a large front page photo of Rajoy and says that he has chosen Gallardón for his new team. The paper says that Aguirre has seen the decision ‘as normal’.
El Periódico considers that Rajoy has faced up to the hardliners in the party by taking on Gallardón.

El Mundo notes that a man shot his ex wife to death in Sabadell yesterday, the day after he had signed the divorce papers.

Long time well known criminal investors in Spain, known as ‘Los Albertos’ are in court again, according to El Mundo, for falsifying a letter which was used to try and cover up an earlier fraud.

El País notes that the Madrid Region is giving instructions to teachers in the area on how to give the new citizenship classes. Some 50 teachers have been called in to hear the instruction according to the paper, and told that central Government has imposed ‘invented’ material on the subject which goes against ‘rights and freedoms’.

ABC informs us that the financial crisis has obliged Pedro Solbes to allow the regional administrations to move into the red. He has called for austerity and a control on costs, but the regions consider there has been a lack of preparation by the Government in the face of the slow down.

In international stories -
El Mundo notes that Berlusconi has started a legal reform in Italy which will convert paperless immigrants into criminals who will be able to be sent to jail.

El Periódico has a photo of a street in Naples full or rubbish and says the city has called on Berlusconi to solve the problem, and oddly the other Barcelona paper, La Vanguardia also has the same front page photo.

And finally,
El Mundo notes that Brussels is to cut EU agricultural subsidies to Spain by 350 million.

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