Spain Paper Review - Friday January 30 2009

Spain Paper Review - Friday January 30 2009
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By h.b. - Jan 30, 2009 - 9:58 AM
The decision of the Spanish National Court to start proceedings against Israel on a charge of crimes against humanity leads some of the papers today.

Today's El País front page.

El Mundo reports that Israel has described the start of war crimes proceedings against it in the Spanish National Court as ‘delirious’ as its ex defence minister and six soldiers are indicted. It relates to the bombing in 2002 of the home of a Hamas leader who was killed, but so were 14 others, and 150 more were injured.
Público dedicates its front page to the story and shows the scene of destruction after the bombing. The paper says that Israel has attacked Spain for the decision of a National Court judge to impute an ex Defence Minister and six Israeli soldiers on a charge of crimes against humanity. The Israeli Government say they will fight the accusation with vigour, while the Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who has been in Israel, has said that the Spanish judiciary is independent.

El Mundo leads with the news that Spain now has three million civil servants, and that the public sector is existing far away from the harsh conditions facing the private sector. The paper notes that 116,000 new public jobs were created last year, while 1,280,000 salaried workers ended up on the dole.

El Mundo reports that the Minister for Justice, Fernández Bermejo has withdrawn a law, because he forgot to take it first before the Cabinet. The law relates to new ideas on laws against domestic violence.

El Mundo has a photo of Esperanza Aguirre, the PP President of the Madrid region, with her (alleged) arch rival, the Mayor, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, meeting at the Madrid Day at the Fitur tourism fair in the capital. The two are pictured side by side watching a display of martial arts. The caption reads ‘learning to knock down the adversary’.

El País headlines that the Madrid spying scandal in the Partido Popular has had an effect in the polls, with the paper reporting that the opposition is now eight points behind the government in the intention to vote. The poll by Metroscopia shows that PP leader Mariano Rajoy has been unable to make any political progress, despite the recession. The paper also reports that Esperanza Aguirre has been trying to get the party to suspend the investigation into the spying affair.
Público has another poll today, also showing a fall in support for the PP – PSOE 40.2%, PP 36.7%

El Mundo reports that the President of Caja Madrid savings bank, Miguel Blesa, has imposed new statues which will allow him to remain in office. Already the Madrid regional government has said it considers the move illegal. It’s part of the ongoing battle for political power in the savings bank.

ABC says that the Constitutional Court has confirmed that the Basque political party, ANV, is illegal. The paper notes that even so they get to manage 32 million € in Zapatero’s new infrastructure plan.

El País reports that mortgages in Spain have seen their largest fall for seven years. The Euribor rate ended January at 2.622%, taking average monthly payments down by some 156 €.

In international stories, El Mundo notes protectionist activity from the United States. The paper notes that all the new public works being carried out in the states will have to be done using only materials ‘made in the USA’.
ABC headlines the story with a photo of Obama, noting that foreign companies are excluded from his infrastructure plan.

El País has a front page photo of Barack Obama, hugging Lilly Ledbetter. The pic was taken just before he signed the law for sexual equality in wages. The paper says that it’s the first law which Obama has signed, and describes it as a triumph of a woman from Alabama.

Back in Spain, El País notes that the Ministry for the Environment has admitted a delay in the works to build desalination plants across the city. The chief of the project has been sacked according to the paper.

El País reports that the PP in the regions they govern have admitted that children have to return to the citizenship classes, following the ruling from the Supreme Court. The paper says some parents are resisting doing so, and the Church has said it will not comment until it has read the entire sentence.
ABC takes a sentence from one of the text books used – ‘It’s essential that youngsters be unjust with mature people’ – The paper says this is one of the ‘pearls’ which can be found in the manuals.

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