Sinister forces are out to get our Zapatero and his stewardship of this country, according to José Blanco from the PSOE. Lunatic financiers and mad billionaires have clubbed together with foreign newspapers (like the Financial Times) and the Partido Popular (for once, in front in the polls). The Minister of the Economy, Elena Salgado, is in London today to assure investors that Spain is a safe place and that the public debt is 'assumable'. Spain's unemployment is over twice the European average at 19.8% and the Nobel prize for economy Paul Krugman, has echoed Nouriel Roubini a professor from the University of New York who said at the World Economic Forum that 'Spain is an even bigger risk for the euro than Greece'.
'Nothing which is going on in the world, including the editorials in some foreign newspapers, is by chance or innocent' says José Blanco, who adds (in the El Mundo version of events), 'hay una campaña perfectamente orquestrada para demonizar y destruir al presidente del Gobierno' - there is a campaign perfectly orchestrated to demonise and destroy the President of the Government. Dang foreigners, I betcha!
Typically Spanish adds: 'Spain will owe 553 billion € in debt by the end of this year according to the latest predictions. The Ministry for Economy is keen to note that the amount is 55% of G.D.P., some 20% lower than the European average and lower than in countries such as the U.K., France and Germany. Even so international investors have voiced doubts of late that Spain will be able to reduce the debt, and have called for tougher measures from the Government'.
Meanwhile, I was glad to see that the head of the UGT union, Cándido Méndez, supports the Government's plan to increase the retirement age from 65 to 67.

I've had this old Renault for the past eight years. It goes well, but it has sat around, unused, since Mrs Rambeau has been sick. So, I had it ITV'd the other day and sold it last Tuesday for a modest sum to a nice lady, whose lawyer in Las Buganvillas charged her - at 320 euros - about half the price of the car again to do the transfer.
Always nice to see that the legal profession is not suffering unduly during the current crisis.
Anyway, having patiently waited the eight years, my current old banger died this morning outside the doctors.

Mojácar's tourist councillor Angel Medina was at the Turismur regional tourist fair in Torre Pacheco, Murcia this weekend, manning the Mojácar stand and promoting our area locally. See Teleprensa. 'Within our capabilities and budget', says Angel, 'we are doing all we can to promote our attractions both nationally and internationally'.

Angel 'Bienvenida' has made an excellent film about Fritz Mooney - the American artist who lived in Mojácar and Bédar during the seventies and eighties. See it on the Fritz page.

The new (and latest in a long line) Mojácar business association ACEM kicks off tonight with a dinner and sundry speeches and attractions. The association is - according to Teleprensa - a balanced mixture of local and foreign members that work in commerce, service and hostelry. The president is Karen Schröter and the vice-president is our very own Bartolome Flores, who was the PSOE mayor of Mojácar during the first half of the nineties.
The aim of the group is (quote) 'to work together in the defence of our businesses and to encourage the political institutions to become more active in supporting and encouraging the wealth created by local small business'.
To this end, we have another group which might help, the Mojácar Positiva association which wants to create a 'voting block' of European citizens to influence a chosen political group towards local business and, above all, tourism.
The ACEM has a webpage under construction at www.esmojacar.com. The association has the unreserved support of Spectrum Radio, somebody called Jon Gaunt and, of course, The Weenie.

See David's write-up here.

As one of our local caja de ahorros managers contemplates his future after receiving a letter from head office yesterday regarding his inflated number of late or non-payers among his mortgages, mine included, we must raise a glass to the Grupo Santander, who in these difficult times has managed to increase its profits by 0.7% to 8,943 million euros (2009). The bank, presided by the amusingly named Emilio Botín (botín means 'swag' or perhaps 'loot') is Spain's biggest bank and the world's seventh most profitable. The group owns the Banco Santander, the Banesto, Banif, Abbey and several south-American banks. It boasts 69 million clients.

That's the title of Larry Kovaks' book. You may remember him, an old detective in a stained gabardine smoking a cheap cigar and drinking martinis and brandy while he followed along behind the gypmeisters that infest the tourist trail in Barcelona. His stories appeared in The New Entertainer and can be found on www.kovakspi.com.
The book 'Barcelona - City of Crime' by Larry Kovaks is available at Fabulist Media.
Kovaks says - buy it, don't steal it!

Besides putting up the retirement age by two years to 67, the Government has put forward plans to raise the number of years paying social security from 15 to 17 before any pension is paid whatsoever (hurting both the increased number of those unemployed and, of course, foreign workers who have not been here long enough). Another 'wonderful idea' is to figure the pension from the last 25 years rather than the last 15.
Even their own party has baulked at this last suggestion sent today to the European Commision and the Gov has backtracked for the time being.

From Per Svensson, Ciudadanos Europeos:
A sarcastic former President of the Government Jose Maria Aznar (PP) has declared that the present Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero (PSOE) has 'returned Spain dramatically to the European second division by his mismanagement of the economy' and that 'nobody had previously caused so much damage in so short a time.'
Leading newspaper El Mundo asked its readers if they agreed with Aznar; 84% answered “yes” 16% disagreed.

For a good drubbing for Zapatero, see Wednesday's post at Colin Davies' Thoughts from Galicia blog.

A note from the AUAN:
JUDGE ORDERS TEMPORARY HOME BE PROVIDED FOR LEN AND HELEN PRIOR
After two years of living in their former garage, following the illegal demolition of their home, at last there is a bit of good news for Len and Helen Prior of Vera.
As well as claiming compensation from the council for the loss of their home, the lawyers acting for the couple also applied for “provisional measures” to house them in a property similar to the one they lost. Now the judge in the case has ordered the council to either find them a similar property or pay the rent on one they find for themselves while the case is sorted out.
Len and Helen have indeed found a suitable property and are now waiting for the council to approve the agreement. They are both pensioners and their health has suffered considerably during the stress of the last two years. The demolition of their house was illegal and to date they have received nothing for their loss.
They have NOT won their case, NEITHER have they received any compensation. These matters are still to be resolved.
But we at the AUAN are delighted that they will at least be accommodated somewhere more suitable than the garage in which they have spent their last two anxious years.

El Mundo:Vera tendrá que costear la casa al matrimonio británico al que le demolieron la suya.

Ideal: El juez insta a López a facilitar a los Prior una casa en Vera.

The government appears keen to close down 75% of the FM radios that stretch across Spain for the amusing reason that they are illegal. These 'pirate' radios make up 3000 of the 4200 FM broadcasters across the country, whose permits must come from the regional autonomy. To get a permit, one must needs wait until the autonomy opens a rare 'window' with so and so many licences available. There were three offered in this province last year as part of this ongoing process. All went to political friends (PSOE connections). So, to get a licence, you need to post a bond of 80,000 euros, and be approved by the regional authority (take that as you read it). Our COPE (conservative) station in Mojácar had its licence and frequency removed a few years back... to be given to a new untried group of friends who opened a branch of the SER (a pro PSOE broadcaster).
Fines for illegal radios - those that get denounced (!) - vary from 60,000 to 610,000 euros, depending on the whim of the autonomy.
Now, if the government in fact goes ahead with closing down all the 'illegals' - despite digital radio which gives more than enough room for them all - then we will probably lose all the English-language radios here (who appear in my opinion to run programs made more for 'exiles' than for 'settlers') and, of course, many Spanish broadcasters.
But, worse still, this absurd 'socialist' government will put another fifteen thousand people out of work.