Shame on Spain

Shame. That is what Spaniards will be facing in the next G20 summit. The withdraw from Kosovo is a betrayal to many of Spain allies. And a worst thing is that this is not the first time Mr. Zapatero does it.

But frankly, I don’t know what is worse, if the shame abroad or the shame inside your own country. The mistakes made by Ms. Chacon (Spain’s MoD) and Mr. Zapatero are many and big. The main one, not asking first NATO about it or their intentions. But it wasn’t consulted internally either! Mr. Moratinos (Spain’s Foreign Minister) didn’t know anything about the withdraw and many Spanish ambassadors (including the one to the US) had to know about the withdraw from the newspapers.

Maybe Mr. Zapatero doesn’t think that Spain’s image abroad has been damaged, but truth is that it has; much and for many years. All NATO allies have criticized Spain’s decision. Heavily. Also inside Spain, it has become an important issue that has carried over for the first time since Mr. Zapatero was elected a general opposition to his Government. Not only in the Parliament, also on the streets. And it is not a matter of what but how.

To all that, add the paranoia around Kosovo reigning in Spain. Mr. Zapatero’s Government is one of the 5 countries of the EU that still hasn’t recognized Kosovo as a country. It is all because of a fear of that agitating Spain’s own internal nationalism’s demands. Quite silly argument, if I have to say. But to the point, Spain doesn’t recognize Kosovo but thinks that it is ready to get on its own as a country. Anyone explains this to me?

In yesterday’s control session in the Parliament, Mr. Zapatero and Ms. Chacon received a rain of criticism from all the parties. Only under Aznar’s Government, during the Iraq war, happened something similar.

Also there is the issue of the soldiers going out from a relatively pacified country but not home. They are more likely to go to Afghanistan. Spain’s law doesn’t allow more than 3,000 soldiers deployed overseas at any time, and its quite clear that those 600 soldiers will now be deployed in Afghanistan as Obama’s Administration has requested since January. Maybe with that extra effort the Spaniards will start to get out of their safe base in Afghanistan and patrol their assignated area as any other ally does combating the Taliban.

Going back to the internal show in Spain, if there wasn’t shameless enough with just the withdraw, the after-time circus is becoming even more embarrassing for the Spaniards. First; there is no time to communicate the withdraw to NATO allies, but plenty of time to made a video statement for the news channels. Second; the criticism against the MoD is not justified and it is all a macho attack against a female Minister.

But it is even worse see Spanish Government more worried about disappointing Obama than of disappointing itself and their country abroad.


Cartoon by Manel Fontdevila