My last post was the closing of a personal cycle which started, unknowingly to me then, that very day six years ago. I was reviewing some of my old notes and posts, from my former blog, and found very interesting things I wrote. Some of them, specially the latter, were about the different points of view all over the world and the relationship with the jolly Obama Mania which took the world one year and some months ago.
As a spanish passport holder born in Europe, with a hard latin influence (and I mean latin for Rome, but that will be another post), I work and function on some strong structures about some things, which collide directly with some anglo views. For example, the use of a 3000 year old technology as if it were a XXI century discovery by an art college graduatedor the 2008′s ‘discovery’ about ‘irregular shaped vegetables’, and that those vegetables are edible.
Some years ago, those anglo discoveries used to freaked me out of my mind, as they were granted concepts for me: iberians, etruscans, greeks, romans and their descendants were planting ‘irregular’ vegetables and using terracotta bowls to fresh and conserve them during the last 3000 years.
Now, those ‘discovered things’ stopped to amaze me. I think it’s a matter of needs. If you don’t need to fresh and conserve your food, you do not invent terracotta bowls. And the same applies to stone age tribes living in papua nowadays or the Masai. They did not needed even the wheel, so be it.
That explains things as the anglosphere looking more to east and Asia, knowing more about the political situation there, than into South America. But the curious thing is that Europe buys all products the anglo-american shop sells, from lousy counter-terrorism measures to the ‘messianic’ new US president.
Back in 2008, all Europe supported US candidate Barak Obama. And sometimes in a really freaky selfish way. Even Mr. Zapatero’s right hand, Pepe Blanco (now minister of infrastructure), in Spain wrote on his blog that he would not post anything about american elections in order to not interfere in favour of Obama. No further comments.
When Mr. Obama became President elect, all europe and most of the world, celebrated. Those celebrations included the full streaming of acceptance speech on TV and the call from the Euro Parliament on the Member States to be prepared to accept Guantánamo inmates in the EU in case the US asks so. And Spain accepted. As in the movies, where the neighbours bring cakes to the newcomers.
After that we saw some more pathetic episodes starred by spanish government members, in order to gain the favour of the Potus. But what those so called politicians did not were aware of, is that the Potus will do what is best for its country. President Obama will work for the US, not for Europe, China or Zimbabwe. He does not care about what happens in those places, at least as much it does not affect US interests, and then he will do what he (or his team) think is best for them the US.
Instead of this, of helping its citizens getting out from the financial breakdown, spanish government seems more interested in appearing in the pictures with the new naked emperor. Instead of working for their own interests, they want to like the new Potus, forgetting about who feeds them. And then the first slap came out, with Mr. Obama cancelling his visit to Europe. And Europe felt snubbed. Obamity or serendipity?
As I said earlier, all is on the eye of the beholder. And for now we can behold the recent riots in Greece, but somehow all the world forgot those late 2008 events. Those riots two years ago were provoked by the sons of the great greek political leaders in the 80s. 21st Century socialist feudal lords talking about opportunities in a broke country. Two years later, George Papandreou, now PM, stated that the EU must pay its guilt for the greek fail, and, guess what, he took the case in front of Emperor Obama waiting for him to intercede.
Unrest is growing up fast, and from the plain citizen position, the “behold” is that they have to pay for everything, including the bailout of their own country and even for countries placed well far behind their sight. European northern countries are disturbed? Well, just look at Greece. And as in ‘PIGS’, the S goes behind the G.
These weeks, a somewhat viral-yes-we-can campaign striked hard in Spain: estosololoarreglamosentretodos.org (that would be togetherwecanstraightenthingsout.org). Developed by a near-government marketing firm and paid by spanish top companies and banks, the costs of this ‘yes we can’ style are estimated in 4 milion euros.
People started to join against it. And this is the normal thing to happen with 23% of the population (and summing up fast) lost their job, banks are not letting a single cent, real estate and housing prices are starting to rise again and the socialist government of Mr. Zapatero is worried guessing why Obama cancelled his visit and while stating that he “thinks that the country is out of the crisis….or at least it will not take long…”, bailing out the same construction sector which took the country to its knees a year and a half after bailing out the entire bank system, passing a 2 points rise in VAT for the summer and planning to enlarge retirement age two years.
Obama and its “Yes we can!” campaign, as the eco-cooler or the perfect-shaped turnip, works perfect… back in the US, but it will be not valid here at Spain. It can not be understood. And giving away 4 million euros to your friends can give you a generous image, except when that money comes from public tax money. Then you become a thief. Anyway, I do not think there will be riots, but only because people here are so lazy and only does that when they are forbidden to drink in public spaces.
What I can say is, if someone has any money in spanish banks, get it out as soon as possible. Things will get tough.
