Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
I read through El Pais today and saw the article about Bono putting this general under house arrest, and I couldn't understand why Bono was acting now, since similar comments were made by military officers last year.

Now I understand.

While a repeat of 1981, let alone 1936 is highly unlikely, there's part of me that suspects that someone hasn't let certain General, members of the AVT, and PP militants in on this.  Maybe it's more accurate to say while a military uprising just isn't going to happen, a vocal, violent minority might break the peace, and fire up the and old day when the Spanish government ran death squads, and the Pistoleros de Cristo Rey committed acts of violence.

The forced embrace of "Europe" is indicative of the deep fear most Spanish have of the dirty past.  I understand the old men who cling to fascist past, it's the young kids who become skinheads, attacked Santiago Carillo last year, and gave fascist salutes at the protest aginst th removal of the last stature of Franco in Madrid that I don't understand.  There's a rising tide of violence from the Spanish right, they're deeply frustrated at being totally out of power in a way that hasn't been true since 1936, and I'm afraid the result may be that at least some of the right takes matters into their own hands.  And decides to commit terrorism, assasinations, and general bad behavior in the name of Spain.  Look what they've done to Pilar Manjon......

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 09:40:51 PM EST
One could argue that this is a classic pronunciamiento, where a military commander makes a political statement with no intention of actually taking arms if the government does not act on it and there is not wide support within the armed forces, but in that case Mena is over 100 years out of date.

I think the PP has completely lost it, but it represents 10M voters whose opinions it influences. The real test will come if and when they lose the next general election.

I see you've taken to my meme, but I want to stress once again that it is not that they are out of power for the first time since 1936 (see 1982-1996) but that the political tension is at a level that has not been seen since the 1930's (or maybe the 1975-78 if you want to be less dramatic and sound more optimistic).

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 10:52:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
One could argue that this is a classic pronunciamiento, where a military commander makes a political statement with no intention of actually taking arms if the government does not act on it and there is not wide support within the armed forces, but in that case Mena is over 100 years out of date.

I've always thought this was a possiblity when Sanz Roldan made the statement about the unity of Spain being a logical preoocupation of the military, which was similiar to the statement here.

I see you've taken to my meme, but I want to stress once again that it is not that they are out of power for the first time since 1936 (see 1982-1996) but that the political tension is at a level that has not been seen since the 1930's (or maybe the 1975-78 if you want to be less dramatic and sound more optimistic).

Yes, I took to your meme.  And I think the difference between this and the 14 years of Felipsmo is the enduring myth of March 11, and the willingess of Zapatero to attack the wounds of the Civil War, removing the staute of Franco, etc.
And between the Estatut and the failed attempt to force an "autonomy" (indepence) referendum in the Basque counry there's a real sense that Spain's unity is threatened in a way that hasn't been true since the passage of the autonomy statutes in 78-81, or more darkly, 1936.  

The enduring myth of March 11th allows the right to believe that they had their country stolen from them by Basque terrorists working with Muslims to undermine Spain.  It's shades of the era before the Reconquest when the Basques collaborated with the taifa states on the peninula against their fellow Christians.


And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 10:07:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
And here I thought you were off the wall with your "General's Shadow" diary which you link...

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Jan 9th, 2006 at 03:37:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I see the that the IU used the term pronunciamiento also, clearly they are fans of my diaries :-)

Call me Cassandra. I'd like to be wrong more often.  

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Mon Jan 9th, 2006 at 08:46:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series