Letter from Spain : A well-deserved holiday?

By Elena Gallego

In August, Spain slows down in almost all fields: companies are at half throttle, legal proceedings are postponed, many businesses close until September, and politicians enjoy a vacation that has detractors and supporters. This controversy is especially meaningful for the newly appointed ministers: have they acquired the right to vacations?

And it is that the Executive closed yesterday August 3, with its last meeting of the Council of Ministers, until next August 24 and with many issues left unresolved: in the middle of the COVID fifth wave, with up to half a thousand outbreaks throughout the territory and 1,229 daily infections. Figures that are reminiscent of the beginning of the pandemic. Still, the situation cannot be compared due to increased immunity.

Furthermore, and despite the economic recovery that president Sánchez assured, the truth is that the Government break comes with the public debt growing exponentially, as it has gone from representing 99% of GDP to 125%. The Government has been silent about any containment plan.

 It leaves in the drawer, without executing, the package of labour measures, pensions and without solving the regional financing, the General Budgets or the Housing Law.

In addition, the highest electricity bill in history.

Finally, the rest of the population goes on vacation digesting the new meaning of State that the government leaves us: ‘Multilevel Spain’, with bilateral meetings between the central government and the autonomous regions from which it requires support to, for example, approve the 2022 General Budgets, in exchange for starting concessions from the State. A 'win-win' for both.

To be continued…..

Meanwhile, the Olympic Games make us dream. Winning medals makes us forget the day by day, the routine, the problems, and places us at the level of the Gods on Mount Olympus……for 17 days.