Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has been having a tough summer. The country’s economy continues to contract, unemployment has soared, and — most personally damaging of all — he and his (very) right-wing Partido Popular have been embroiled in a slush fund corruption scandal.
A recent speech to the Spanish parliament was intended to draw a line under the affair. But Rajoy seemed not to have read his text in advance: after each quote, he also read out loud the words in parentheses, ‘(fin de la cita)’ — ‘(end of quote)’. He did this nine times, with varying intonations of intensity, triggering confusion among his peers in parliament and prompting guffaws among the public at home.
It brings to mind the classic “As I look out over this magnificent vista” clip from The West Wing. It’s Sunday, so why not enjoy those four minutes once again…
* Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
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6 Comments
We should make it a requirement of membership that, in order to join the Lib Dems, you must be a West Wing fan.
If you have been to Spain recently, you will have seen the great unhappiness in this country.
This of course does come back to a situation, that makes life difficult for some of us.
It is easy to make comments on the subject, and to be less than positive about what is happening. This situation should have been resolved years ago, like many things time, and effort, are not put into the correct issues.
@ Martin.
I thought it was already.
@ATF. … in which case, is there any hope for this party at all?
@ Martin – if “Yes Prime Minister” and “In the Thick of it” are included as well! Need to be a fan of all 3.
Amongst the many disturbing things about Spanish politics right now – Rajoy et al bullying Gibraltar (weak reverberations of Galtieri with the Argentinian terribly misjudged attack on the Falklands in 1981) to divert attention, and seeking to save his skin by betraying his old friend. Rajoy demonstrates just what type of a politiciuan he is.
Lesson learnt, the UK does not have the monopoly on bad politicians … indeed ours shine by comparison.
I think people who think ‘The Thick Of It’ is called ‘In The Thick Of It’ should be expelled from the party …