Acebes claims transparency after March 11th

After the post-fascist PP rushed to blame ETA for the Madrid bombings, the Spanish people reacted with disgust and anger. The Partido Popular/Popular Party (PP) lost in the general election days later.

Now, Angel Acebes has claimed that he told the truth. He claims that there still could have been some ETA involvement (despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim). He also states that while the PP maintained the moral high ground with complete transparency, other groups used the bombings as an excuse to rouse the people of Spain, solely for their own political ambitions.

These 'others' are essentially the groups José Maria Aznar referred to as "the PSOE [a mainstream socialist party], the anarchists and the communists" - a telling remark with the very clear intention of harking back to a time when everyone was either a good catholic or a raving Stalinist - those happy days known as the dictatorship, during which Aznar's and most of the former PP ministers' families benefited from patronage and support for Franco's illegal regime.

In fact the PP tried to use the bombings for their own political gain, but in a far more sinister way than those on the left wing who merely supported independent and genuinely spontaneous demonstrations. On the eve of the election day (the 14th of March), Aznar and his deputies attempted to force through a temporary law which would have suspended the general elections until further notice. The significance of this attempt cannot be overestimated. Nor should the PP's attempts to make itself seem like a centrist party cloud the truth that most party members and ministers were at some time dedicated followers of the dictatorship which overthrew a democratic republic in the 1930s.

Manuel Fraga, PP grandee and president of Galicia, frequently addressed major PP conferences with all major party leaders present (including Aznar and Acebes along with the imbecilic former foreign minister Ana Palacio). Before the reintroduction of democracy, Fraga had another job. He was the minister of propaganda and information under General Franco, and many saw him as the number three fascist in the Spanish junta.

So this is the PP, a party that Tony Blair was happy to do considerable business with, despite the fact that it openly harboured elements with similar ideas to those of the BNP. The PP oversaw numerous policies with roots directly in the dictatorship including the re-introduction of compulsory catholic religious education in schools (now to be repealed), and the establishment of the 'Plan Hidratico' which would divert the precious water of the Ebre (which benefits the farms and valleys of Catalunya and Castellón) to benefit instead the farms and valleys of the far more Spanish South.

Besides this, Aznar used public money to fund not only his own daughter's wedding (at which Blair was a witness, effectively feasting and gorging off the work of Spanish workers) and spent an incredible $2 million of state funds in his efforts to get the Congressional Medal of Honor.

And these are the people who gripe about a terrorist group (ETA) with allegedly fewer than 1000 members. The real danger to Spain over the last seven years - indeed, since the 1930's - is the presence of a far right wing minority so shameless and malicious that they intentionally hurt autonomous regions of Spain with poor investment, high taxes and a sort of smirky hatred.

The PP represent everything that is wrong with Spain: cruelty, arrogance, racism, fascism, greed and corruption. That they were thrown out by the Spanish people is something that should be celebrated and remembered.

Copyright © 2007 Tom Clarke • Powered by WordPress • Using Silhouette theme created by Brian Gardner

Close

• Social Web
• E-mail