CULTURE SPAIN – UPDATE ON THE GENERAL STRIKE IN SPAIN 29TH SEPTEMBER 2010 (THE POLITICS OF APATHY!)

So, the news today is that the Spanish unions have agreed a minimum services deal with the Spanish government for the general strike in Spain on the 29^th September 2010.

Evidently (subject to confirmation), the Spanish unions will allow:

-         20% of all EU flights and  40% of international flights

-         10% of all internal flights.

-         50% of all flights from mainland Spain to the various Spanish islands.

-         20% – 30% of all train journeys (except possibly long distance ones).

-         30% of buses journeys.

This seems to indicate that the general strike in Spain will certainly not halt the country in its tracks (no pun intended!).

Certainly, at the moment, it is difficult to foresee parallels with the effectiveness of the strike action that has occurred in France.  Indeed, the overwhelming feeling in Spain seems to be one of apathy.

Today, I had a long conversation with a highly regarded Madrileno friend of mine who said that he did not know of a single person who intended to strike on the 29^th September!  This is surprising, given that my friend is very well connected and his partner is a paedritician working for the Spanish national health service.

If my friend’s experience is replicated across the country then I suspect that little will really happen on the 29^th.  There may be some generalised disruption but little more than that.  Certainly, a recent poll in El Pais (a major Spanish national newspaper) may well be right.  It indicated that only some 9% of the working population will obey the general strike in Spain on the 29^th..

So, why (you may well ask) are the Spanish so apathetic?

Well, there are a number of reasons – not the least of which is that everyone in Spain knows that the strike action (or its threat) will not change anything.  Furthermore, however distaseful, the new labour regulatory laws and austerity measures (which have caused the ‘trouble’) are undoubtedly necessary and unavoidable.  The EU has (rightly) forced these measures on Spain and, like it not, the government has had to impose them.

Certainly, the general strike in Spain is not about the unions trying to destroy the government and replace it with another!  Far from it.

Presently, Spain is ruled by a minority socialist (PSOE) government under Prime Minister Zapatero.  Like elsewhere in Europe, the socialist party has close ties with the unions and and it is in the interests of neither to see the conservative (PP) opposition gain power.

Indeed, some people in Spain doubt whether the unions themselves are really fully behind the strike.  It is almost as if they had to call it to be seen to make an effort to protect the ‘workers’ – despite knowing that it would achieve nothing.

Unfortunately, I have not been circulating through Spain as much as I would like but I have seen no fervour (in the newspapers or otherwise) for the general strike in Spain on the 29^th September.  On the contrary, I fear that Spain is a country too exhausted by the roller coaster ride it has experienced over the past three years to actually do anything very energetic.

After all, only three years ago Spain was, supposedly, one of the ‘engines’ of Europe.  ‘Easy’ money was being made (and spent) and there was a terrific sense of general well being.  That, sadly, is now something of a distant memory!

Now, 20% of the working population, at least, are unemployed with no obvious hope of re-employment.  The construction industry, that great absorber of employment, is in meltdown (still) and, despite some initial signs of activity, there is no real replacement on the horizon for it.  Meanwhile, the same government (Zapatero’s) responsible for so negligently handling the Spanish economy during the boom remains at the helm.

The general consensus is that the conservative (PP) party would win a general election if one was called.  However, they are not held in high esteem (particularly after a recent corruption scandal) and so they pose no real threat to Prime Minister Zapatero.  At the end of the day, of course, the latter would be able to rely upon union support.

How different the general strike in Spain would have been, I think, had a Spanish conservative government been in power!  The aim then would have been government change.  As it is, the strike appears to me rather like the sulky gesture of a small child who throws only his least favourite toy out of the pram – because he knows it will make no difference to what will happen!

In a way, this is all peculiarly Spanish and, in a sense, rather wonderful (although not if your travel arrangements are being jeopodised).  The Spanish are ‘tranquil’ by nature and, thankfully, are unlike the French – who can become so rabid should their over-protected rights be in any way infringed.

In any event, I will keep you informed – as I learn more about the strike…

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