Royal wedding in Spain - one week to go

Royal-fever is starting to catch on here in as the wedding between Prince Felipe and Letizia nears. Security in Spain is tightening up because of possible terrorist threats and one of the measures announced by the Government is to suspend as from today Spains participation in the Schengen Agreement. This agreement allows nationals from the following countries to move freely from one country to another, without having to produce identification on arrival at airports: Spain, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Island. From today however, and until 24th May, people travelling between these countries will be required by Spanish authorities to carry an ID card or a passport. Also, no light aircraft will be allowed to fly over Madrid from the evening of 21st May to the evening of 22nd May.



Yesterday Letizia and Felipe attended the royal wedding in Denmark and the Spanish media examined from every angle possible Letizia's first appearance in a royal event (see photo above). As always, she showed herself to be very confident infront of the camaras (she used to be a television reporter and a news reader) and the Spanish commentators seemed very satisfied with her performance.

According to TeleCinco, the wedding in Madrid is expected to cost about 5 million euros (including the cost of repairs to the Almudena Cathedral where the ceremony is to be held, security measures and the cost of sprucing Madrid up for the event). This figure does not include the cost of wine and cava which is a gift from the bodegas, or the lunch which will be paid for by the royal family. The evening before the wedding, two of Spain's most famous chefs, Ferran Adria (to translate webpages from Spanish to English use one of these automatic translators) and Arzak whose respective restaurants are considered to be the best and second-best in Spain, will serve a dinner to guests.

The weather in Spain is still quite unstable and experts say it may well be cloudy with showers next Saturday in Madrid.

22.05.2004: They got married today. See photos here and video here.

Support for Spain's Socialist government rising.

According to the results of survey carried out by Spain's Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas, CIS and published yesterday, the Socialist Party has doubled its lead over the Popular Party during its first month in power. Since the March elections, the socialist's have seen their popularity rise steadily, and according to the results of the latest CIS survey, they now have a 10.4% lead over the Popular Party.

The Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas (CIS) [Centre for Sociological Research] is an autonomous state agency attached to the Office of the Presidency of Spain, whose purpose is to study Spanish society, primarily through survey-based research. It carries out regular surveys to measure the Spanish population support for political parties, leaders and policies. This latest report estimates that if elections were held now in Spain, the POSE party would win 45,8% of the vote and the PAP 35,4%. The most popular party leader at the moment is Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (6,61) and the second most popular party leader is Aznar's successor, Mariano Rajoy (4,83). The results of this first post-election CIS survey is one of the main headlines in all the Spanish press this morning, because of the proximity of the European Elections.

According to the CIS survey, 76,8% of Spanish citizens support the Government's decision to withdraw from Iraq. Yesterday the Spanish Congress voted to support the decision to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. The PP was the only party that voted against the policy. The first contingent of Spanish soldiers arrive home this evening.

Finally, political commentators are, at the very least, rather surprised at the visit of ex-President Aznar to the US. According to press reports, Aznar travels to Los Angeles today, where tomorrow he will meet with Arnold Schwarzenegger and will be awarded the medal of the University of Chapman. On Tuesday he will have a meeting with George Bush and, possibly, Donald Rumsfeld. According to the Cadena Ser, the timing of this trip and especially the meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, has been criticised from within the Popular Party.

James Rosenquist: A Retrospective. New exhibition in the Guggenheim.

The Guggenheim Art Museum in Bilbao has just opened a new exhibition with over 150 pieces of art by the well-known US pop-artist, James Rosenquist. According to the inroduction to the exhibition on the Guggenheim website, James Rosenquist, A Retrospective presents the artist's enduring interest in and mastery of texture, color, line, and shape that have influenced younger generations of artists. Through his unique style of art, Rosenquist has addressed modern issues and current events, registered antiwar statements, and voiced concern over the social, political, economic, and environmental fate of the planet. James Rosenquist: A Retrospective encompasses the full breadth of this artist's remarkable achievement, while capturing his practice of working simultaneously in diverse mediums. (See full description here).

The exhibition, which opens today and closes on 17th October, includes about 160 works (painting, sculptures, drawings, engravings and collages) by Rosenquist, setting out the historical context of his early Pop works, and highligting the artist’s influence on the art of the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Related links:
The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.
James Rosenquist Home Page
James Rosenquist, A Retrospective, Guggenheim New York.

Zapatero announces constitutional reform in Spain

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero continues to surprise many sectors in Spain with the speed at which he is working to fulfill his electoral promises.

Yesterday in what many newspapers hail as a historic occasion in the Spanish Senate, Zapatero led a debate centred around the theme of constitutional reform, one of the most controversial items in the Socialist electoral campaign for the Popular Party, who throughout the campaign warned that the unity of Spain would become more precarious under a Socialist government and maintained that the Spanish constitution should never be reformed. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero however has always insisted that a the constitution should reflect the will of its people, and that successful constitutional reform, achieved by dialogue and consensus, reflects the maturity of a nation rather than its weaknesses.

Yesterday Zapatero, flanked by 10 of the 16 government ministers, made a speech in the Senate which stressed his wish to give the Upper House a greater role in policies affecting regional autonomies, so that it effectively has more executive power and relevance in Spanish politics. The Spanish President wants all proposals for legislative reform affecting the powers and financing of Spain's autonomous regions to receive their first reading in the Senate, and to do this the text of the Third Chapter of the Spanish constitution has to be changed. Zapatero said he sought the support of all parties in this process "The best reform is that which achieves consensus" he said. At the beginning of his speech, Zapatero was booed by representatives of the Popular Party. "I told you that the Senate needed this debate" he replied, "and I hope that nobody will exclude themselves or will feel excluded" (from the process leading up to the eventual reform of the Spanish constitution).

During the debate the spokesmen of all the Spanish nationalist parties in the Senate welcomed Zapatero's appearance in the Upper House as well as the contents of his speech, and for the first time the Popular Party spokesman in the Senate said his party would not oppose constitutional reform if it served to give the Senate a new, relevant role in Spanish politics.

Yesterday was the first time since 1986 that a President of Spain has participated in a debate with representatives of the Spanish Senate, and the majority of Spanish newspapers this morning are supportive of Zapatero's decisive appearance in the Senate and of a new atmosphere of general consensus (this is the first time the PP has not opposed the notion of constitutional reform) in Spanish politics.

Rosa Regas next Director of the National Library of Spain

According to government sources, the author Rosa Regas will be named on Friday, after the weekly Cabinet meeting, as the new Director of the National Library of Spain.

Born in 1933, Regas is one of Spain's most respected contemporary authors even though she started her career as a novelist quite late on. According to her personal website, in 1983 nearing her 50th birthday, she suddenly thought "I've had lots of children and I've planted lots of trees, but at this rate I'll die without having ever written a book". Six years later she published her first book.

In 2001 Regas was awarded the Premio Planeta, Spain's most prestigious literary prize, for her book La Cancion de Dorotea which she signed with a pen-name. In the speech she made when accepting the prize, worth over half a million euros, Rosa said "It is difficult for me to express the emotion I am feeling. I am delighed, because I am going to reach a wider audience, but above all, because at last I am going to be able to buy something I've always wanted to buy for myself: time".

She will have to give some of her new-found time up now in her new post at the National Library. Most literary experts will applaud the appointment of this popular, progressive Spanish writer as Director of one of the country's most prized cultural institutions. Rosa Regas has five children and eleven grandchildren.

Spain Refused US Military Request to Hunt down Iraq Leader

Yesterday in different interviews with the Spanish media, both the Defence Minister Jose Bono and the military commander of Spanish troops in Iraq, General Enrique de Ayala, confirmed that Spain refused a request received from the U.S. military command to capture "dead or alive" a leading Iraqui religious leader (presumably the radical chii iman Muqtada Al Sader.

In declarations to Cadena Ser, General Ayala said "Our mandate from the Spanish government was to carry out a mission of stabilization and humanitarian aid. The equipment we brought was conceived for that mission and we received no change of mandate to wage large-scale military operations." In a frank interview, General Ayala said he thought the decision by coalition troops to close a local newspaper in Nayaf, and to arrest Muqtada Al Sader were strategic errors which had only served to worsen the relations between locals and military troops. He said the atmosphere had taken a turn for the worse since these actions in the predominantly Chii area where Spanish troops are deployed, and said that had he been consulted by his US military colleagues he would have advised against these two unpopular measures.

Meanwhile Jose Bono, in the news conference held yesterday after visiting the Spanish troops in Iraq, backed the General and said that Spain could not "take part in offensive actions and therefore we said flat-out that we were not willing to hand in, as we were asked at one point, alive or dead, a certain religious leader." Bono said that withdrawal operations are progressing well, and that the troops may be home a few days earlier than May 27 as originally scheduled. He said control of the Spanish base in the south-central city of Diwaniyah would be handed over to the U.S. troops some time between May 13-15.

Barcelona's Forum 2004 opens its doors to the general public today.

Yesterday King Juan Carlos of Spain officially opened the Forum, an event which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors between now and its closing date in October.

The official Forum web site describes the project as "A new and creative space for reflection and experimentation in relation to the main cultural and social conflicts that humanity is faced with at the outset of the 21st century". The organisation has designed exhibitions, conferences, lectures and other events centred around three main themes:

Cultural diversity: An understanding of other cultures is an essential precondition for any constructive dialogue between peoples. Such an understanding is gained through reflection not only on that which is common to all human beings but also on that which makes us different. As long as we consider diversity as an enriching element and part of our shared heritage rather than as an obstacle, we will be capable of reducing tensions and turning them around into positive forces.

Sustainable development: It is now more pressing than ever to find ways of growth that not only respect natural resources but also consider the need to administer them in an optimal manner. It is to the benefit of all and, particularly, of generations to come. Sustainability should also be seen as a concept whose importance goes beyond ecological concerns: it is one of the factors that will enable us to create the conditions required for coexistence, dialogue between peoples and peace.

Conditions for peace. The creation of a peace culture must be based on respect for other cultures, on social and political justice, protection of human rights, and ways of living in harmony with the environment. These elements, among others, essential for establishing conditions more favorable to human progress and development. Because, after all, lasting peace implies more than just the absence of conflict.

Barcelona has been preparing this mega event for the past 5 years, and the local authorities, the Catalan Government, the Spanish Government and UNESCO have worked together to produce what they hope will be a unique experience for visitors. Yesterday President Rodriguez Zapatero and the President of the Catalan Regional Government, Pascual Maragall, attended the opening ceremony. Names such as Nelson Mandela, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Jacques Delors, Mikhail Gorbachov, President Lula da Silva, Jose Saramago, Joseph Stiglitz will speak at some of the 44 international conferences, dialagues and debates lasting from one to seven days over the coming weeks.

305 institutions have been involved with the programme which includes 141 days of activities. The Forum 2004 has set up 4 mega exhibitions in the Plaza built for this purpose, occupying an area of over 14 000 m2, and 20 parallel exhibitions are being held in other areas of Barcelona. 44 national and international conferences, dialogues and debates lasting from one to seven days will be held over the coming weeks.

Related links:
Barcelona Forum 2004