Sánchez overtakes Zapatero in the ranking nobody wants to win
Spain's IBEX has risen 172% since 2018 while purchasing power falls. The debate over whether Sánchez has overtaken Zapatero as Spain's worst democratic prime minister.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Sánchez overtakes Zapatero in the ranking nobody wants to win
Can anyone be a worse prime minister than Zapatero? For years it seemed impossible. The former Socialist leader left behind a Trojan-horse economic crisis, a country with half its construction boom still hanging in the air, and a legacy whose effects still linger. But in Spain's economic gossip circles, some claim the current occupant of La Moncloa, the prime minister's official residence, has broken the record. The discussion, far from being mere dinner-table venting, has kept evolving: it began as a list of grievances and has ended up as an inventory of collateral damage touching household finances, the justice system and even migration policy.
The IBEX is up 172% since 2018 while purchasing power bleeds out
The most repeated figure in economic circles is that of the IBEX 35. Since 2018, the Spanish benchmark index has gained 172%, a number that, put in context, draws an uncomfortable paradox: shareholders celebrate while the shopping basket gets more expensive and wages fail to keep pace. Some sum it up with a smirk: "the ETNIANEX35 is up 175%, just about what people's purchasing power will have fallen." Beyond the nickname, the irony points to a reality that official employment data do not quite refute: the gap between capital and the average worker's pocket has widened.
The list of economic grievances piling up in the conversation is long: tax hikes and the creation of new levies, more expensive energy, general impoverishment, the destruction of industry and agriculture, and an alleged favoring of immigration as a tool for buying votes. Each point deserves nuance, but together they sketch a narrative that sticks: the feeling that effort no longer pays off. Bread today, a mortgage to pay tomorrow.
The volcano, care homes and pardons: the list of grievances keeps growing
The conversation does not stop at economics. The first message in the thread already pointed to a list of issues that, according to its author, were missing from the portrait of disaster: the volcano, the pandemic experts' committee, the exhumation of Franco and Primo de Rivera, and alleged connivance with drug clans to murder judges. These are claims made without evidence and, at best, belong to the realm of suspicion. But they illustrate the climate: political criticism has ceased to be a debate about governance and become an accumulation of charges.
On health management, the discussion gets tangled. Some argue that the disaster in care homes was not exclusive to one region and point out that health powers rested with the Ministry of Health, headed by Salvador Illa, with Pablo Iglesias in charge of care-home management, a detail that, in this version of events, is systematically overlooked. The rebuttal comes quickly: Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarre also had triage protocols, and the elderly did not exactly come out unscathed. The conclusion drawn is that the pandemic narrative remains an electoral battleground.
The amnesty and the Constitutional Court: the institutional clash takes the stage
The final stretch of the thread shifts to legal ground. The amnesty for Catalan independence leaders, the role of the Constitutional Court (Spain's highest court on constitutional matters) and the National Court's investigation into the PSOE's funding dominate the most recent messages. It cites a lawsuit by Vox over the alleged planning of the murder of a judge, the party's indictment for illegal financing, and the request for prison for former Constitutional Court president Cándido Conde-Pumpido. These are accusations that, as of this discussion, remain under investigation and have not been proven. The narrative being built, however, is that of a government using institutions to entrench itself.
Zapatero's shadow looms over the whole thread. The comparison is inevitable: if the former Socialist leader already seemed unbeatable in terms of wear and tear, the current one has, according to this camp, surpassed him by far. Bambi got a pass; this one does not. The question hanging in the air is whether history's verdict will be as harsh as the polls'.
The economic legacy: what remains when the lights go out?
Beyond the headlines, the thread leaves a deeper question: how do you measure the economic damage of a term in office? Macroeconomic indicators — GDP, employment, debt — tell part of the story. Citizens write the rest with their shopping baskets. And there, the official narrative and public perception still fail to meet. Meanwhile, the IBEX celebrates while the average salary looks on. The final irony comes from the calendar: 51 days remain to find out whether the verdict of the ballot box matches that of the numbers.
This article is based on the opinions and data expressed in a public debate and does not constitute an accusation against any person.
Can anyone be a worse prime minister than Zapatero? For years it seemed impossible. The former Socialist leader left behind a Trojan-horse economic crisis, a country with half its construction boom still hanging in the air, and a legacy whose effects still linger. But in Spain's economic gossip circles, some claim the current occupant of La Moncloa, the prime minister's official residence, has broken the record. The discussion, far from being mere dinner-table venting, has kept evolving: it began as a list of grievances and has ended up as an inventory of collateral damage touching household finances, the justice system and even migration policy.
The IBEX is up 172% since 2018 while purchasing power bleeds out
The most repeated figure in economic circles is that of the IBEX 35. Since 2018, the Spanish benchmark index has gained 172%, a number that, put in context, draws an uncomfortable paradox: shareholders celebrate while the shopping basket gets more expensive and wages fail to keep pace. Some sum it up with a smirk: "the ETNIANEX35 is up 175%, just about what people's purchasing power will have fallen." Beyond the nickname, the irony points to a reality that official employment data do not quite refute: the gap between capital and the average worker's pocket has widened.
The list of economic grievances piling up in the conversation is long: tax hikes and the creation of new levies, more expensive energy, general impoverishment, the destruction of industry and agriculture, and an alleged favoring of immigration as a tool for buying votes. Each point deserves nuance, but together they sketch a narrative that sticks: the feeling that effort no longer pays off. Bread today, a mortgage to pay tomorrow.
The volcano, care homes and pardons: the list of grievances keeps growing
The conversation does not stop at economics. The first message in the thread already pointed to a list of issues that, according to its author, were missing from the portrait of disaster: the volcano, the pandemic experts' committee, the exhumation of Franco and Primo de Rivera, and alleged connivance with drug clans to murder judges. These are claims made without evidence and, at best, belong to the realm of suspicion. But they illustrate the climate: political criticism has ceased to be a debate about governance and become an accumulation of charges.
On health management, the discussion gets tangled. Some argue that the disaster in care homes was not exclusive to one region and point out that health powers rested with the Ministry of Health, headed by Salvador Illa, with Pablo Iglesias in charge of care-home management, a detail that, in this version of events, is systematically overlooked. The rebuttal comes quickly: Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarre also had triage protocols, and the elderly did not exactly come out unscathed. The conclusion drawn is that the pandemic narrative remains an electoral battleground.
The amnesty and the Constitutional Court: the institutional clash takes the stage
The final stretch of the thread shifts to legal ground. The amnesty for Catalan independence leaders, the role of the Constitutional Court (Spain's highest court on constitutional matters) and the National Court's investigation into the PSOE's funding dominate the most recent messages. It cites a lawsuit by Vox over the alleged planning of the murder of a judge, the party's indictment for illegal financing, and the request for prison for former Constitutional Court president Cándido Conde-Pumpido. These are accusations that, as of this discussion, remain under investigation and have not been proven. The narrative being built, however, is that of a government using institutions to entrench itself.
Zapatero's shadow looms over the whole thread. The comparison is inevitable: if the former Socialist leader already seemed unbeatable in terms of wear and tear, the current one has, according to this camp, surpassed him by far. Bambi got a pass; this one does not. The question hanging in the air is whether history's verdict will be as harsh as the polls'.
The economic legacy: what remains when the lights go out?
Beyond the headlines, the thread leaves a deeper question: how do you measure the economic damage of a term in office? Macroeconomic indicators — GDP, employment, debt — tell part of the story. Citizens write the rest with their shopping baskets. And there, the official narrative and public perception still fail to meet. Meanwhile, the IBEX celebrates while the average salary looks on. The final irony comes from the calendar: 51 days remain to find out whether the verdict of the ballot box matches that of the numbers.
This article is based on the opinions and data expressed in a public debate and does not constitute an accusation against any person.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (221 replies).
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