Verbal violence takes hold of Spain's economic debate

From insult to threat: Spain's economic debate turns toxic

Economic conversation in Spain has stopped being an exchange of data and become a personal battlefield. One citizen goes as far as threatening to physically assault a politician if he runs into him; others trivialize violence against local councillors. The risk premium, the housing bubble and foreign policy become ammunition to throw.

Aznar, the least bad, according to his defenders

Two irreconcilable trenches emerge from the exchange of recriminations. One defends José María Aznar as the best prime minister of the democracy: Spain's risk premium was a benchmark in Europe, the economy was healthy and the alliance with the United States made Spain a reliable partner. The other reminds him that he led the country into a war and did nothing to stop the property speculation that sowed the seeds of the crisis.

The economy as an excuse for eternal blame

In between, a disillusioned current holds that every prime minister has been worse than the last, from Suárez (the only one with a bodyguard) to the present day. The Socialists are blamed for industrial decline and social engineering policies; the Partido Popular (conservative party) for corruption. And Sánchez, according to his critics, is "selling off the whole of Spain" for solar panels, citing Forestalia as an example.

Underneath it all, an anecdote that has circulated for years: a veteran linked to political circles sums it up by saying the average politician would not survive outside power. It is the same distrust that fuels the threats, only with fewer years of rhetoric behind it.

The figure that unsettles everyone

Even Aznar's defenders do not forgive him for failing to stop the property windfall. The risk premium may be a golden memory, but real estate still weighs more than nostalgia. Hatred, meanwhile, is not listed on any index.