PER 2015
even those with qualifications often find that they do not have credentials that are desirable for current employers. In spite of the slight improvement in unemployment and growth as a result of that improvement, one feels that the Socialists will use the lack of progress in the job sector as the focal point of their election campaign, suggesting that despite the ostensible improvements, Rajoy and his government have not dealt with the unemployment problem that the Spanish people are facing. The final, and most recent, problem that Spain face is the allegations of corruption that have swept through the political parties and authorities of Spain in the last few months. There have been multiple cases of corruption scandals recently; most notably José Ángel Fernandez Villa (leader of the biggest miner’s union in Asturias), Francisco Granados (a key minister in the Madrid region) and Jordi Pujol (president of Catalonia for 23 years), who are all alleged to have hidden large sums of money in secret offshore bank accounts. Villa supposedly amassed €1.4 million in Swiss bank accounts, Granados was one of 51 people to be arrested on charges of bribery and embezzlement in October 2014 and Pujol hid his money from tax authorities while leading an establishment that specialised in ethics. The majority of those 51 arrestees belong to the PP and as a result they are under severe scrutiny, but the Socialists won’t necessarily be able to use this against them as they too are under investigation, meaning the two parties that have run Spain for the last 32 years will want to bury these allegations as soon as possible; polls show that Spaniards rank corruption as their second highest concern, after unemployment. The problem is becoming so bad that the people of Spain now tend to trust Brussels more than their own governments in Madrid. In terms of solving this ever-growing problem, there is very little in the way of progress. Prime Minister Rajoy seems to have underestimated Spaniards’ anger over the corruption assertions and although he has apologised on behalf of the PP, he is yet to take decisive action. Despite his economic reforms and the fact that Spain is due to grow at such a high rate this year, Rajoy is in danger of losing his status as Prime Minister due to the string of allegations and insufficient reduction in unemployment rates. Spaniards will hope that this means he will confront the problem to save himself and his party and stay in power, but as of today, nothing has been done. If Rajoy is to do anything he will need to do it now; the general elections take place this December and the PP has just taken a battering at the recent regional and local elections, suffering its worst election result in the past 20 years, a statistic that does not bode well for December. Having researched and written this essay it’s my opinion that Spain has not fully dealt with the problems caused by the recession. By all means, they are marching along the road to recovery and Spain’s growth rates are clear evidence of this, but I don’t think they have successfully addressed the fundamental problems of their economy: the unemployment rate, particularly the structural unemployment rate, the rife corruption scandals and the property crash. Having said this, their banking system is in an indescribably better position than six years ago and Spain’s economy is now firing on most of its critical cylinders: demand and consumption are up, domestic and foreign investment is on the rise, house prices have turned a corner after their destructive crash and even the tattered construction sector is set to grow this year. It can be seen as a mixed bag of results and the situation applies perfectly to the old Spanish saying, ‘Nada es gratis’- ‘nothing comes free’.
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