Flimsier reporting

A few days ago, I wrote how foreign correspondents write newspaper articles devoid of any insight and sometimes accuracy when reporting on political developments.

Last Tuesday, the FT carries an article about Spain signed by Victor Mallet, who seems the be the only person who writes about Spanish politics in the FT. Newspaper AVUI provides a decent summary translation and gist of the article.

Here is the Letter to the Editor I sent to the FT. I doubt it will be published.

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Dear Sir,

It is with despair that I read another article about Spanish politics by Mr Mallet in which he once again limits his sources to the Spanish nationalist side of the debate.

May I ask what knowledge or experience does Mr Mallet have of current Spanish politics whilst being the FT correspondent in Asia? In any case, despite or because of his experience as Madrid correspondent, I am afraid Mr Mallet does what he does best: recycling the usual protestations from the Spanish press like El Mundo, ABC, El Pais, etc, without providing any alternative viewpoint or ideological framework outside the Spanish-centric rhetoric he borrows from his [Spanish] friends in Madrid.

First, the alleged “high-cost of Spanish devolution”.

Funnily enough, there is never any mention of the cost of devolution in Germany or Belgium or Switzerland, each of which allows its Länders, “communities” or cantons far greater powers than Catalonia could ever have under the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Mr Mallet does not provide any source for this claim, let alone empirical data.

Then an often-repeated claim: “The regions absorb about half of all public spending (…)leaving only about one-fifth of outgoings under the direct control of the centre”.

Well, since most services are delivered locally, by either local councils (ayuntamiento) or regional governments (CCAA) it is quite normal that 50% of expenditure is allocated to the administrations that actually deliver services to the public. If anything, I find quite astonishing that central government is plundering 20% the budget providing what services? Perhaps Mr Mallet should explore why central government has a series of bloated departments for powers that have been devolved to the local and regional administrations for two decades now. I think fiscal pressure on Spanish businesses and households could be lowered if they do away with central government duplication.

Mr Mallet then goes on quoting Mr Anson, a known right-wing Spanish nationalist. His tenure as the Editor of ABC and La Razón were marked by his aggressiveness profound antipathy towards anything Catalan. Then another source, this time from El Mundo newspaper.

The problem with Mr Mallet is that his sources are all one and the same: aggressive Spanish nationalism intent of suppressing Catalan or Basque culture and “assertiveness” in the name of a mythological Spanish unity that fails to recognise the right of self-determination for the people of Catalonia or the Basque Country and their ability to decide their own future without any interference. The same obsession that occupied Franco for 40 years.

Mr Mallet writes “Cultural separatism can be seen in the promotion of local languages in schools and other areas of public life, particularly in Catalonia.”.

Local languages are not promoted, they are used with normality by the public and the administration –whenever they are not banned as we have witnessed so often in Spanish history. Would Mr Mallet write that French is promoted in French schools? Of course not. French schools use French and Catalan schools use Catalan. It is what is normal. This of course, as Mr Mallet accurately points out, sparks heated protests from Spanish nationalists. At least they are not sending the tanks –not yet anyway, although I wonder what Mr Anson would think about it.

Next time the FT writes an article about Spanish politics, for the sake of completeness and good journalism, could someone please bother to travel to Barcelona or Bilbao and find out what the other side of the argument is? It is not much to ask.

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Update Friday 21 August 2009:

Well, they did not publish my letter -too many spelling mistakes and bad grammar probably... but they published a brilliant reply by someone else.

Sir, Regarding your article about Spain (“Flimsier footings”, Analysis August 19), I write as economy and organisation deputy mayor from one of the most dynamic of Catalan cities that shares most of your points of view about growth, values, political accountability and competitiveness.

I could reply to your assessment of the political problem of Catalonia and our obsession with our language, political power and money, which is quite inaccurate to say the least. Instead, let me reply by saying that you are absolutely right: we are a real problem for Spain, and as we believe in competitiveness, productivity and a prosperous future in the way you do, I conclude that the best and only way for Spain, Catalonia and Europe to achieve a promising future and to contribute to the world economy is through our independence from Spain.

Thank you very much for such valuable insight.

Jordi Joly Lena,
Economy and
Organisation Deputy Mayor,
Sant Cugat del
Vallès, Barcelona,
Spain