It looks more and more likely that The Spanish government will fall, causing a radically unstable situation for Germany and the EU. In an article in the Saturday, May 21 edition of the Wall Street Journal, “Spanish Prime Minister Calls Protests Understandable”, Prime Minister Zapatero says that he finds the youth protests “understandable” but still will crack down on them over the weekend so as not to interfere with voting. Citing 50% unemployment for his backers and a 20% unemployment rate over all, a protester called for stepped up rallies in the next few days. Such protests have gained strength since the demonstrations in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
Remembering the Spanish Civil War of the 1930’s and the takeover by Franco, the Fascist dictator, Germany must tread carefully in making up fiscal policy to fit the largest of the “pig countries” with an economy too large to bail out. It is up to this country more than any other to keep the Euro Zone together.
Valley of the Fallen, Monument to the Spanish Civil War