Opinion The pantomime republic

Spain’s fall from heady promise to Celtic gloom tells a story of democratic expectation gone sour. This tale is a profound blow to the EU itself — a symbol of the continent’s shifting political prospects. Spain was not only one of the chief protagonists of 20th century Europe,it also tilled the bloody soil from which the union later sprang. The Spanish Civil War was the staging ground for the defining existential drama of the century: a gory crucible of democracy,fascism and communism in conflict. Its fate entwined with Germany’s,Spain was at the centre of Europe. When Spain joined the European Community in 1986,euphoria reigned. Finally,the country was gaining its rightful place intellectually,culturally and economically in the social democratic mainstream of Western Europe. The future looked secure; Spain’s renewed surety was wrapped up in its sense of belonging to a free and optimistic Europe. Then came plans for the adoption of the euro,and again the prospect of an ascendant Europe offered a gilded opportunity for Spain.

Spanish banks were relatively well protected against the initial collapse of the American financial sector in 2008. But the global recession that followed,coupled with the bursting of the real estate bubble at home,soon devastated Spain’s economy,which had longstanding vulnerabilities that were no secret but had been overlooked in the boom years.

These days,a raft of illicit practices,crafted from old excesses,have become a rickety means of sliding by. Many desperate Spaniards still work under the table — in some cases supplementing unemployment relief with money from ad hoc jobs. This explains why Spain’s deep despair has not exploded in quite the rage felt on the streets of Athens.

The salvation that Europe promised 26 years ago increasingly resembles a charade. As the Yale historian Timothy Snyder has noted,Spain and its kin in Southern Europe have effectively become “pantomime republics”: elected national officials defer to the unelected supranational EU. In policy terms,this means subscribing to the pro-austerity agenda from Germany. Because Spain’s economic fate no longer seems to be in Spain’s own hands,the crucial intermediary space between what the state needs and what the people want — the ground on which politicians are normally held to account — has shrunk. Sometimes it seems that the closer Spain has moved to Europe,the more democracy eludes its grasp.

Blitzer is a journalist and translator based in Madrid

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