A Change Of Scenery

Things have been a bit quiet in Frigiliana, so it was hard to find something to write about where I wouldn't have been repeating myself, so please forgive my extended silence.

Anyway, a week ago yesterday we flew to the UK in preparation for our main golden wedding ceremony; Thursday morning saw us boarding Eurostar for a nine am departure for Brussles in the care of Great European Rail Journeys. At Brussels we transferred to the Thalis (first class) to Cologne, where we then boarded the ICE of Deutsche Bahn (also first class) to our first destination, Berlin.

Everything went smoothly until shortly after we left Cologne and arrived at Wuppertal. We didn't set off again immediately, but then information came through on the tan nosy that there was 'an incident' ahead of us, so we had to sit patiently, or not, while rerouting was worked out. Eventually though - over an hour later - we set off again. Back to Cologne! There we were switched to an alternative line which brought us eventually to Berlin, where a coach transferred us to our hotel, the very impressive Four star Maritime Hotel. We got there about half past eleven, delighted just to flop into bed and sleep.

You're probably almost as exhausted reading this as I was doing the journey, so I'll tell you about Berlin next time.

Here We Go Again

Back in December we had a general election here in Spain. It yielded an inconclusive result with no clear path to forming a new government. I suggested at the time that it looked most likely that there would have to be fresh elections. Well, that now comes about. Spaniards will return to the polls on Sunday 26th June, when to be honest everyone expects a similar result to that in December. Since the establishment of a democratic constitution back in the 1970s government has been by one or other of the two main parties, the socialists or the conservatives - just like the UK really. However during the course of the previous government, three new parties emerged each with a reasonable degree of support, though not enough to take power. Add to this a growing concern about corruption in the governing conservative party, Partido Popular, and there was a feeling in the run up to December’s elections that the two party hegemony was about to be destroyed. That didn’t happen; instead some serious compromise was needed if anyone were to form a government. Unfortunately the Spanish - and especially their politicians - are not good at compromise. Each party prefers its own entrenched position. Four months have passed in which each set of negotiations has broken down. Mariano Rajoy, leader of the Partido Popular (PP) declined the King’s invitation to try and form a government on the grounds that he would not be able to muster sufficient support. Next it was the turn of the leader of the socialist Partido Socialista Obrera de España (PSOE), which initially looked more promising. Of the new parties to emerge during the last government two were left of centre and one was right of centre, but only just. In addition there was an existing minority party, the communist Izquierda Unida (IU) or ‘united left’. However, one of the left of centre parties Union, Progreso y Democracy (UPyD) had lost ground in the election and was not in contention. That left Ciudadanos (Citizens’ Party) and Podemos (We Can) and IU. Podemos grew out of the street protests variously known as 15-M, or 15th May which was the date of a mass rally against austerity that was held in the centre of Madrid, and Los Indignados, or indignant ones, both of which were eclipsed on the international media stage by the American “Occupy” movement. Ciudadanos began life as an anti-separatist party in Catalonia and could be thought of as right of centre, but only just. The logical solution turned out not to be achievable, mainly because of the intransigence of Podemos. Its clear ambition is to replace IU on the far left, and so it refused point blank to contemplate entering any coalition that included IU. Podemos, for reasons which are not immediately obvious, is committed to allowing the people of Catalonia to have a binding referendum on the question of Catalan independence, something which is absolutely unacceptable to Ciudadanos, whose origins lie in opposition to an independent Catalonia. So Ciudadanos will have no part of a coalition which includes Podemos unless the latter ditches its support for a referendum. Without the participation of all three of these parties, the socialists cannot cobble together a parliamentary majority. So, off we go again to new elections. During all the wrangling nothing has changed in Spanish political views so we can confidently expect that the new elections will produce the same kind of outcome as the last.

The Day Of The Cross 2016

Once again the village was awash with colour for Las Cruces . I've written about this traditional fiesta previously, so today I simply share some of the photos I took yesterday evening.

Kevin 2

This morning;s blog post got quite a reception already, including a request for a version in Spanish to be included on a village website. So, having laboured over the task, for those of you wishing to improve or test your Spanish, her is the translation. Hay más de una persona en Frigiliana que se llama Kevin, pero si dices simplemente 'Kevin' en seguida sabe todo el mundo a quien refieres. Porque este Kevin es alguien muy especial. Seis pies y cuatro pulgadas (1,93m también podría decir) de corazón sin límite. Hace ocho años cuando nos mudábamos a vivir permanentemente en el pueblo, teníamos cualquier problema - no recuerdo cuál y no importa - para lo que hemos buscado ayuda y el consejo era, "Consulta a Kevin." Y de Kevin descubríamos que documentos eran necesarios, de donde podríamos adquirirlos, a donde llevarlos y cuanto teníamos que pagar, más o menos. Hicimos todo como nos había instruido y en solamente tres visitas se cumplió todo. A divagar, es bien conocido que algún encuentro con la burocracia española necesita un mínimo de tres visitas para cumplir la tarea. Pues, ¡un encuentro exitoso! En el año 2008 Kevin trabajó en la casa consistorial un par de días por semana, pero durante el curso de los años siguientes su contribución se incrementaba mucho hasta el punto de que estaba cuatro mañanas a su mesa y el quinto día visitando a cualquiera persona que no pueda acudir la oficina. Sería tentador decir que Kevin trabajaba por el ayuntamiento, pero de hecho no era así Kevin recibiría su sueldo del ayuntamiento, pero trabaja siempre por y para los extranjeros del pueblo, en concreto por y para los que no hablen español. Pero, ¿Por qué escribo con tensos pasados? Venga, Kevin era empleado adscrito por el partido de gobierno del pueblo, el Partido Andalucista, por carga de confianza, una categoría de empleo que dura solamente hasta el punto de empezar la próxima campaña electoral Se lo puede reintegrar cuando tenga control el partido que sea ganador - si quiere. Un problema posible surgió por primera vez con las repercusiones de las elecciones del año 2011, cuando el Partido Andalucista perdió control absoluto del ayuntamiento. Le faltaban dos concejales. Era necesario pactarse con algún otro partido y el candidato obvio era el Partido Polpulare que había ganado dos. Cuatro de PA mas dos de PP representaba. una mayoría absoluta. Pero ocurrió un embarazo PP se oponía al reintegro de Kevin e intentaba bloquearlo. Bueno al fin y al cabo otorgaba PP y los dos partidos pactaban para asumir control del ayuntamiento y Kevin volvió a su trabajo. Sin embargo en las elecciones de 2015 la balanza entre los dos partidos cambió. PA perdió un concejal, mientras que PP ganó dos. El resultado daba cuatro concejales al PP pero solamente tres al PA. Esa vez el acuerdo iba a favor del PP con PA el consorte menor. PP rechazó absolutamente contemplar el reintegro de Kevin. Por su parte, PA declaró que sin el reintegro de Kevin no sería posible pactarse con PP. Continuaban los negociaciones hasta la hora undécima, como dicen los ingleses, y literalmente. La fecha tope para hacer el nombramiento del líder del PP como alcalde era un tal d;ia a las once de la mañana. Por fin los del PP se acordaron y el acto tomó lugar. y inmediatamente empezó PP a retirarse del acuerdo, y prácticamente un año más tarde llegar a ser claro que bajo PP nunca estará un servicio al extranjero en el ayuntamiento. Lo guiris, especialmente los británicos se sienten ultrajado, y son de la opinión que han sido abandonado , y que a pesar de formar una tercera porción de la población de Frigiliana, el alcalde y sus socios no les considere de interés o de importancia. Hace un par de meses había una ola de emoción cuando circulaba por el pueblo la noticia de que Kevin había vuelto a la casa consistorial. Se trató de ser el amanecer falso sí Kevin está, pero no por resumir sus esfuerzos por parte do los extranjeros, sino para actualizar el padrón. Su empleo en esta capacidad terminará al fin de mayo. Por supuesto, Kevin siendo Kevin, cuando alguien venga a su mesa con un problema, lo intenta solucionar, como lo hacía para mí ayer. Pues, continua el desagrado de los extranjeros, no simplemente que no hay nadie en el ayuntamiento para ayudarnos y apoyarnos. Además no es simplemente que valoramos a Kevin por todo lo que ha hecho para nosotros, sino que le queremos por su compromiso con esta causa, y somos asustados a ver la manera de su trato por los de PP.

Kevin

There is more than one person in the village called Kevin, but if you simply refer to "Kevin", everyone immediately knows which Kevin you mean. Because this Kevin is special; 6ft 4inches (or 1.93m if you prefer) of pure heart.

When we arrived in Frigiliana eight years ago to take up permanent residence we had a particular problem to deal with. I don't remember what it was, and that isn't important. When we sought advice we were told "Speak to Kevin". So we did and he told us which documents we would need, where to get them, where to take them and roughly how much it would cost us. We did as he said and sure enough by the end of our third visit to whatever office everything was sorted. To digress, it is an accepted fact of Spanish bureaucracy that nothing is ever resolved in fewer than three attempts, so that counted as a success.

Back in 2008 Kevin worked a couple of days a week in the town hall, but over the succeeding years that rapidly expanded to what was effectively a full time job; four mornings a week's he was at his desk, and on a Friday he visited people who had problems but could not get to the town hall. It would be tempting to say that Kevin worked for the town hall, but that would not quite be accurate. Certainly he was paid by the town hall, but actually he worked for the expatriate residents of Frigiliana, especially those with little Spanish.

But why am I using the past tense? Well, Kevin was appointed to do this work by the party then in control of the council, the Partido Andalucista. He was employed on the basis of what is known as a cargo de confianza, a term for which there is no English equivalent. Basically, he was paid using funds provided by central government to help local authorities provide the necessary services. However, because this is an appointment by the ruling party, it expires as soon as a local election campaign begins. Then the post can be renewed once the new administration takes office - if the new administration wishes.

A potential problem first arose after the elections of 2011 when Partido Andalucista lost overall control and had to look for a coalition partner, the obvious candidate being the Partido Popular which had won two seats which would give the two parties six seats against the third party's five. A sticking point emerged; PP were opposed to the reappointment of Kevin and tried to block it. Eventually though, they conceded, a PA/PP coalition took up office and Kevin returned to work. But last year's election changed the dynamic; PP finished up with 4 seats against PA's three, and so they had the upper hand. They refused point blank to contemplate employing Kevin. PA were equally adamant that there would be no pact which did not include Kevin returning to his job. Negotiations went right down to the wire but in the end PP agreed to the demand - until their man had been safely sworn in as mayor, at which point they began introducing one condition after another, conditions which they knew PA would not accept, and so virtually twelve months later it is clear that they will not man a Foreigners' Desk at the town hall.

The expatriate community, especially the British, are outraged and feel that they have been very badly let down, and that despite accounting for a third or more of the population of the village, they are of no concern or interest to the ruling party. There was a flurry of excitement a couple of months ago when news went around the village, "Kevin's back in the town hall!" Alas, it proved to be a false dawn; he has a three month contract to update the electoral register, that's all. Of, course being Kevin, if anyone comes in with a problem, as I did yesterday, he sets about solving it.

So expatriate discontent continues, not just that there is no one in the town hall to fill the gap left by Kevin's departure, but also because we don't just value him for what he was able to do for us. We love him for the commitment he has shown over the past eight years to the foreign residents of Frigiliana and we are appalled at the shabby way he has been treated.