Spain in the Eye of the Storm

Those 10 words from Mitt Romney — “I don’t want to go down the path to Spain” — sounded like a bomb to the ears of Spaniards who followed the electoral debate in the United States. It was a battle between the two candidates for the most important political office on Earth, for the presidency of a nation that, in good measure, governs the destiny of the world. To be cited here, and in such a negative sense, is an injury that can have consequences beyond the mere discomfort that it represents.

A good part of the margin that Spain has to get out of the crisis depends on its image in the rest of the world. Romney, who led an investment firm for many years, should have been the first to know that. This allusion, during a televised event that millions of people follow throughout the world, fosters, to a large extent, the deterioration of that image.

For years it has become common to mention certain failing nations or countries with scarce international influence as examples of what not to be. Mariano Rajoy himself once said, “We are not Uganda,” with the intention of emphasizing Spain’s supposed competency. Now Romney, who is considered Rajoy’s political partner in the United States, is the one substituting Uganda for Spain in an unfortunate comparison.

The context in which Spain was mentioned and the reality that Spain is going through an extremely difficult economic moment barely excuse the actions of the Republican presidential candidate.

Romney said: “Spain spends 42 percent of their total economy on government. We’re now spending 42 percent of our economy on government. I don’t want to go down the path to Spain.” Of course, as there was no Spanish representative in that debate and Barack Obama did not play that role, no one could try to explain Spain’s public accounts, and the failure of the Spanish model therefore remained intact.

As is natural, given the events that have happened in Spain during the last few months, the Spanish situation deserves the frequent attention of the media in North America. In Spain, controversy was caused by a recent report from the New York Times that painted a portrait of the darkest aspect of the Spanish crisis, the poverty and sadness that have invaded the Spanish stage.

The media busies itself with what is news and tends to accentuate negative aspects, without this being interpreted as a distortion or, much less, a deliberate attack. However, the media includes nuances and speeches, in addition to receiving responses from a variety of sources. When a politician in such a high position and in an atmosphere so massive says words so crushing, the effect is different.

Romney’s words could even have diplomatic consequences. If Romney wins the election and becomes president of the United States, how is he going to conduct his relationship with Spain, a member of NATO, a territory with strategic North American military bases and a first-rate ally of the United States? If Romney is president, that phrase — “I don’t want to go down the path to Spain” — said during the worst moment in Spain’s recent history, will follow him every time he has to communicate with that country.

Romney’s criticism, regardless of questionable veracity, also feeds the worst ideas of each country regarding the other. It confirms for many North Americans that Spain is an insignificant country in some remote place in Europe (or in Latin America). On the other hand, it gives Spaniards reasons not to want to know anything about the United States and to constantly turn the United States into the origin of everything bad.

Only four years ago, during a 2008 debate, Obama alluded to Spain as a model for the development of alternative energy sources. How much time has passed since then!