Spain is edging closer to Greece, or so the world seems to think. It is not difficult to see the reasons: our mounting debt levels (public and, more importantly, private), the sky-high unemployment and the sluggish economic outlook are a fearsome triumvirate.
Not happy with that, we have a political, economic and financial elite at times clearly not up to the task. Our political system has huge holes in it, like the inability to curb corruption and assign resources effectively, poor democratic legitimacy of key institutions, or the unaffordable and ill-conceived Estado de las AutonomÃas.
Entrepreneurship is commonly despised, in what amounts to an awe-inspiring culture of subjection to authority, suspicion towards merit or civil engagement, keeping to one's affairs and leading the easiest life possible. Students typically long to be civil servants and those who succeed often are regarded as exploiting unfair advantages.
What will Spain be in the future? We have a chance. We can still change the country we live in. Together with Portugal, Spain, or Iberia, would more or less reach the population and size of Europe's bigger players. We have the climate, life-style, doctors and service orientation to become the civilized world's ideal retirement home; we have the artistic flair and performing talent to be able to succeed in all design and digital-related industries; we have the engineers, civil construction and renewable energy expertise to build great infrastructures throughout the world. These are just some examples. We can do things and play a part in this increasingly complex and fast changing world.
What we will not be, and I am willing to bet my hat on it, is the same feeble country dying from the some old and well-documented wounds. Everything tends to make sense in the end, and current Spain plainly does not.
