711 and All That

Ex-president José Maria Aznar has been at it again, this time dragging up events from AD 711 in his latest bid to contribute meaningfully to the current international political situation.

Aznar is baffled as to why the Pope gets asked to apologise for remarks which could cause offence to Muslims when “no Muslim has ever said sorry to me for occupying Spain for 8 centuries.” He went on to say that the West didn’t attack Islam but that “they attacked us”, in a speech given in English to the right-wing Hudson think-tank. I mean, you can see where he’s coming from; I’ve personally been waiting years for a Norman to apologise to me for the Battle of Hastings, yet the phone just never rings.  

Quite why Aznar gets repeat bookings to talk in the States is something of a mystery, especially at prestigious institutions which would have no problem in getting a top-level Neo-Con to give reasoned insights into the post-Cold-War geopolitical scene, rather than the Iberian equivalent of a Daily Star reader.  

The current crop of Popular Party media starlets have come out in defence of their shadow-casting ex-leader. Party leader Mariano Rajoy, who prefers to dig around in the more recent past when looking for policy lines, has said that he’s “only bothered about the future.” Whatever you say, Mariano. 

~ by Daniel on September 24, 2006.