BoT 623
Business over Tapas
A digest of this week's Spanish financial, political and social news aimed primarily at Foreign Property Owners:
Prepared by Lenox Napier. Consultant: José Antonio Sierra
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March 12 2026 Nº 623
Editorial:
Aznar paid dearly (as did Spain) for getting this country involved in a foreign adventure, especially so a year later on March 11 2004 when Arab terrorists planted some bombs in the local Madrid railway system, killing 193 people and wounding some 2,000 more.
Aznar compounded his error by blaming the wrong set of assassins, the Basque ETA group rather than Al Qaeda. This cost his party the general election just two days later, allowing the PSOE leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to become the new president of Spain.
One of his first acts was to reverse Spain’s participation in the war against Saddam.
The question of course now arises – what policy would an actual PP/Vox government have taken following the current Israeli/American attack against Iran?
As we don’t have such a leadership, let us look instead at Pedro Sánchez.
I like a quote of his: ‘Spain opposes this catastrophe. Because we understand that governments are there to improve people’s lives, to solve problems, not to worsen them. And it is unacceptable that leaders who are incapable of fulfilling this task use the smokescreen of war to mask their incompetence and line the pockets of a select few’. Donald Trump answered this by saying roughly – ‘who needs Spain anyway?’
That remains to be seen; as much of the European Union, after a certain hesitation, now appears to agree with Sánchez. Although, you see, there’s Feijóo ‘and his Mariachis’ who of course continue to see themselves as vassals of Trump. A plan which is not playing well with much of the Spanish electorate.
Why do the conservatives here (with their allies in the Media) always try and sink the Spanish ship of state?
68% of Spaniards, says El País, say they are against Trump and Netanyahu’s war, with 23% being in favour. Even El Mundo (a conservative newspaper) can’t do much better, finding 62% against the war (although we are told in the same headline that those respondents prefer China to the USA).
We see that the right-wing’s patriotism, it seems, has exceptions. It works against immigration, against separatists, against the left, against anyone who doesn't subscribe to the right's short-sighted view of Spain. But it vanishes the moment a thug with an American flag arrives and orders everyone to stand at attention.
Sánchez says ‘The people must be aware that what may happen to their wallets has nothing to do with the decisions of the Spanish Government, but with a war in Iran that is illegal and that will bring much suffering.”
We’ve already seen the rise in petrol prices and the next electric bill won’t be far behind.
The Guardian reckons that Pedro Sánchez is ‘one of the very few European leaders to openly and emphatically reject the demands of a US president whose trademark negotiating style is an erratic mix of bullying, humiliation and self-aggrandisement’.
The war (or invasion) has had some bad press, from torpedoing an apparently unarmed Iranian frigate in international waters, to callously bombing a girls’ school with at least 165 children dead. Then there was the obscene prayer-meeting in the Oval Office (our fundamentalists are better than their fundamentalists) as ‘non-commissioned officers were elsewhere being told that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that President Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth”’. Not my Jesus, Buddy.
Let’s give Sánchez the last word: ‘Es un orgullo ser español. Por defender lo que defendemos ante la barbarie y ante la guerra’. It is a source of pride to be Spanish. For defending what we defend in the face of barbarism and war.
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Housing:
‘Overall’, says The Corner here, ‘the price of unsubsidized housing (vivienda libre) in Spain soared by an average of 12.7% last year—4.3 percentage points higher than the increase recorded in 2024 and its largest spike since 2007, when it rose by 9.8%, according to the Housing Price Index. With the 2025 increase, housing prices have now seen twelve consecutive years of growth. The 2025 figure is the highest in the series, which began in 2007, and more than tripled the 4% growth experienced in 2023…’
‘Hard to sell, or just overpriced?’ From Spanish Property Insight here: ‘Some properties in Spain take longer to sell than others. But when a home sits on the market for years, is it truly “unsellable”, or simply overpriced?’ The Telegraph picks up the story here. The point is that it’s easier to sell an apartment quickly in down-town Madrid than a luxury house located in a forgotten hamlet in the middle of nowhere…
Also, some calming news from Mark Stücklin’s Spanish Property Insight here: ‘Balearic proposal to “ban” non-resident buyers was just attention-grabbing theatrics’.
From El Economista here: ‘The Directorate General of Taxes, the governing body of the Ministry of Finance, clarified in a recent ruling dated December 23 that individuals over 65 are exempt from paying income tax (IRPF) when donating their primary residence. Those who transfer their property or other assets, such as business shares, must pay tax on the resulting capital gain or loss…’
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Tourism:
‘The tourism sector anticipates a shift of travellers to Spain due to the conflict in the Middle East. TUI, Europe's largest tour operator, expects Spain to benefit from travellers' reluctance to visit destinations like Egypt and Turkey because of the regional instability there’.
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Finance:
From elDiario.es here: ‘How does the war in Iran affect your life and your wallet? From car fuel to groceries, your mortgage, and vacations. The economic effects of the war in the Middle East transcend the thousands of kilometres between our country and the region. Rising oil prices, the fertilizer blockade, and the closure of airspace are already impacting our daily lives. And, depending on how long the conflict lasts, these effects could worsen. The economy think-tank Funcas predicts that the war in the Middle East will cost Spain 0.2% of its GDP and push inflation above 3%’.
From the Majorca Daily Bulletin here: ‘All families with children in Spain to receive 200 euros per month per child. The Government working to combat child poverty’. The story is confirmed at Idealista here (once the decree has been approved).
From The Christian Science Monitor here: ‘For Spain, granting migrants residency is about economics as much as ethics’. We read: ‘Once a country of emigration before joining the European Union in 1986, Spain has seen immigration soar over the past 40 years. As with elsewhere on the continent, that has caused strain. The far right, which only existed on the extremes electorally a decade ago, now has a party projected to win 20% of votes in the next general election in 2027, in part because of a brewing anti-immigrant sentiment familiar across the West...’
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Politics:
March 8th was the International Women’s Day. 20Minutos was in Madrid: ‘Against sexist murders, inequality, war... feminism takes over Madrid in two marches for International Women's Day’.
Has Sánchez increased his popularity at home following his opposition to the Netanyahu/Trump war? The Economist thinks not: ‘Feted by Europe’s left; Spain’s Pedro Sánchez is unloved at home’.
Sánchez gives three reasons why he intends to finish this legislature in the summer of 2027 says elDiario.es here: ‘The first is Catalonia. Because he wants to completely resolve the pro-independence crisis, which will end with Carles Puigdemont's return to Spain. Mariano Rajoy will go down in history as the president under whose leadership one of the greatest institutional crises in our recent history occurred. Sánchez, as the president who subsequently resolved it.
The second is European funds. Because he has the economic tools to implement far-reaching reforms in the industrial sector, even without a budget.
The third reason is something we are witnessing these days. It is the international context. Because Sánchez has become a key player on the chessboard, not only for the global left, but also for any democrat who believes in human rights, peace, and international law’.
From El Plural here: ‘The Israeli lobby is using its influence in Spain to wage a narrative war against Sánchez. The Zionist organization ACOM, closely linked to the Partido Popular and Vox, has been trying to promote anti-government rhetoric since the beginning of the war in Iran’.
From Cadena Ser with video here: ‘The foreign minister José Manuel Albares, to Feijóo: "There are times to be in opposition and times to be Spain, this is a time to be Spain"’.
Regional elections in Castilla y León will be held this Sunday March 15th. The predictions give the win to the PP with Vox (in partnership?). El País forecasts PP with 31 seats, the PSOE with 27 and Vox with 18. Tricky, because Vox wants to charge a high price to support the winner – as María Guardiola (PP) has seen in Extremadura after the two leading minority parties PSOE and Vox have both voted (twice) against her candidacy as president. She now has two months before fresh elections must be called for the region – unless she succumbs beforehand to the Vox demands.
Electomanía brings: ‘The president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, criticized the Prime Minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, on Sunday for placing the Spanish flag behind him at a rally in Soria "to talk about patriotism," and reminded him that it is "the same flag that covered the coffins of the victims" of "ETA and Bildu," a party which he interpreted as currently "making and unmaking prime ministers" in the country’. It’s a funny world where the national flag only belongs to the fascists.
‘Sánchez seeks to maintain his role as an 'anti-Trump' figurehead with a major international summit in Barcelona’ says 20Minutos here.
From elDiario.es here: ‘Vox definitively expels Ortega Smith from the party and suspends Antelo's (the erstwhile leader in Murcia) membership. The party considers that Ortega Smith has committed a "very serious infraction" after thwarting his replacement as spokesperson in the Madrid City Council’.
From elDiario.es here, we read that the president of the Young Conservatives, las Nuevas Generaciones, has abandoned his post in the PP’s hierarchy and has joined Vox. “The PP has ceased to defend the values that most of us joined up for. For the sake of consistency, I ask for your vote for Vox. It's time to defend our ideas and Spain without fear,” said Carlo Giacomo Angrisano Girauta this weekend.
El Mundo has: ‘The Moncloa rules out bringing forward the general elections even if the Iran-Contra conflict worsens and affects Spain: "The left has changed its mood." Sánchez is being showered with praise, and his aides highlight the international press's accolades for the Spanish president for daring to say "no" to Trump’.
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War:
Following the embarrassing prayer-meeting with twenty or so preachers clutching Donald Trump in the Oval Office (while decrying a possibly similar scene in Teheran), we read of the, ah, ‘End Days’. ‘How The War In Iran Is Setting The Stage For A Future Prophetic Battle’ says Harbinger’s Daily (‘World News Biblically Understood’) here. The question is – how seriously do the Americans take ‘the Rapture’, the End Times’ and The Book of Revelations? The Guardian reminds us of billionaire Peter Thiel and his lectures on ‘the antichrist’ here. The Independent has: How the Iran war is underpinned by ‘end times’ religious fervour in Washington and Teheran. An overlapping belief in end times, or the second coming, underpins much of the motivation in the corridors of power in Washington and in the bunkers where the ayatollahs hide today…’
See, it’s hard to fight crazy.
From elDiario.es here: ‘Sánchez, on the first bombings of Iran: “20 years later, the same mistake. Now it’s up to us to make a difference.” The president had access to reliable reports since late 2015 that warned of a joint US-Israeli attack. Since January, the Moncloa, in collaboration with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Economy, had defined the strategy and contingency plans with which it believes it has “made the president a global leader in peace” ...’
From Europa Press here: ‘Republican Senator Lindsey Graham calls on Trump to remove US military bases from Spain. He emphasizes that he wants these facilities "to leave Spain and be moved to a country that will allow us to use them"’.
From CNN here: ‘Most European leaders have tiptoed around Trump’s war with Iran. Not Spain’s PM’. From The Economist here: Pedro Sánchez: ‘No to war. It is naive to think that escalating conflict in Iran will lead to anything good, writes Spain’s prime minister’.
From Reuters here: ‘Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday as a diplomatic standoff worsened between the two countries over Spain's opposition to the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. The ambassador was summoned back to Spain last September amid a diplomatic row over Spanish measures banning aircraft and ships carrying weapons to Israel from its ports or airspace due to Israel's military offensive in Gaza, which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar denounced as antisemitic. On Tuesday, Spain published an announcement in its official gazette that the ambassador's position had been terminated. Spain's Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Tel Aviv will be led by a charge d'affaires for the foreseeable future…’
International Investment asks: ‘How Much Does Evacuation from the Middle East Cost?’. It’s no doubt going up every day…
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Europe:
From The Olive Press here: ‘Relations between Spain and fellow European ally Germany have plummeted over the past week as the two countries clash over the German chancellor Friedrich Merz’s apparent reluctance to stand up to President Trump. The Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said he was ‘surprised’ at Germany’s lack of solidarity after Merz sat in silence at the White House while Trump launched a now-infamous rant against Spain…’
‘Europe has reached the end of winter with its gas reserves depleted. One country has a model to save it: Spain. Spain is Europe's gas bunker: how the continent's best-prepared country can save its neighbours’. From Xataca here.
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Health:
From El País here: ‘Spain restores universal access to free public healthcare, including for undocumented immigrants. The Council of Ministers have approved a royal decree that eliminates the bureaucratic loophole that excluded thousands of migrants from healthcare. A simple declaration of responsibility will suffice. The regulation is intended to ensure that anyone living in the country, even if irregularly, has access to free public healthcare, as well as guaranteeing it for all Spaniards living abroad and visiting…’
From 20Minutos here: ‘Anything up to 2.4 million workers suffer from Long-Covid in Spain, but "only 22%" are recognized as suffering from an occupational disease’. Google AI describes Long-Covid as: ‘extreme fatigue, cognitive impairment ("brain fog"), shortness of breath, heart palpitations, muscle aches, and sleep disturbances. Symptoms may fluctuate, improve over time, or worsen after physical/mental effort.’ The disease mainly affects women at a ratio of 4:1 to men says the article.
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Corruption:
‘Controversy in Castilla y León: a PP councillor from Palencia kept a subsidized housing villa’ says La Sexta here.
El Digital de Albacete has: ‘They had foreigners working without contracts on a farm in Albacete: jail time sought for these agricultural employers’.
From El Norte de Castilla here: ‘Operacíon Garbanzo Negro. The head of the Valladolid anti-drug unit faked the destruction of fifty kilos of cocaine in Asturias, which he then distributed among his clan. Accompanied by two officers from his unit, he travelled in July 2025 to a waste disposal centre near Oviedo to simulate the disposal of the seized drugs’.
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Media:
From Politico here: ‘The Media must stop normalizing the far right. Every uncritical mention of far-right rhetoric is an editorial decision which carries political consequences’. From El Plural here: 'Le Monde highlights the service of Spanish pseudo-journalists to the far right: from Vito Quiles to Jiménez Los Santos. The prestigious French newspaper criticizes the rise of reactionary media and political agitators in Europe’. Le Monde is here.
An interview with Pedro Sánchez at elDiario.es here: ‘Pedro Sánchez: “The world is changing, but Europe’s values and principles should not. We are not going to resolve the instability in the Middle East with such blatant illegality,” the Prime Minister argues regarding the war with Iran’ (with videos).
From Regards (France) here: ‘On the one hand, young women, more educated, who lean to the left – and especially to the left of the left. On the other hand, young men, excluded early from the school system and in social precariousness, turning to the radical right. An unprecedented political divide is going through the youth of France’. The same is happening here in Spain.
The Financial Times has: ‘Axel Springer buys Telegraph in £575mn deal. German media group scuppers proposed acquisition of UK newspaper company by Daily Mail owner’.
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Ecology:
This is how Las Tablas de Daimiel (Ciudad Real) looks today: 1,000 hectares flooded and a massive return of birds. The national park is experiencing its most promising winter in the last decade, thanks to the Gigüela River, which has brought water and a spectacular bird population.
From Motor here: ‘Spain has everything it needs to become oil-free: renewables, nuclear power, and electric cars. Global geopolitics is once again reminding us how vulnerable we are to oil prices. But Spain has something few countries can claim: the natural conditions, infrastructure, and technology to become oil-free. It just needs to accelerate its progress’.
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Various:
"Chicken" broths with less than 1% chicken: The consumers’ union FACUA compares the composition and prices of thirty different varieties of ‘caldo’ found in the supermarkets.
From Curistoria here: ‘The poet Chaucer obtained from King Edward III the right to a gallon of Canary wine a day, paid for by the realm. On April 23, 1374, St. George's Day, the patron saint of England, the king granted him the right to receive free wine for the rest of his life. Some say it was because he recited some verses during the celebrations that day, and Edward III rewarded him with this perpetual gift. But it seems that wasn't entirely the case.
Chaucer acted as a diplomat for the king and held other positions within the royal circle, and this is probably what earned him his drink at the king's expense. This doesn't prevent him from sharing his literary creations on that day, but the payment was more likely for his non-artistic services. This daily payment was to be collected at the port of London.
Each day he received a gallon of wine, approximately 3.8 litres (say… five wine bottles) until 1378 when The Throne agreed it would be rather easier just to pay in cash.
Later, in the XVI and XVII centuries, the poet laureate was paid an annual sum by The Palace, along with a barrel (877 litres) of Canary wine. All good stuff: as Shakespeare says – ‘i’ faith, you have drunk too much canaries, and that’s a marvellous searching wine, and it perfumes the blood ere one can say- What’s this?’ (Henry IV Part II).
From Mi Gijón here: ‘A woman with a forged business card and a fabricated aristocratic title looted the storerooms of Madrid's museums after the Civil War. She called herself "La Marquesa." With poise and cunning, she plundered hundreds of paintings, tapestries and all manner of cultural artifacts in a devastated Spain. She didn't act alone: art guards, nuns, antique dealers, and museum directors also participated in a systematic plundering that remained hidden for decades. This is the true story reconstructed by art historian and journalist Peio H. Riaño in Marquesa. El mayor robo de arte de la historia de España’.
From El País in English here: ‘The ‘impious and sodomite’ Portuguese nobleman who kept banned books inside the walls of his house in a Spanish village. New research reveals that one of the most celebrated literary finds of recent years belonged to Fernão Brandão, who fled his country after being persecuted by the Inquisition in the 16th century’.
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See Spain:
Welcome to Peñíscola (Castellón): cute video and tourist information here.
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Finally:
From Catalunya Press here: ‘In Spain, the RTVE has become a regular target of right-wing media. For years, conservative media outlets and talk shows have criticized its supposed lack of neutrality and pluralism, even resorting to nicknames like “TelePedro” or “Sanchismo TV.” This context of demands for neutrality contrasts sharply with the public broadcaster's own history. During José María Aznar's (PP) government, in 2003, Televisión Española censored the song "Ojú" by the Sevillian trio Las Niñas, which was scheduled to be used in the summer opening gala and other musical programs. The song criticized the Iraq War and denounced political scandals, becoming an anthem of rejection of the military intervention… ‘ Las Niñas with Oju on YouTube here.
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