The Black Sea

The Spanish are very very upset about the disaster that has taken place off the Galician coast. The anti-government "you don't know your arses from your monohulled sailing ecological bombs" reaction, however, has been muted, which when you consider that these clowns spent two days trying to tow the bugger into Portuguese waters and then, when the Porks and Cheeses told them what they thought of that, a further day dithering about whether to drop bombs on it or tow it out to sea, might strike you as surprising. Nor was the reaction rapid and efficient - the army were finally deployed this week - just one month after the disaster - and the fishermen have also had to wait four weeks for their money. (Interestingly, for all the pictures of gallant volunteers in overalls covered in oil, the footage of fishermen always seems to portray spotlessly dressed individuals waiting for the money and playing cards.) In the case of the local government the picture was even worse - the former Franco minister who remains the governor of Gallicia 27 years later went shooting as the disaster struck - near Madrid - which has not exactly endeared him to anyone.

So why are moustachio mouse Aznar and his friends getting away with it? An early attempt to pin it on the British was foiled when it transpired that although the tanker had indeed been to Gibraltar once in the last six months it had not entered the harbour let alone been repaired there. Instead the maintenance was carried out in (hushed voice) a Spanish port. Needless to say, the apology by the Spanish government for the smear did not make it onto the front page.

It's not for lack of gloaters. In fact for once, the opposition are trying to put the boot in, but to no avail - JMA simply sends the King to the beaches to state (apparently without irony) that there should be "less speech making and more support". Meanwhile, the hairy-lipped pocket despot refused to accept criticisms from a Galician politician because he was not "directly affected", leading many to question who was affected. (The general conclusion is shags, cormorants and shellfish definitely, lobsters maybe.)

All of which makes me long for the British press and its conviction that everyone is lying and/or after something all the time. Viva el cynicismo.