Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.

And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain.

Cosas de España

Years ago, an estate agent(realtor) told me that, despite high demand, between 25 and 50% of flats in Pv city were empty. So, this report– which talks of a stubborn problem with deep roots and a paradox that continues to frustrate both policymakers and prospective buyers – didn’t surprise me. That said, I have no idea why this is the case. Other than it possibly reflects the fact that certain (non-rich) individuals – through inheritances in decreasingly large families – have come into possession of several properties. And these folk see their properties not as a source of current income but as their future pension.

Another strange aspect of Spanish society . . . The country is burdened by a complex system of immunities and rights(aforamientos) which effectively prevent MPs and bureaucrats being prosecuted for corruption. A brief summary of these:-

• Parliamentary immunity: Protects MPs from arrest or prosecution for acts related to their legislative duties, requiring parliamentary approval for proceedings to advance.
• Aforamientos: A broader procedural privilege that determines the specific (higher) court competent to judge certain officials[including bureaucrats], aiming to shield them from ordinary judicial processes and potential local bias.

Both mechanisms have been subject to criticism and debate in Spain, particularly regarding their breadth and the perception of privilege. A proposed reform aims to significantly limit the legal immunity (aforamiento) currently enjoyed by politicians. 

At the end of this post is a fuller description of which this is a summary: Spain’s system of immunities is designed to safeguard the independence and functioning of its democratic institutions by shielding politicians and certain officials from politically motivated or frivolous prosecutions. However, the broad scope of these protections—especially aforamiento—has drawn criticism for potentially enabling impunity and has led to ongoing debates and reform efforts to limit immunity to only official acts, ensuring greater equality before the law.

I get the impression that the reform is going nowhere. For pretty obvious reasons, I guess. Here’s an AI summary of the current situation: EU and domestic watchdogs continue to urge Spain to align its system with European standards by narrowing the scope of immunity and ensuring judicial independence. But progress has been slow, as Spain continues to block or delay significant reforms on this issue, particularly in the context of broader concerns about judicial independence and political influence over the judiciary. Reform has been hindered by political disagreements and resistance from within the judiciary and the political class [Surprise, surprise]. Political polarization and institutional resistance have stalled comprehensive reform.

Cousas de Galicia

The Camino Portugués is growing at 20% a year. So, we can expect 250,000 Caminers this year. Let the joy be unbounded! Thank god they rarely elect my favourite (Moroccan) restaurant.

There was (pop) music in Pv city last night, along the banks of the river Lérez. Although this was taking place far from my house – Google says it’s a 3.8km walk, say 2km for a crow – I needed earplugs to get to sleep at midnight. I felt rather sorry for the residents between me and the concert. But a funny thing . . . I slept 7 hours, against my usual 5 to 6.

Spain’s best young white wine of 2024 is the Albariño of Condes de Albarei. Me, I prefer Godello.

The UK

What a world, in which David Beckham can be knighted. As some one has put it: For being rich with poor judgment. From the same writer: It does make one wonder about the criteria applied when the politicians draw up their lists of those to be enbaubled. Clearly it’s not for overcoming hardship, or selflessly working for others. In this case, presumably, it’s for trousering vast amounts of money and being a sleb.

Germany

What most people get wrong about Germany (and the Germans). We set the record straight about the country’s ‘terrible’ food, ‘humourless’ residents and lack of beaches.

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

The winner from the Trump-Musk fall-out is expected to be JD Vance, as I suggested the other day. When I said he would surely now be ‘war-gaming’ his takeover.

A possible loser – Stephen Miller:-

• A caricature of an evil bureaucrat.
• A trump gadfly but, unlike many others he seems to actually believe what he’s saying. Or at least he wants us to believe that he believes what he’s saying. Because, as he’s alluded to in at least one interview, triggering the Libs with his bad opinions is the only thing that gives his life meaning. But I cannot stress enough that, despite the fact that he tries very hard to shock people, the overall effect is tiresome. The story of Stephen Miller is one of an unremarkable man; not good looking; medium smart; sexually repellent; not funny; who – like many others in Washington – wants to be interesting and, since he can’t embody any of those other superlatives, he’s chosen to be the most obnoxious: Erin Ryan of This Fu**ing Guy, which is a wonderful show each week about some corrupt person or other:

Quote of the Day

A couple of billionaires having a hissy little catfight. Who gives a shit? The world actually has problems: A Stephen King tweet.

Russia v. Ukraine

Would Vladimir Putin attack NATO? Russia is building up its forces, causing fear in its neighbours.

The Way of the World

This is an AI answer to the questions of whether antisemitism is the world’s oldest form of racism and whether it existed before the advent of Christianity:- This claim is debated among historians and scholars. While antisemitism – hostility or prejudice against Jews—has ancient roots, especially visible in the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire, the concept of “racism” as we understand it today is relatively modern and tied to the development of the idea of “race” in the early modern period. So . . . Antisemitism did exist before the Christian era. In the ancient world, particularly in Greece and Rome, there was hostility and discrimination toward Jews, but it was primarily ethnic rather than religious in nature. Factors such as the Jews’ distinct customs, monotheism, refusal to intermarry, and practices like circumcision set them apart and sometimes led to resentment and negative stereotyping by surrounding societies. This pre-Christian hostility is often referred to as “anti-Judaism” and laid some groundwork for later forms of antisemitism that became more pronounced after the rise of Christianity

Social Media

The continued degradation of X/Twitter under Elon Musk has seen millions of European users leave the platform, as well as the exit of brands and big-name celebrities. But the platform is making back a few quid by selling “verification” to “dubious” characters. More than 200 accounts linked to terrorists and other sanctioned groups have bought blue cheque marks, including senior Hezbollah and Houthi officials.

Spanish

• Esperpento: Monstrosity, eyesore, nonsense.
• Azuzar: Whip up, incite, inflame.

English:

Sleb: Slang for ‘celebrity’.

Did You Know?

Why most of us need to drink more water.

You Have to Laugh

It’s been a devastating few days in my household, after Vogue decalre the word ‘chic’ dead. Sadly, it is right. I use the word to describe everything from a pair of sunglasses to a sandwich. So goodbye to chic. And what an opportunity to purge a few other c-words. Let’s start with “concept”. My inbox is bulging with concepts. Five times a day I am asked to attend “a new intimate sharing plates concept”. Restaurant. They mean restaurant. Once you get to the restaurant, a waiter arrives and says, “Shall I explain our menu concept to you?” The “concept” is this: you order food, and they bring it to you. Let’s also be done with “creator”, as in “Instagram creator”. And “creative” as a noun. As in: “Looking to meet a like-minded creative, with whom to enjoy romantic dinners at the local small plates concept.” Consign it all to history. Wonderful. Doesn’t the world seem more chic already?

Finally . . .

Just one bit from The Pillow Book today . . . On the poor Mr Masahiro

Masahiro really is a laughing-stock.

I wonder what it is like for his parents and friends. If people see with a decent-looking servant, they always call for the fellow and laughingly ask how he can wait upon such a master and what he thinks of him.

There are skilled dyers and weavers in Masahiro’s household, and when it comes to dress, whether it be the colour of his under-robe or the style of his cloak, he is more elegant than most men; yet the only effect of his elegance is to make people say, “What a shame someone else isn’t wearing these things!”

And how strangely he expresses himself! Once, when he was due to report for night duty at the Palace, he ordered that the clothes and other things he would need should be brought from his house. “Send two servants,” he said. One man came and said that he could easily carry everything. “You’re an odd fellow,” said Masahiro. “How can one man bring the things of two people? After all, can you put two measures in a one-measure jar?

On another occasion a messenger brought Masahiro a letter from someone, asking for an immediate reply. “You hateful fellow!” said Masahiro. “Has someone been putting peas on the stove? And who’s stolen the ink and brush I had in this residence? Very odd. I could understand people taking rice or wine…” And again everyone laughed.

When the Empress Dowager was ill, Masahiro was sent from the Palace to inquire after her. When he came back, people asked which of her gentlemen-in-waiting had been present. He named a few people, four or five in all. “Was no one else there?” “Well, there were some others,” replied Masahiro, “but they had all left.”

It is amazing that we could still laugh at him— so accustomed were we to hearing his foolishness.

One day when I was alone he came up to me and said, “My dear lady, I have something I must tell you at once – something that I’ve just heard.” “And what might that be?” I asked. He approached my curtain. “I heard someone who instead of saying, “Bring your body closer,” used the phrase, “Bring up your five parts.” And again I burst into laughter.

On the middle night during the period of official appointments Masahiro was responsible for filling the lamps with oil. He rested his foot on the cloth under the pedestal of one of the lamps and, since the cloth happened to have been freshly oiled, his foot stuck to it. As soon as he started to walk off, the lamp fell over and, as he hurried along with the cloth stuck to his foot, the lamp dragged after him, making a terrible clatter.

One day when he thought he was alone in the Table Room, neither of the First Secretaries having reported for duty, Masahiro took a dish of beans that was lying there and went behind the Little Screen. Suddenly someone pulled aside the screen and there was Masahiro, stealthily munching away at the beans. Everyone who saw him was convulsed with laughter.

SPAIN’S IMMUNITIES FOR POLITICIANS AND BUREAUTCRATS

Overview

Spain maintains a complex system of legal immunities for politicians, high-ranking officials, and certain members of the judiciary and royal family. These immunities are designed to protect the functioning of democratic institutions, but have been the subject of significant political debate and proposed reforms in recent years.

• Aforamiento: Special Legal Protection: Aforamiento is the Spanish term for a special legal status that shields certain officials—such as members of parliament, government ministers, judges, and some members of the royal family—from being prosecuted in ordinary lower courts. Instead, cases against them must be heard by higher courts, typically the Supreme Court. This protection is intended to prevent politically motivated prosecutions that could disrupt the functioning of government and parliament.
• Parliamentary Immunity: Spanish Deputies (members of Congress) and Senators enjoy parliamentary immunity during their mandate. They cannot be detained or arrested except if caught in the act of committing a crime (“flagrante delicto”). Any detention or arrest must be immediately reported to the presiding officer of the respective chamber. Criminal proceedings against sitting members of parliament cannot begin without prior authorization from the respective chamber (Congress or Senate). This process is known as the suplicatorio, a formal request by the judiciary to parliament to lift immunity. Immunity covers both acts committed before and during their term of office, but its main purpose is to ensure that parliamentarians can perform their duties without interference from the judiciary or political manipulation.

Limits and Exceptions

• Immunity does not extend to personal acts unrelated to official duties. For example, if a deputy is caught drunk driving or is found to have undeclared bank accounts, these matters would not be protected by aforamiento and could be prosecuted in ordinary courts.
• If criminal proceedings begin before a person is elected to parliament, immunity does not apply retroactively to halt those proceedings.
• Judges, members of the Crown (such as the former King Juan Carlos I), and some other officials also have special protections, though these are not always subject to the same rules as politicians14.

Immunity for Senior State Officials and Foreign Dignitaries

• According to Organic Law No. 16/2015, Spain recognizes absolute immunity for foreign Heads of State, Heads of Government, and Ministers for Foreign Affairs while in office. This immunity covers both official and private acts, including those committed before taking office.
• After leaving office, these individuals retain immunity only for official acts performed while in office, except for international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Recent Reform Proposals and Debates

In 2018, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez proposed a constitutional reform to limit aforamiento, aiming to remove special court privileges for politicians and officials in cases unrelated to their official duties. The reform would still protect actions taken “in the execution of their office” but would eliminate immunity for personal matters. However, the proposal would not affect judges or the former king, and changes for regional deputies would require further consensus and legal adjustments at the regional level. Any constitutional change requires a two-thirds majority in Congress and an absolute majority in the Senate, making reform ‘politically challenging’.

Summary Table:

Category	Scope of Immunity	Exceptions/Limitations
Members of Parliament	Protection from prosecution in lower courts; need for parliamentary approval to proceed	Not for personal acts; not retroactive if proceedings began before election.
Judges and Crown Members	Special protections, not affected by recent reform proposals	Varies by law and position.
Foreign Heads of State, etc.	Absolute immunity while in office (official and private acts)	Not for international crimes; limited post-office

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For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.

For those thinking of moving to Spain:–

• This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers.
• This post of mine contains several relevant articles from ThinkSpain.
• This article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.
• Getting a mortgage in Spain: Some advice on this challenge.
• A comparison of UK and Spanish living costs.
• And here’s a personal guide to moving to Spain – to work, not to retire.
• Finally, from a tax lawyer: Everything you need to know about taxes and healthcare when retiring to Spain.