TILTING AT WINDMILLS: CHAVES: LONG TO REIGN OVER US

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

CHAVES: LONG TO REIGN OVER US

For as long as I have lived in Spain I have been based in Andalucía. Hence throughout that period Manuel Chaves has been the president of the regional government.

Indeed he has held that office for 19 years so has been omnipresent in my life – like Father Christmas – or God.

Now I have to get used to José Antonio Griñán who I don’t know from Adam, or Eve come to that. I am not sure if I want to be governed by a person whose surname sounds like a foot complaint.

Chaves made the chief minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, look like a Johnny-come-lately. Caruana, who has been elected four successive times, holds the view that it is the people of Gibraltar and not his party that will tell him its time to go so he could be top dog on a small rock for ever.

And what of Manuel?

Well there are those who viewed him as the life dictator of Andalucía. Now he has moved to Madrid. I see his role is as one of three vice presidents to the president of the government himself – José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. So Chaves is nicely placed when José Luis decides to spend more time with his family.

It therefore follows that in the coming years I could be ruled by Manuel Chaves again. Only this time he’ll be prime minister of Spain.

Adam and Eve it!

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TILTING AT WINDMILLS

Sancho Panza is much less learned but a good deal saner than his master.

"At this point they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that are on that plain.

"Fortune," said Don Quixote to his squire, as soon as he had seen them, "is arranging matters for us better than we could have hoped. Look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants rise up, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes. For this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth."

"What giants?" said Sancho Panza.

"Those you see there," answered his master, "with the long arms, and some have them nearly two leagues long."

"Look, your worship,'' said Sancho. "What we see there are not giants but windmills, and what seem to be their arms are the vanes that turned by the wind make the millstone go."

"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, "that you are not used to this business of adventures. Those are giants, and if you are afraid, away with you out of here and betake yourself to prayer, while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat."”