The Economist (2022-01-08)

The Economist January 8th 2022 Europe 45

F

orcenturiesthemainwaytoGali­

cia,Spain’snorth­westerncorner,was

onfoot,onthepilgrims’trailtoSantiago

deCompostela.Poorroadsmeantthat,

untila decadeortwoago,thedrivefrom

Madridtookninehours.Recentim­

provementshavecutthetriptotheclos­

estGaliciancity,Ourense,toaboutfive.

Nowthejourneycanbemadeintwo

hoursand 15 minutesthankstoGalicia’s

firstconnectionwithSpain’senviable

high­speedrailwaynetwork.Nextyear

thelineshouldbeextendedtoSantiago,

theregionalcapital,andA Coruña,its

biggestcity.“Cinderellacannowtravelin

a biggerandmorecomfortablecar,”said

Ourense’smayor,GonzaloPérezJácome,

usinghisnicknameforhiscity,whichhe

saysistreatedlikeanunlovedstepchild.

Noonewantstobeleftoutofthesys­

tem—Spainhasthebiggesthigh­speed

railnetworkintheworldafterChina’s—

buthedoubtsthatthenewextensionwill

bringdramaticchanges.

Spaniardshavelongbeenleaving

poorerruralareasforbetteropportuni­

tiesinrichercities.Politiciansinrural

areaslamentthis.Butit isnotobvious

thatpriceyinfrastructurewilldomuch

tocurbit.MrJácomenotesthatZamora,

untilrecentlythehigh­speedtrains’last

stopenroute toGalicia,hasgainedweek­

endtouristsbutcontinuedtolosepop­

ulationsincetheirarrivalin2015.

Inanycase,Galiciahasbeendoing

well.Itwasoncea bywordforisolation

andpoverty,“theendoftheworld”,asthe

nameofitswesternmostpoint,Cape

Finisterre,indicates.SomanyGalicians

emigratedthatgallegoisstillsynony­

mouswith“Spaniard”inpartsofLatin

America.Butgdpperperson,66%ofthe

nationalaveragein1955,isnow92%ofit.

ÁngeldelaFuenteoffedea, aneconom­

icthink­tank,pointstofishprocessing,

carmakingandclothing(Inditex,the

parentcompanyofZaraandother

brands,isbasedthere)andreasonably

business­friendlypolitics,thoughhe

saysa singlecauseofitscatch­upishard

toidentify.

AnotherfixforSpain’sregionaldis­

paritieshasbeenproposedbytheSocial­

ist­lednationalgovernment:opening

newstatebodiesoutsidethecapital.

ManybigwigsintheconservativePeo­

ple’sParty(pp) saythiswouldbepoint­

less.Galicia’sleader,thepp’s moderate

AlbertoNuñezFeijóo,hasa warmer

reaction,notingthatit makeslittlesense

toputthecountry’sInstituteofOceanog­

raphyinlandlockedMadrid.Once,peo­

plewouldhavesaidthesameabout

puttingworld­conqueringcompanies

andultra­moderntrainsinGalicia.

ThetraininSpain

To the endof the earth

OURENSE

Spain’shigh­speednetworkreachesfar­offGalicia

Endoftheline

Italy’spresidency

Decision time

for Draghi

I

talianpresidentialelectionscustom­

arily  have  more  twists  and  implausible

turns than a Verdi opera. Voting in the lat­

est—to  replace  President  Sergio  Mattarel­

la—is  to  begin  on  January  24th.  Over  the

coming weeks party leaders can be expect­

ed to trade bluff and counter­bluff, leaking

the  names  of  candidates  whose  chances

they  are  in  fact  content  to  sacrifice  while

keeping  secret  until  the  last  moment  the

identity of the one they really favour.

The  outcome  matters:  Italian  presi­

dents  have  the  power  to  dissolve  parlia­

ments and name prime ministers. They al­

so  hold  office  for  an  unusually  long  time:

seven  years,  during  which  they  acquire  a

moral authority that can constrain the ac­

tions of the government.

This  time,  the  choice  may  seem  obvi­

ous.  The  prime  minister,  Mario  Draghi,  a

former  president  of  the  European  Central

Bank,  is  internationally  respected.  He  is

free of party allegiance and heads a cabinet

spanning the political arc from hard right

to radical left. It would seem logical for this

broad coalition to unite in his support.

Yet he faces an uphill struggle. Ironical­

ly, the only major party to have consistent­

ly, if surreptitiously, backed Mr Draghi’s el­

evation is the only one that has consistent­

ly  criticised  his  performance.  The  hard­

right Brothers of Italy (fdi), led by Giorgia

Meloni,  chose  not  to  join  Mr  Draghi’s  co­

alition  last  year.  Ms  Meloni’s  party  is  no­

tionally  allied  to  the  populist  Northern

League, headed by Matteo Salvini, and the

centre­right  Forza  Italia  party,  led  by  the

85­year­old Silvio Berlusconi who, without

actually declaring his availability, has indi­

cated that he too wants the presidency. 

Ms Meloni has had no choice but to of­

fer Mr Berlusconi public support. But, un­

like Mr Salvini’s, hers has seemed distinct­

ly lukewarm. Were Mr Draghi to get the job

instead, it would end his government and

perhaps  prompt  an  early  election.  That

would suit the fdi, riding high in the polls,

and  particularly  Ms  Meloni,  who  on  pre­

sent  form  would  emerge  as  leader  of  the

biggest party on the right, and prime min­

ister should the right secure a majority as

the polls currently suggest.

Enrico  Letta,  leader  of  the  centre­left

Democratic Party (pd), currently level­peg­

ging  the  fdiin  the  polls,  initially  wanted

Mr Draghi to remain prime minister until

the next general election, due in 2023. But

Mr Letta is said no longer to rule out back­

ing  his  becoming  president.  The  overrid­

ing priority for the pd is to ensure that the

present  coalition  remains  intact  until  the

vote—not  least  to  prevent  the  League,

whose leader, Mr Salvini, has long been un­

easy  with  the  arrangement,  from  slipping

away.  The  radical  right  could  be  an  even

more  formidable  force  if  it  came  into  an

electoral campaign after a year or more un­

ited in opposition.

Which is where Mr Berlusconi—or rath­

er,  his  allies’  support  for  him—becomes  a

problem.  As  Mr  Draghi  mused  on  Decem­

ber 22nd, it is unlikely that a coalition that

had  fallen  out  over  the  presidency  could

magically  reunite  to  govern  the  country.

But a joint candidate can only be agreed to

in talks, and Mr Letta is refusing to negoti­

ate  with  Mr  Salvini  until  he  rules  out  Mr

Berlusconi. Italy’s longest serving republi­

can prime minister he may be, but Mr Ber­

lusconi  is  also  a  convicted  tax  fraudster

and  the  erstwhile  host  of  the  notorious

“Bunga Bunga” parties. Opposition to him

is even stronger in the anti­graft Five Star

Movement than in the pd. On January 3rd

the  Movement’s  senators  voted  to  try  to

square the circle by imploring Mr Mattarel­

la to stay on until the next election. That is

a solution the president has repeatedlydis­

missed. But it would offer a widely accept­

able route out of a dangerous impasse.n

R OME

A turbulent few weeks in Italian

politics begins