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1. The taxman cometh

   (Columnists/Political Update)

     By Martin Delfin.  Memo from Madrid When the taxman comes, he may not give what many would consider enough fair warning. He will just slip into your bank account, take what he says is owed to him ...

   Wednesday, 01 September 2010

2. The fight against terrorism

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfin, Memo from Madrid For a long time, Spain has led the fight against terrorism across the continent. So it is always satisfying to see that the government of Madrid gets high praises from ...

   Wednesday, 25 August 2010

3. A mouse who wants to roar

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfin,  Memo from Madrid Congestion tax, toll fare, road maintenance fee. Call it what you like but the purpose of La Línea de Concepcion Mayor Alejandro Sánchez’s plan to start charging drivers ...

   Wednesday, 18 August 2010

4. Girls’ night out

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfin Memo from Madrid US first lady Michelle Obama left Spain on Sunday to return home to face a barrage of criticism for taking a Costa del Sol holiday at the expense of US taxpayers. ...

   Wednesday, 11 August 2010

5. Socialist mullings in Madrid

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfín  Memo from Madrid The elections are still a year away but the battle for Madrid has begun among the PSOE rank and file. The question is: who is going to be given the task to try to unseat ...

   Tuesday, 03 August 2010

6. Pipedreams from Pristina

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfín Memo From Madrid The recognition by the International Court of Justice that Kosovo didn’t break any laws when it unilaterally declared independence in 2008 has given false hopes ...

   Wednesday, 28 July 2010

7. Andrew Carless by email

   (Magazine!/Letters)

   Martin Delfin has allowed himself to be taken in by Israeli propaganda. The aid ships would not try to bring arms into Gaza for they knew that they would be stopped; if there had been arms the Israelis ...

   Wednesday, 21 July 2010

8. Sloppy inquiry

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfín   Memo From Madrid Privacy laws are very strict in Spain . If I were to take my video camera and, let’s say, tape a police officer frisking a suspect for drugs or even maybe recording ...

   Wednesday, 21 July 2010

9. Keep up the spirit

   (Columnists/Political Update)

   By Martin Delfin. Memo from Madrid After Spain won the world cup on Sunday night, CNN reporter Don Riddell told viewers that many Spaniards he interviewed in Madrid hoped this victory would give the ...

   Wednesday, 14 July 2010

10. Lawlessness in the land

    (Columnists/Political Update)

    By Martin Delfin, Memo from Madrid The Popular Party is once again showing us that it doesn’t respect law and order when it comes to disagreeing with the Socialists. The latest chapter in the PP’s open ...

    Wednesday, 07 July 2010

11. Lofty dreams of independence

    (Columnists/Political Update)

    By Martin Delfin. Memo From Madrid The people of Catalonia remind me of a certain small sector in Puerto Rico who favour independence. The Caribbean island is a US territory and home to 3.8 million people ...

    Wednesday, 30 June 2010

12. Retraining dog owners

    (Columnists/Political Update)

    By Martin Delfin. Memo from Madrid Every so often we get a misguided signal from the media about a surge in the number of pit bull dog attacks around the country. When one isolated incident is reported, ...

    Wednesday, 23 June 2010

13. Trimming the public sector

    (Columnists/Political Update)

    By Martin Delfín, Memo From Madrid, Writes for the English language version of El Pais The government has been silent about it but the writing is on the wall. With all the drastic measures aimed at ...

    Wednesday, 16 June 2010

14. The Israeli reaction - by Martin Delfin

    (Columnists/Political Update)

      Yes, it was a bad thing what the Israelis did last week when they commandeered a Turkish vessel with a flotilla of activists heading for Gaza. But Israel appeared to have had enough information to ...

    Wednesday, 09 June 2010

15. Anything to win a race - by Martin Delfin

    (Columnists/Political Update)

    The call was made by the Catalan nationalist coalition (CiU) and the challenge has been placed on the table – Prime Minister Zapatero must call early elections if he cannot muster enough support to pass ...

    Thursday, 03 June 2010