El paro y el rey (The King and the dole queue)

The paro is Spain’s unemployment benefit. It enjoys a near-iconic status in Spanish society, and the more I was told about it today, the smaller the gap between my jaw and the floor. I’ve yet to see a better example of the peculiarly Spanish open-mindedness carried (perhaps) to the point of excess.

“I’ll work on the coast for summer, then I’ll go back on the paro for 8 months... then after that I’ll use the money for travelling maybe...”

Such a life plan is not uncommon; the stigma of the classic British dole queue is nowhere to be seen. So while the London’s newscasters keep barking on about the record levels of unemployment (double the EU average, by the way), many of Spain’s 20-30-year-olds seem content (for now) to bounce back and forth between temporary jobs and unemployment benefit.

Roughly speaking, the on the paro you begin by earning 70% of your previous salary. 180 days later, this drops to 60%, then after another 180 days it falls again... and so on. To say that the monthly bill that lands on Government desks is rather sizeable would be an understatement. But particularly amongst the swathe of students and young left-wingers, the paro continues to be cherished as a symbol of the Spain’s acute sense of fairness and collective spirit.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have the Spanish royal family. They could not be further away from the life of a typical thirtysomething madrileño, and that ‘open’ mindset I keep harping on about. (I’m still searching for a better word than ‘mindset’. Suggestions welcome)

There’s Queen Sofía, a permanent London resident (the Spanish press seem in denial about this) who only returns to Madrid for official occasions. Then there’s Prince Felipe, whose many supposed 'mistresses' make for an easy press target. Finally, there’s the bumbling Bourbon himself, Juan-Carlos, recently seen hunting endangered animals in Botswana at the expense of unnamed Arab sheiks.

Juan-Carlos may have been responsible for the transition to democracy, but it was Franco who nominated him in person as his successor. This connection to Spain's turbulent past could be seen as a symbol of an enduring elitism, and is often overlooked – perhaps by wishful thinking. In any case, the contrast with the chilled-out attitude of Spain's youth is an interesting one. 


On the one hand, continuing signs of the past's divisions. On the other, a relaxed society championing the ‘collective spirit’ approach to life. Always more under the surface.

Less rambling and more scribbling to come.

Spanish of the Day

para más INRI... - 'as if that weren't enough...' A peculiar turn of phrase bearing the hallmarks of many a Catholic upbringing - INRI being the initials above the cross that you spend most of your time in Mass staring at.

pijo - adjective denoting (usually with bitterness) the yellow-trouser-wearing set of Madrid's bourgeois neighbourhoods