SPAIN - WHAT IS HAPPENING TO IT ?

Poor old Spain.  It really is struggling.  Take some time and walk around the southern coastal areas.  What's evident?  What's evident is that a lot of building has been going on over the past few years but a lot of selling has not.  .......O.K.  When was the last time you saw loads of Spanish tourists outside of Spain?  Well there are some; mostly in USA.  But the average Spaniard seems to take a flat by the sea and hang out there when they have the time.  And who can blame them when they have such a beautiful country and coastline?   In their droves over the last twenty years or so other Europeans cashing in on the beauty seem to have purchased similar flats, duplexes and better.  But no longer.  Building has come to a virtual standstill.  So if you do want to buy property in Spain it's there for the taking.  Well, there for the taking when the unfortunate owners are eventually forced to sell because of their particular predicament.   Now on its own this is not necessarily anything to get worked up about..  Taken with other evidence of stagnation it may be.  Unemployment seems to be at a dangerously high level, and in particular a high level in the younger age groups.  Poor quality graffiti also appears to be at an all time high, and coupled with beautiful streets defaced with doggy dos ( my euphemism is an attempt at being kind ) I begin to wonder what has happened to Spanish pride.  It's the possible loss of pride which is the major concern.  There's a lot of talk about the Greek, Italian and Spanish problems.  And Spain I'm led to believe would be last of these three to fall.  Well let's hope that none of them "fall".  But sadly I wouldn't bet on it.

WHY IS EUROPE AND THE EUROZONE STRUGGLING?

Brace yourselves.  I've been thinking.  What do the countries of Europe have in common?  Well they're in the same geographical area.  So that's a start.  Otherwise?  Frankly very little. The peoples of the individual countries of Europe are different one to the other in almost every respect.  And that is something to be celebrated.  Why on earth would they want to get on together?  Well obviously they don't want to fight each other.  But then do we really need a European Union to achieve such peace??  Look around.  The Belgians don't like the Dutch and vice versa. Nobody likes the Brits or the Greeks, the French like the Germans because they have to, the Portuguese dislike the Spanish and vice versa, the Italians seem to like everyone from time to time, and so on and so on.  Trying to make these various European countries get on with each other is actually asking for trouble.  Take the Greek situation at March 2012.  Here is a country which is being told what it will do when it will do it and how it will do it!!! Unbelieveable.  Leave the Greek people alone and they will solve their problems in their own way and in their own time.  Otherwise take the consequences.  Next to be given dictates no doubt it will be the Portuguese and the Spanish.  LEAVE THEM ALONE !!!  How,  one wonders,  would France and Germany react to such intolerable interference.

No the only thing most Europeans have in common is the Euro.....and the only reason they have the Euro is because it suits a couple of over-assertive European countries.  

The only way to get real confidence back in Europe is to let each European country make its own decisions in its own time in accordance with its own traditions, work ethics, and under its own motivation.  The confidence will return to each country as and when the time is right.  A message to Brussels !! Dissolve yourselves sooner rather than later and have the maturity to leave the individual countries of Europe alone........of course there's a fat chance of those particular fat cats letting go of things.  Unfortunately there is a perception, maybe wrong,  that  Members of the European Parliament think more about their personal situation than the situation of the country they represent.  What do you think?