(Published in Expansión, December 7, de 2006)

 

There’s certain kind of friends and other kind of friends. And the friendships that José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero has cultivated as Prime Minister during these two long years on the world’s stage can only be rated as “dangerous liaisons”.

 

It all started with Zapatero’s frontal rejection of George W. Bush – anyway, that was his privilege – to embrace Kerry, the loser; he volunteered to give a hand to Gerard Schröder in his re-election bid but it only helped to his demise. But, he mocked Angela Merkel the very same day of her victory; Chirac, his apparent European sponsor already has a foot in his political grave, besides he has behaved like a ruthless master with Zapatero to whom he has given nothing away.

 

With Europe giving him the cold shoulder, it is understandable that Rodríguez Zapatero would throw his arms around the Latin-Americans, but it seems he did not make a very good choice there either.

 

First, it was Castro, Zapatero helped ease the sanctions imposed by the European Union. In exchange, prisoners would be freed; however they continue rotting in jail. The photo that the Spanish President wanted, Castro and he, together at the Salamanca Summit, never materialized because the Cuban dictator did not even accept the invitation. Now that he is dying, it seems unlikely that Zapatero will get the photo. Then it was Chávez, the tin-pot tyrant with oil from Venezuela. Zapatero promised him everything he wanted, including the super contract of those famous “pacific weapons” that, as it was demonstrated, he was in no position to sell.

 

Hugo “Boss” Chávez did come to Spain in a triumphant reception organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that friendship has turned out to be embarrassing for the Spanish government due to actions like granting Venezuelan citizenship to 4 ETA terrorists in addition to substantial economic aid. It did not matter if they were on the run or convicted. That really is a sign of great friendship.

 

And the same can be applied to indigenist Evo Morales, the one with the striped sweater. Exalted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, invited to Madrid and treated like royalty, Morales promised Zapatero stability for all our investments and in less than 24 hours, he placed his country's energy industry under state control.

 

The managers at Repsol can tell how their offices were seized, how they were arrested and how much help they got from Moncloa (the Spanish Prime Minister's Office) in support of their interests. In the same fashion, the big companies invited to a breakfast meeting with Zapatero when he visited Argentina, had to hear that he was not there to mediate between the Kirchner government and the Spanish companies. Believe me when I tell you that it was the most expensive breakfast those businessmen have ever had.

 

Looking at the prospects of how they treat Zapatero in Latin America, it is not strange that he works overtime in his diplomatic efforts with the Islamist government of Turkey. Out of that atypical relationship, he has at least gotten the only explicit support to his phantasmagoric proposal known as Alliance of Civilizations. What is left to see is what Zapatero will say to the Turks when his European friends declare that Turkey has no chance of joining the European Union. No way.