Mr. Bean is a success!

A few months ago many thought that Spain would follow Greece and Ireland in asking for a major European Union bailout. The very existance of the euro was under threat because of Spain´s deep financial problems. But Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero, who had been cruelly nick-named Mr. Bean, appears to have pulled off a small miracle by rescuing the Spanish economy from some very dark times.

Spain isn´t out of the woods yet and the Zapatero plan could backfire but at the moment it appears that the economy is on course to exit recession. Zapatero has managed to do a deal with the unions and silence industrial unrest and his budget deficit reducing plan has also won plenty of support even from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Unfortunately, for Zapatero if he is successful he won´t get much credit, the opposition Partido Popular is way ahead in the polls and is tipped to win the next general elections. Zapatero has lost the confidence of the Spanish voters and he will be remembered for 4.5 million unemployment not for his economic skill. Even his own party are not too sure if they want him as a candidate at the next general elections next year. Not exactly a vote of confidence! But he should receive some credit if he is successful.