Guest contributer hippiepooter writes:-
“Hewie’s in my manor!
Caught his report on Spain’s General Strike on News24 tonight.
He concluded his report informing us that the Spanish Government (centre-right Partido Popular) will announce its austerity measures tomorrow. “The fear is this country, already in recession, will be locked in a downward spiral”. Whose fear exactly Gav?
The Partido Popular achieved an overall majority in the general election in November last year.
In regional elections in Andalucia a couple of days ago PP recorded its best ever result, getting the largest vote for the first time, falling just short of an overall majority.
It’s vote in Asturias was also up nearly 2% on the previous year’s regional elections.
Somehow this failed to get a mention in Mr Hewitt’s report.
The fear in Spain, Mr Hewitt, is that union wreckers are going to make the crisis even worse with their stupid strikes. “
May we take it as a given now that socialism in Europe has failed, or is that just too simple for the elite of Brussels to understand?
I remember when Mark Mardell was the Europe Beeboid, and recall a certain incident not long after the financial crisis hit. During the BBC’s’ coverage on election night during the last MEP voting, there was much consternation amongst the various BBC talent about the amount of non-Left candidates winning seats on the Continent. Mardell expressed his astonishment – openly, on air – that Europe wasn’t stampeding to the Left because clearly Capitalism had failed.
Obviously Socialism in Europe has failed, because there hasn’t been enough proper Capitalism to prop it up. I wonder if Mardell has changed his assessment.
Yes Gavin Hewitt wanted us to conclude that it was the nasty centre right adiminsitration that was to blame for the mess. He did say the centre right had been elected last year, nowhere in his report was the previous left wing administration mentioned or blamed for the gigantic mess it had created.
On his blogspot the way he covers PP’s increased regional votes in Andalucia and Asturias (there were only elections there) is that the PP Government is worried the left did better than expected!
That’s one way of looking at things I suppose.
hippie, I was in Catalunya for 8 years and have recently moved back (temporarily to England). That result in Asturias was incredible, massive news.
He doesn’t use the term ‘fear’ in his blog. He gives both views on the issue however.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17544760
A balanced article, although I didn’t hear him on news 24 so can’t say whether the tone of that differed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17544760
His blog posted on the same issue seems to cover both sides well. No use of ‘Fear’, but this is clearly not attributed as his view but rather of ‘some economists’.
“Whose fear exactly Gav?”
Exactly! That so typically pathetic, fear instilling, craftiness of the EU-adoring Beeb always tickles me.. lol
But anyway.. must now quickly dash and catch the last banana boat.. Byee!
It has been most amusng watching the BBC try to give a completely false view of the Spanish situation – most people here see the need to stop spending and to clean up the socialists’ mess.
Spain Greece Portugal and Italy all have long history of extremes of left and right. The anti-austerity rioters are for the most part anticapitalist wannabe revolutionaries, but to the bBC they are “protesters”. bBC seem to employ for the most part student union bar marxists. What a disgraceful organisation.
Ahhhhhh…….Gavin Hewitt
This wouldn’t be the same Gavin Hewitt, that was Washington that told us how George W Bush stole the 2001 election, who has produced three films about President Bill Clinton-who subtext was that he wasn’t progressive enough?
The same Gavin Hewitt who was one of three reporters to use David Kelly as a source for the BBC story claiming that the British Government had “sexed up” a dossier describing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction?
The same Gavin Hewitt who covered the United States Presidential Election primaries and Democratic Nominee for President Barack Obama’s visit to the Middle East and Europe in the summer of 2008 in the typical fawning style so common of left of centre reporting?
The same Gavin Hewitt who was warning us of the dangers of Sarah Palin?
The same Gavin Hewitt who was full of the “hope and change” narration when the “smartest guy ever to run the White House” was crowned King Obama in 2008?
No doubt the BBC needs his “impartial” reporting in right wing, reactionary Spain, because in the land of “hope and change” it wouldn’t do to tell the British taxpayers how “hope and change” isn’t quite working out.