Word: aznar
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...dramatically awful for his trip to be marked a failure. He didn't. Indeed, so low were the expectations of him among parts of the European media that merely by showing up and speaking English--never mind the basic Spanish that he used when visiting Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in Madrid--he would have been judged a resounding success. He sailed over that low bar. From the U.S. standpoint, the week's only truly sour note had nothing to do with the President's performance. It came, rather, with a surprise announcement by Jack Welch, chairman...
...powerful aspiration for change" and "an alternative to socialist immobility." Thomas Goppel, general secretary of Germany's opposition Christian Social Union, said the Italian vote was "ringing in the end of the governmental power of the left camp in Europe." Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar, a longtime personal friend and political ally of Berlusconi, predicted that the "closeness" between them would make Spanish-Italian "bilateral relations grow even stronger." No European rightist took greater personal satisfaction than Haider, who remarked that "the E.U. burned its fingers with Austria and doesn't want that to happen again...
...Unique, but not isolated. Though domestic issues dominated the campaign, Berlusconi's victory has implications both for the E.U. and for NATO, where his strongly pro-U.S. position could weaken support for an autonomous European defense pillar. Within the E.U., Berlusconi could form a conservative bloc with Aznar, who shares his resistance to rapid enlargement of membership; he is already demanding a bigger Italian say on European farm policy. Berlusconi's promises to cut taxes, raise pensions and fund big public works projects seem at odds with the fiscal rigor required of euro-zone countries. Despite the potential...
...most popular politician in Spain, always outpointing his boss, Prime Minister José María Aznar, in opinion polls. Jaime Mayor Oreja has a deep, calming voice, is rarely ruffled and, during five years as Interior Minister, had a good record as overseer of police actions against the Basque terrorist group ETA. A Basque himself, he seemed to be the perfect pick when Aznar made him the Popular Party's candidate for 'lehendakari', or president, of the autonomous northern region in the May 13 elections. Most commentators agreed, especially after the PP and the Socialists joined in an informal...
...Ibarretxe avoided gloating after his victory and said his door is open to all parties, though Euskal Herritarrok must first publicly condemn violence. His party's leader, Xabier Arzalluz, called for a start to dialogue "once the hatred and bitterness" of the campaign dies down. Arzalluz, whose bitterness toward Aznar is fully reciprocated, suggested a solution "along Irish lines." But any possibility of talking with terrorists was dismissed by the PP. "We will sit at a table against ETA," said Mayor Oreja, "but never at a table with them...