High-speed democracy

The high number of trips made by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to the Middle East and the Maghreb, in a time frame of just a few days, reflects a vertiginous rhythm that has been injected into Spanish foreign policy after months of inaction. It is not easy to identify any kind of coherent strategy behind this sudden activity, especially considering the fact that since the gratuitous Atlantic slant of the last Popular Party government, Spanish diplomacy has neither recovered its former priorities nor has it consolidated new ones.

The lurching from one position to another has been so pronounced that the very outline of our country's foreign policy is yet to be defined, almost as if it had never existed. The international position of Spain is currently blurred.

The diplomatic schedule that the head of the government has followed this week does not contribute to any clarification of matters. As appears to be becoming standard in Spanish foreign policy, it is as if the idea is to hold two opposing ideas at the same time: Zapatero's Tunisian hosts have been promised support for their nascent democracy from a country that not only participated in the condescension toward the dictator Ben Ali in the past, and that remained silent during the uprisings, but that also has just closed deals with Qatar and the Arab Emirates - using the discredited strategy of turning a blind eye in order to win investment. Having said that, this is nothing that other European countries haven't done in the past, quite often in a much more brazen and shameful way.

At the beginning of this legislature, Zapatero said that he would base his foreign policy on values and principles. But this is an approach that can easily slide toward demagogy, as has been confirmed by Spain's reaction to some of the biggest crises and diplomatic challenges to occur in recent times.

But that is not what we have been reminded of by this week's visits. Instead we have have seen the lack of judgment with which the prime minister's diplomatic diary has been drawn up. Either a greater economic presence for the petro-monarchies should be sought - a plausible objective, albeit one that is difficult to manage, in particular given what is happening today in the Maghreb and the Middle East; or Spain should try to position itself as one of the main supporters of the new regimes that will rise up after the troubles. Seeking to do both things, and what's more in the space of just a few days, could end up with discredit being poured on Spanish diplomacy, given that the instability in the region requires a particular focus on clarity of actions and messages.

The presence of Zapatero in Tunisia contrasts with the difficulty Europe is experiencing in formulating a reaction, a problem shared by both the main countries within the continent as well as the foreign representation of the EU. Having said that, Spain is not the only country to indulge in high-speed diplomacy, as is clear from the UK leader Cameron's trip to Egypt. Spain's commitment to the EU should, in any case, bar it from trying to indulge in short-term point-scoring at Europe's expense.