Another general strike

Mariano Rajoy is soon going to be facing another general strike, called by the unions and other social organizations, and initially supported by opposition parties, including the Socialist Party (PSOE), when he has been prime minister for less than a year. If the previous strike on March 29 was intended as a protest against the Popular Party (PP) government’s labor market reform, the intention now is to demonstrate against recent policies of extreme austerity, in expression of a growing public malaise, and coinciding with a day of general strikes Europe-wide. The question is, just what practical effect can be expected of another general strike — in terms of alleviating the hardships of a population afflicted by wage cuts, tax hikes, runaway unemployment and the fear of lower living standards in the future — or how will it help to come up with solutions?

If confrontation with the unions becomes a settled habit, it may have some political impact, but at the price of linking Spain more closely to a set of countries driven to desperation by the lack of results of their austerity policies. In times of impoverishment of the population, the culture of strikes costs workers even more money — a cost that does not, however, necessarily buy sufficient strength to twist the government’s arm.

Spain might have taken some advantage of the crisis in which it finds itself to emerge strengthened, if the government had shown more interest in the culture of dialogue and of frank explanation of the difficulties it is facing. It is hard for citizens to accept the few reasons offered for extreme austerity, without any hope at all of some reduction in unemployment or some improvement in the oppressive situation of Spain’s public debt.

The Rajoy government, gripped in the jaws of recession, relies solely on its clear parliamentary majority, and unilaterally proceeds with its policy for massive and rapid reduction of the public deficit. His government does not have much room for maneuver in terms of policies, but it could show very much clearer signs of a belief in dialogue. Its policies have failed to produce any stirrings of growth whatsoever, so there are no benefits to be distributed. All that can be done is to share out the costs of the crisis more equitably, and search for solutions that might make the recession shorter.

Image of unity

What is also needed is a better image of unity in Spain in the eyes of the European Union. But this internal unity is a thing that has to be worked for. On balance, the government would probably profit from attempting to reach agreements, however difficult the task may be. Meanwhile, it is hard to see how another general strike can do any good for an already weakened economy; nor is it clear what tangible results the workers stand to obtain from a new trial of strength.

This country does not really need a succession of general strikes, which would be useless and counterproductive, or the occurrence of events the consequences of which might be irreparable.