Spain’s NIE ‘brain-wave’ makes no sense to me

JUST as some unfortunates are driven to self-harm during periods of stress it seems government do likewise.

Spain’s Secretary of Labour and Immigration has ruled that personal attendance will now be required by foreign property buyers when applying for the statutory NIE number.

In the past buyers legal representatives had the power of attorney to do so on their client’s behalf.

I can just read the mind of a European or Russian investor considering where to invest when his agent informs him of the procedure for buying in Spain.

At dawn he shall join a pavement queue. After a lengthy wait in the elements he shall provide a surly civil servant with his paperwork. If satisfactory he will then repair to his bank; pay his fee and return to collect his NIE number.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that some decision makers are in receipt of brown envelopes offered by Spain’s property competition.

O’Leary’s brass neck

LOVE him or loathe him you can’t but admire the brass neck of Irish budget airline boss Michael O’Leary. The Ryanair chief had the audacity to front a demonstration mounted by protesting Spanair employees.

They blame the Irish airline for ruining the ‘Spanish model’ due to his subsidised business model.

We must thank our lucky stars that O’Leary was never attracted to the Irish Republican movement.

I can well imagine him carrying a tricolour and drum as he leads the Horse Guards Brigade at Buck House.

Blast! Grenade found in spuds

NORMALLY there´s nothing too exciting about a bag of potatoes.

But add a wartime grenade, and the whole ball game changes.

One shopper in Cadiz in fact discovered a World War Two grenade in potatoes after visiting his local greengrocer.

Fortunately the shopping trip did not end in disaster, though it could have been chips for the hapless shopper had the device – presumably dug up when the potatoes were harvested – exploded. Five years ago a similar incident occured in Oviedo.