Bad Memories

• Share

Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose María Aznar has been touring South America promoting his memoirs, Eight Years in Government. But back home, Spaniards are up in arms about events barely covered in the book. The panel investigating the government's response to Madrid's March 11 terrorist attacks, in which 191 people died, continues to turn up indications that while still in power, Aznar's government blamed eta for the attacks, even though the evidence pointed to al-Qaeda. Last week, Civil Guard General José Manuel García Varela told the panel that at 2 p.m. on March 13, then Interior Minister Angel Acebes was told of the imminent arrest of Moroccan and Indian suspects, yet later that day Acebes said publicly that eta was still the main focus of the investigation.

Spaniards were also surprised when Aznar told Colombian radio station W Radio that he still has classified intelligence documents from after the attacks. Socialist Party and other officials have called for an inquiry to determine whether Aznar broke the law by retaining the reports. "This is a sign of his authoritarian and self-centered way," says Begoña Lasagabaster, a Basque congresswoman. The bad publicity just kept coming. Cadena Ser, a well-regarded Spanish radio network, reported that in January the Spanish government hired Washington law firm Piper Rudnick to, among other things, help Aznar collect the Congressional Gold Medal. Officials from Aznar's Popular Party say it's common practice for governments to hire Washington lobbyists, but critics are charging misappropriation of public funds. The U.S. Congress has yet to approve the medal. Aznar, meanwhile, rejects all charges of impropriety: "People can invent many things to distract attention," he said. "That's despicable." But it makes good material for a second volume of memoirs.