Legal Commentary

Spanish Intelligence Agency Ordered to Investigate Possible ?Anglo-Saxon Media? Conspiracy

By Eugene Volokh

From Soeren Kern (Pajamas Media), reporting on an article in El Pais:

Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has ordered Spain?s official intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Center (CNI), to investigate whether the ?Anglo-Saxon media? (aka English-language press) is conspiring to undermine the Spanish economy.

According to the center-left newspaper El País, which is close to the Zapatero government, the CNI is investigating ?whether attacks by investors and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are being driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign.?

In recent weeks, the UK-based Financial Times newspaper and the Economist magazine, as well as some publications in the United States, have all published stories that have been highly critical of the economic policies being pursued by the Zapatero government....

On February 8, Infrastructure Minister José Blanco said shadowy forces were ganging up on Spain. ?Spain is the victim of an international conspiracy to destroy the country?s economic status, and then, the euro,? he said. ?Nothing that is happening, including the apocalyptical editorials in foreign media, is just chance.?

If any Spanish-speaking readers can confirm the accuracy of the paraphrase of the El Pais report, or the translation of the Blanco quote, that would be great. Thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on February 20, 2010 (boomark / email).