A copper monument dedicated to Carlos Fabra is being erected in front of a new airport at public expense.
Giles Tremlett in Madrid guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 January 2012 16.15 GMT
Many Spanish airports have been forced to close, raising questions about the new airports viability. It is the biggest white elephant in Spain – a €300,000, 24-metre-high statue dedicated to an infamous politician whose face will welcome people to a brand new airport that no one uses.The monument to Carlos Fabra, head of the newly built airport in the eastern province of Castellon and local boss of the governing Peoples party PP, is being erected in the middle of a roundabout at the airports entrance.Although still only half-built, the 20-tonne copper sculpture has provoked outrage in a Spain gripped by ferocious public spending cuts and massive unemployment.The local sculptor Juan Ripollés has said one of several faces on the monument will be that of Fabra, who recently retired after 16 years as president of the provincial assembly.”It is a homage to the origins of the airport project and to the person behind it, Carlos Fabra,” he explained. “It is made up of several faces, and will include the figure of Fabra.”The bill will be paid by the public company in charge of the airport, which happens to be run by Fabra himself.”This is proof of Fabras megalomania,” said the regional deputy Marian Albiolo of the opposition United Left party.With the newly built airport not yet in use, and questions already being raised over its viability after several airport closures in Spain, the money for the monument in effect comes out of taxpayers pockets.”This airport was finished 10 months ago, is not used and owes money,” said the socialist deputy Joaquim Puig.Fabra has been at the centre of corruption allegations with, among other things, court investigators wanting to know how he regularly appears to win Spains El Gordo Christmas lottery – whose winning tickets are sometimes bought up by people trying to launder money. He denies the allegations, which have yet to be brought to trial.Fabra belongs to the Valencia regional branch of PP, the party of the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. PP is mired in numerous corruption scandals.The Valencia region also has one of the biggest budget deficits in Spain, with the regional PP government this week announcing new tax rises and spending cuts.Austerity measures are being put into place across Spain as the economy sinks into the second part of a double-dip recession and unemployment reaches 23%.
Another day in paradise 