U.S.-Spanish rift widening

MADRID — Farewell “freedom fries.” Hello, maybe, to the “freedom omelet.”

So far, there are no indications Spain’s signature dish is paying the price on Capitol Hill for the latest trans-Atlantic discord. But six months after Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero swept to power, Madrid has switched from being one of Washington’s staunchest allies to arguably its sharpest critic in Western Europe.

Gone are pre-Iraq war snapshots of Spain’s former conservative leader, Jose Maria Aznar, grinning alongside President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In their place are more recent images of Mr. Zapatero flanked by leaders of the antiwar camp — French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder — at a September summit in Madrid.

“Old Europe is alive and well,” Mr. Zapatero declared last month, rebutting the famous dismissal of Paris and Berlin by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

So badly have relations deteriorated that the U.S. ambassador to Spain, George L. Argyros, opted to go hunting instead of attending Oct. 12 national day celebrations in Madrid — where French troops were invited to march in a morning parade instead of Americans.

The incident sparked a flurry of countersnubs and accusations, barely papered over by official protests that bilateral relations were fundamentally solid.

Spanish Foreign Minister Angel Moratinos denounced Mr. Argyros’ no-show as discourteous. Defense Minister Jose Bono — who previously called Mr. Blair “an imbecile” on national television — said Madrid had no intention of “falling on its knees” to any foreign government, including the one in Washington.

For its part, the Bush administration has shown it has a long memory when it comes to diplomatic slights. Even as he acknowledged that “mistakes can get made,” Mr. Argyros criticized Mr. Zapatero’s refusal to honor the American flag in protesting the Iraq war.

“It was a real insult to the American people,” he told El Pais newspaper in an interview earlier this month, referring to last year’s Columbus Day celebrations, when Mr. Zapatero, then an opposition leader, declined to stand as U.S. soldiers marched past.

The frayed trans-Atlantic relations are one fallout of a profound social and political upheaval under way since Spain’s young leftist government came to office. From plans to relax anti-abortion restrictions, fast-track divorces and legalize same-sex “marriage,” to withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq and renewing traditional ties in Europe, North Africa and Latin America, Mr. Zapatero and his ministers have wasted no time in dismantling Mr. Aznar’s conservative legacy.

But redefining Spain’s relationship with the United States has been a leitmotif of the leftist administration that was catapulted into power after the March 11 Madrid terrorist bombings — which many voters blamed on Mr. Aznar’s support for the deeply unpopular, U.S.-led war on Iraq.

Less than 48 hours after taking office in mid-April, Mr. Zapatero announced the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq. Then in Tunis, Tunisia, last month, he suggested all foreign troops should follow suit, a remark that prompted U.S. demands for clarification.

Ordinary Spaniards, however, are far from displeased with their new prime minister. The constellation of social changes promised by his staunchly secular government has drawn widespread public approval, along with the ire of Spain’s Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Nor do Spaniards such as Lourdes Pinyol Marti, 48, mind seeing their leader standing up to Washington — just as the French did.

“I completely agree with Zapatero,” said the Barcelona high school teacher. “The American government is very self-centered, very reactionary. Zapatero is much more liberal, much more aligned with Europe.”

Indeed, Spanish perceptions of the United States and the Bush administration ranked lowest in a 10-country opinion survey published by foreign newspapers two weeks ago. Only 47 percent of Spaniards said they viewed the United States favorably, and just 13 percent supported Mr. Bush. By contrast, 72 percent of French saw the United States in a positive light, and one in five backed the Republican president.

“Spanish anti-Americanism has always been pretty powerful,” said Charles Powell, senior analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute, a Madrid-based think tank. While many Frenchmen and Germans remember the United States as a World War II liberator, he said, many Spaniards are still bitter about U.S. support for Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

“If you add the Bush factor to the strong base of latent anti-American feeling, the result is indeed that Spain is now probably the most anti-American country in Western Europe,” Mr. Powell said.

The present discord marks a sharp departure from eight years under Mr. Aznar — who shared much in common with Mr. Bush besides Iraq.

A devout Catholic, the Popular Party leader took a tough stance against homosexual “marriages” and abortion. His conservative government passed a law making Catholic classes mandatory in public schools, and fought to include the mention of Christianity in the European Constitution. And like Mr. Bush, Mr. Aznar made the fight against terrorism a central tenet of his administration.

“In a way, Aznar was probably closer to President Bush than Prime Minister Tony Blair has ever been, partly because of their shared values as Christian believers, but more broadly because of their shared views of contemporary world history and of America’s role in the world,” Mr. Powell said.

Before his election to office, Mr. Zapatero publicly endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry. Today, he is pursuing Mr. Aznar’s anti-terrorist policies, but rejects the concept of a “war” on terrorism, calling instead for a dialogue between the West and the Muslim world.

If Mr. Bush is re-elected on Nov. 2, some analysts believe, Mr. Zapatero will have to work hard mending fences.

But just as Mr. Aznar reaped few economic windfalls for his close ties to Washington — not a single Spanish company, for example, clinched a major postwar contract in Iraq — the new trans-Atlantic divide may not necessarily lead to U.S. boycotts of Rioja wine and Spanish ham.

“The Zapatero government hasn’t been very delicate in its handling of U.S. relations,” said Antonio Remiro, an international relations professor at the University of Madrid. “But France is much more present on the international landscape, so it’s much more interesting for the Bush administration to aim its cannons against France.

“Spain” he added, “is just a secondary actor in this story.”