Spain not invited

The United States has announced that a world finance summit will be held on 15 November to discuss the reform of the international financial system. Since it is not a member of the G20 group of the leading industrialised and newly industrialising countries, Spain has not been invited.The daily El Mundo comments: "Having decided to travel immediately to China to take part in the summit meeting between the EU and Asia, Bush's announcement has no doubt hit Zapatero like a bucket of icey cold water thrown in his face. ... The arguments Zapatero can make [for attending the meeting] are obvious: in terms of GDP and foreign investment Spain counts among the first ten countries. It makes one of the biggest contributions to the UN and has banks of international stature. But it is unlikely that Zapatero will receive fresh support or that Bush will change his mind, for the Spanish government has made a series of mistakes that are now becoming evident. The most recent mistake was to boast that Europe envies us [Spain] for the stability of our financial system."

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