We nearly lost the leader of the Spanish opposition today. The helicopter that Partido Popular leader Mariano Rajoy was traveling in crashed seconds after take off, leaving Rajoy and Madrid PP leader Esperanza Aguirre scrambling out of the overturned machine. Click here or here, to see the dramatic video and here to see photos.
Update: Borrell: “Eso les pasa por ir a los toros en helicóptero”. Josep Borrell, President of the European Parliament, was first out with a public, open-mic witicism when he heard the news. ‘That’s what happens when you go to the bullring in a helicopter’. He has since telephoned those involved to apologise.
There is still an uneasiness in the city when dramatic events such as these occur on home ground – it seems that shades of the unrelenting and un-nerving television footage from the March 11th terrorist attacks last year are forever burned into the public psyche.
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 