Banco Santander were emerging as global players. Fashion giant Zara made its owner Amancio Ortega the richest billionaire in Europe. Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was lobbying for Spain to be invited to join the top table in an expanded G8. With lean social services and booming tax revenues, Spain’s public budget was in far better shape than that of France or Germany. Why put the brakes on such a healthy-looking burst of private sector growth?
