Friday, June 1, 2012

The “Grandparents Who Protest” confront Barcelona’s mayor

I usually enjoy it when those in positions of power are approached by ordinary people and treated as a human being who has made important decisions.

In this case, Xavier Trias is encircled by a clutch of the Iaioflautas outside a restaurant and finds himself checking his mobile phone while they calmly launch polite tirades against his party’s budget cuts at him.



At the start of the video, the mayor does that characteristic, irritating Catalan shrug and says “I don’t understand…I’m only talking about things that relate to me.”

To me, this video is notable for the good-natured tone of their harangues and his evasiveness, though he is not led away to a more pressing engagement by any minders.

Next month Trias will have completed his first year in office: a time of brutal slashing of a range of public services.

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