Antonio Muñoz Molina:

...from its outset after Franco's death in 1975, democratic Spain has suffered from the constant threat and cold cruelty of ETA — even as the world has viewed ETA members romantically as "activists" and "guerrillas" instead of as the terrorists they really are.

I have nevertheless had the unsettling feeling these past days, since the election, that many Spaniards, jubilant over the Socialist victory, have forgotten the larger, external threat of Al Qaeda. It is as if the slaughter of March 11 were merely one more episode in Spain's internal politics. The day before the elections there was an urgent desire to know who was to blame for the carnage. Mr. Aznar's government was accused of covering up information. No one accepted the argument that caution and secrecy were needed in the pursuit of the most vicious criminals in the recent history of Europe.

Then, once the results of the elections became known, the identity of the terrorists seemed secondary, even forgotten: it was no longer useful as a tool against the ruling party. These days in Madrid, one has the disturbing impression that for many prominent leftists, the enemy was the Popular Party, not terrorism. Their belief seems to be that with the Aznar government gone, terrorism will vanish without our having to do anything other than showing a unconditional wish for peace. Even the signs of mourning — the black crepe flags and candles — are disappearing much too quickly, as if a hurried will of forgetfulness is overtaking us.

Yeah, well, all politics is local, right?