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During the past few months I visited two cities – the capitals of countries that are in the midst of a recession. I know Dublin well and follow Irish public life very closely. I visited Madrid for the first time only recently but keep tag on what is going on in this eurozone country.
Dublin preserves the charm it always had. It is an easygoing city and despite its small size, I must say that the Dublin of today is very different from the one I visited in the pre-recession years. The enthusiasm of young people has been replaced by a sense of pessimism about the future.
Ordinary people rightly blame the banks and the Government for bringing the country to its knees by blowing a property bubble that was unsustainable. Gone are the social activities where the main topic of conversation was invariably how much richer everyone felt as a result of the latest hike in property prices.
The cost of living in Ireland remains high. I often find eating out in Dublin even more expensive than in London. Department stores are today more crowded by tourists rather than locals. Low-cost stores like Penny’s are more popular than ever as they help cash-strapped Irish families buy the kind of clothes they can afford.
Bankers still working in the Irish International Financial Services Centre still work smartly but they move about the city more modestly as they know that the time when they were considered “masters of the universe” are well over. Thousands of jobs have been lost in the Irish banking industry – jobs that are unlikely to ever come back.
In Dublin Airport one is more likely to see ageing parents waving a tearful and sad goodbye to their children who are increasingly migrating to other countries as they had done so often just before the Celtic Tiger became a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s.
Madrid, on the other hand, looked very chaotic and more vibrant than Dublin. I was impressed at how vibrant the city still looked despite being in the midst of a deep recession. In May, it was announced that Spain has gone through 20 consecutive quarters below the GDP of 2008. As the Spanish daily El Pais says, “the lost decade, an expression that sounded terribly pessimistic at the beginning of the Great Recession is now something of a best-case scenario”.
The 27 per cent jobless rate is higher than the US rate during the Great Depression whose joblessness reached 25 per cent
The 27 per cent jobless rate is higher than the US rate during the Great Depression whose joblessness reached 25 per cent. But I would never realise how true these facts are simply by observing the way the Spaniards went about their work in Madrid.
I was particularly impressed by how Madrid is clean. The pavements in the main streets in the centre of the city are washed early in the morning. Smart-looking male and female road cleaners proudly clean the city centre. Beautiful building façades in the centre of the city are impeccably maintained. Department stores are open till 10pm and tourists are given a 10 per cent discount.
The signs that things have changed as a result of tough economics were also evident. Hotels in Madrid charge very reasonable rates, are impeccably clean even if some of them need more regular maintenance to ensure, for instance, that air-conditioning units function effectively.
Eating out in Madrid is very reasonable as is public transport. Restaurant owners do make it a point to show you that they welcome your presence and go out of their way to give you the best value for money. The food is invariably good and the choice is endless.
One thing that impressed me in Madrid is the number of taxis that mill around the city. Surely this must be a result of liberalisation in this sector. The fees they charge are reasonable and the drivers are usually very helpful.
The Madrid-Barajas Airport is less impressive. Because of my inability to speak Spanish I had a hard time getting useful directions from the staff. I was also impressed at how few commercial outlets were available in the airport area frequented by Schengen travellers.
The vibrancy that I experienced in Madrid, but not in Dublin, may have to do with the fact that the underground economy is more active in Spain than in Ireland. The challenge of both Irish and Spanish politicians will be that of enticing more people to join the official economy.
johncassarwhite@yahoo.com