It was always predictable, I suppose, that Jose Maria Aznar would receive a South of Watford nomination as a Powerful Fool – it was really just a matter of time. On Thursday last week, the dear ex-leader decided to share with the world his statesmanlike wisdom on the crisis provoked by the Pope’s comments on Islam. In the process he reminded me that the formula Aznar + Foreign Affairs = Disaster still holds true over two years after he left office. In Aznar’s plain speaking view, there is no reason at all why the Pope should have to apologise to Muslims for causing any offence. Why? Because the Muslim world has STILL not got round to apologising for the occupation of Spain by the Moors, even though they have had over 500 years to do so! It turns out that the Visigoth kingdom which fell when the Moors launched their occupation was in reality the first Western nation to be attacked by Islam.
Not the only fool in town....
Personally I blame the Catholic Kings, Isabel and Fernando. They had every opportunity, when they finally retook Granada, to ask the Moors to say sorry – yet they didn’t do it. The Moors, to be fair, didn’t do their bit either. Following the lead set by airlines or other companies they could easily have made an announcement along the lines of “We would like to apologise for our recent invasion of the territory which at some point far in the future will be known as España. We deeply regret any inconvenience this unavoidable invasion has caused, and our service staff will be happy to help you with any questions you may have about it”. Then, when anybody was brave enough to ask any questions, they could have charged them extra for asking. Apart from showing no regrets, they also had no business sense, and clearly fell down on their communication skills. Lamentable.
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