Three signs that Spain’s gloom might lift soon

Cloudless skies are typical for Spain, but now its economy is brightening up too

It’s been a depressing couple of years for Spain. Jobs are harder to find than a black and white Where’s Wally, the country’s deficit is deeply in the red and its credit rating has taken a hefty battering.

Things have been getting steadily worse year-on-year, but 2013 has shown signs that the gloom may well lift soon, and here are three reasons why…

Decisive government action
For all its faults (and some people will tell you these are many), Rajoy’s government appears to have swallowed its pride and is now happy to toe a Eurocentric line. Its focus on austerity has caused outrage in some parts of Spain, but the government’s policies have helped cut the deficit and regain a great deal of competitiveness – vital as the country looks to claw back job opportunities for its millions of unemployed.

Consumer confidence
Foreign investors were initially shooed away from Spain in the immediate aftermath of the economic downturn. Spooked by scare stories of repossessions, negative equity and unpaid wages, thousands of foreigners left Spain for more stable – if less sunny – climes. But home buyers have returned, attracted by low property prices, proactive policies on residency permits and even retail discounts for tourists.

Spaniards will take it no more
There’s a denouement due. King in and out of hospital and in crisis. Prime Minister accused of Corruption. Catalonia increasingly restless and demanding. Brain drain no longer a threat but a reality. Protests. Suicides. Grass-roots unions fighting ‘the man’. This is all happening, and has been for a while. Spaniards have gone beyond being shocked, redundant, apologetic and fed up. They are angry, and they are demanding truth, action and transparency. And they will get it. The bad old days are unlikely to ever return, and that means that the only way is up.

It will be a slow process, but the good ship Spain is pointed in the right direction.