SO will 2014 be remembered as the year Spain finally left recession and the green shoots of recovery finally took hold? Well, the Spanish government certainly thinks so painting an upbeat economic picture for this year but not everyone is convinced. Leading economists continue to have big doubts over the Spanish economy which has huge debts and record unemployment. It is Spanish exports which are doing well and foreign investors have returned once again.Even Bill Gates has invested some of his billions in a leading Spanish company. But the most important thing is that Spain learns the lessons of the past. There can be no return of the over-spending of the past. The Spanish government and the local authorities must learn to live within their budget and should not run-up enormous debs. Many local councils and regional authorities in Spain are still reeling from enormous debts and a sizeable part of their budget goes just to pay the interest costs. It is a sad state of affairs. Until the government and the local authorities start balancing their books Ican see no real return to economic growth. But it is the start of a new year and let us be upbeat and believe the Spanish government. The government says that unemployment will start falling again. I hope so. These last four year of recession have been very hard for all and it would be nice to say farewell economic crisis and welcome economic growth. Fingers are definately crossed.