He may be not the most popular man in Spain but Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, can take some credit in the remarkable turnaround of the Spanish economy. Five years ago it appeared that Spain's economic future looked exceptionally grim. The severe worldwide recession had hit Spain hard; unemployment rocketed, thousands of people lost their homes and the economy went into meltdown. Rajoy promised to fix the economy; most people were rather sceptical. But a mixture of luck and a business plan from the government has ensured that the economy is back on track, with levels of economic growth not seen since the boom days.
Now, tourism has helped Spain. The security concerns over resorts in north Africa and to a lesser extent the eastern Mediterranean has meant that Spain has welcomed a record number of tourists of all nationalities. This has helped reduce the unemployment rate and tourist spending power has meant that many local businesses have prospered. But there are dangers ahead. Sooner or later resorts in north Africa will start attracting tourists again. The weaker pound following Brexit will mean that British tourists will be curbing their spending and of course there is Brexit. Spain is one of Britain's principal trading partners. Spanish businesses have invested heavily in Britain over the last decade. But for the time being at least Rajoy can feel rather proud of his economic track record.