Lavish wedding causes storms

The lavish wedding of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's daughter drew criticism this week from politiciains who said the country had more important things to spend its money on. Gaspar Llamazares of the formerly communist United Left party accused Aznar of using the state as a “private farmhouse'* for an '*ostentatious and wasteful” ceremony that was at odds with his belt–tightening economic policies. The wedding of Ana Aznar and Alejandro Agag drew about 1'000 guests, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch and singer Julio Iglesias. King Juan Carlos was a witness. Ana Aznar, 20, is the middle child of Aznar and his wife Ana Botella. Agag, 31, is the director of a Portuguese bank. A Catalonian regional party has also demanded an accounting of public expenditures involved. Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the 12–nation euro–zone, at 11.5 percent. Deputy Prime Ministry Mariano Rajoy refused to say how much the government spent providing security and other services for the wedding, which reportedly cost about $119'000, but conceded that security expenses were a “politically significant issue.”