From a lonely conservative in Spain. Despite the progress Aznar has made, my correspondent wants me to know, Spanish conservatives are still high and dry (which no doubt explains why they’re reading this happy Corner):

“There simply are no portals to the rich firmament of conservative intellectualism here [in Spain]. I know of only one rarefied think tank that seems more attuned to making a case for Spanish exceptionalism to the rest of Europe than with championing a consistent set of principles drawn from the conservative tradition. There is no Spanish Nat.Review, First Things, Commentary or other such repositories of articulate conservative opinion to encrust Aznar’s (and his successor Rajoy’s) policies with a high-toned glamour. Aznar wins not because of his conservative bona fides, but because of his party’s reputation for administrative effectiveness and the other party’s gross incompetence and utter corruption. I hope this changes as the noble Spanish temper deserves a worthy movement in which it can express itself free of the static of leftist press hipsters. –Mike in Spain (less than 1 km. from Atocha Station, i.e. ‘Ground Zero’)”