Madrid is booming. Growing while keeping its cool will be the tricky part
A southern success story
“JUST TO BE something, I’ll be a madrileño.” Not a stirring sentiment, and yet the line is part of the official anthem of Madrid, which has often “just been something”. King Felipe II made the middling town his new capital in 1561 in part simply because it was dead central and lacked competing powerful institutions; amazingly in such a Catholic country, Madrid did not even get its own completed cathedral until 1993. But later, as Spain’s empire declined, so did Madrid’s profile.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A moment in the sun”
Europe February 10th 2024
- A mounting crisis of confidence confronts Olaf Scholz
- Madrid is booming. Growing while keeping its cool will be the tricky part
- Vladimir Putin extends his crackdown in Russia
- Poland is trying to restore the rule of law without violating it
- Europe is importing a solar boom. Good news for (nearly) everyone
From the February 10th 2024 edition
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The maths of Europe’s military black hole
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Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare
A rise in antisemitism puts Europe’s liberal values to the test
The return of Europe’s oldest scourge
Once dominant, Germany is now desperate
As an election looms its business model is breaking down