Fury at “Argentinisation” of the Med

Spanish prime minister José Luis Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy, leader of opposition Popular Party are to meet the 5 May for a summit “in the depths of the storm", headlines La Vanguardia. Battered by the growing Eurozone crisis, Spain has entered “one of the worst moments since the transition to democracy”, writes the Barcelona daily. May 4, European stock exchanges dived following rumours that “Spain and Portugal are on the way to Hades”. La Vanguardia lambasts a "’rumourology’ that plays with the objective weakness of a country up to the neck in debt”. With the Spanish stock exchange falling 5.4 points, PM Zapatero on a visit to Brussels angrily called for “responsibility” on the part of international rating agencies, widely blamed for creating instability, dismissing as “absolutely crazy, a massive absurdity” speculation that Spain is to seek financial aid from the EU. "The snipers have set their sights on the 'Argentinisation' of all Southern Europe", the Barcelona daily concludes.