VZCZCXRO6750
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHLA #0087/01 3061638
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021638Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL BARCELONA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0903
INFO RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0866
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 1067

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BARCELONA 000087 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE (SAMSON/CERVETTI) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SP
SUBJECT: HIGH SPEED TRAIN HITS BUMP; THREATENS SOCIALISTS 
 
REF: BARCELONA 76 
 
BARCELONA 00000087  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:   PM Jose Luis Zapatero acknowledged October 
28 that the arrival of the AVE to Barcelona, which he had 
repeatedly confirmed would happen by December 21, will not be 
finished before the March 2008 general elections.  Safety 
concerns, poor management, and ill-advised political 
considerations have conspired against the project.  The PM's 
announcement has already damaged his credibility in a region he 
must win to hold on to power.  While the Socialists may not be 
in imminent danger at the moment, the alarms are sounding.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Barcelona's summer of discontent has carried over into 
the fall.  In the last three weeks, three local train lines have 
been closed in Barcelona as a result of recurring landslides 
during the construction of the AVE high speed rail lines. 
Critics charge the contractor, OHL, has cut corners on safety in 
order to meet the December 21 deadline set by politicians.  The 
Catalan government (Generalitat) requested the cancellation of 
OHL's contract - a request PM Jose Luis Zapatero's government 
denied - citing administrative concerns. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Critics also claim construction caused repeated 
landslides including a platform collapse at the Bellvitge 
station.  Local train service was recently suspended for several 
weeks as a result of construction mishaps causing increased 
traffic and inconvenience for commuters in Barcelona.  Since the 
beginning of the AVE project approximately 12 workers have been 
killed by construction accidents.  The most recent death was on 
October 15th when an AVE worker was killed by a machine that hit 
him on the head during construction at the L'Hospitalet de 
Llobregat station. Suspended train service has been replaced by 
inconvenient, crowded, and slow bus service leading to public 
outcry.  The Barcelona City Hall has demanded that construction 
slow so that safety measures are not further compromised. 
Zapatero acknowledged this will delay construction well beyond 
the December 21 deadline. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Unexpectedly and purposely under the radar, Zapatero 
and regional president Jose Manuel Montilla toured the AVE 
construction sites October 28 in Barcelona.  Zapatero admitted 
there had been problems with the construction and assumed 
responsibility for it, but stopped short of firing Development 
minister Magdalena Alvarez, who is responsible for the project. 
Alvarez later defiantly announced that she had no intention of 
resigning.  Zapatero pledged he would now personally oversee AVE 
construction in Barcelona.  The PM's visit was marked by one of 
several mudslides many believe are caused by the project, and 
prompted both Zapatero and Montilla to support efforts to make 
the areas safer before reopening local lines, which have been 
shut down due to the construction. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Regional party leaders almost universally lambasted the 
PM's visit and comments afterwards.  Convergence and Union (CiU) 
and Popular Party (PP) leaders joined their rival, and members 
of the Catalan tripartite government, Republicans (ERC), and 
ex-Communists (ICV) to complain about poor management of the 
project and call for the minister Alvarez' resignation.  CiU 
leader Artur Mas suggested Zapatero should have visited the 
construction sites and traffic congestion on a week day instead 
of a Sunday so that he could get a real image of the problem. 
ERC leader  Joan Puigcercos stated that while Zapatero's visit 
was appreciated, he believes that Catalunya needs to have more 
control over its Public Works.   Daniel Sirera (PP) stated that 
it was shameful for Zapatero to visit the works secretly and by 
surprise.  ICV leader Joan Herrera criticized Zapatero for 
coming to the construction site only to deafen the ears to the 
petition to fire Magdalena Alvarez. 
 
¶6. (SBU) As expected, only PSC remained relatively mute on the 
topic. However, VP Pedro Solbes (PSOE) expressed confidence that 
the PM and his team would get the job done. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  The March general elections are moving 
forward faster than the high speed train.  Zapatero's once 
vaunted strength in Catalunya - a region he must win if there is 
any chance for him to hold onto power - is being sapped. 
According to an October 22 opinion poll by leading daily, La 
Vanguardia, Catalans' support for the PM's policies towards the 
region has dropped 23 points (from 60% in July 2006 to 37% in 
October 2007).  Although he still enjoys a healthy lead, his 
support in Catalonia is slowly being confined to Socialist 
members unlike in past years when his support was much more 
broad and across regional parties.  In any event, the majority 
of people living in Catalonia have more trust in Zapatero (73%) 
than in Rajoy (13%) although Zapatero's confidence rating 
dropped eight points.  In an effort to bolster his credentials, 
PP president Mariano Rajoy sent the mayor of Madrid, who 
 
BARCELONA 00000087  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
previously dealt with a bad traffic problem there, to Barcelona 
to see what has been occurring with the AVE construction.  While 
most are far from calling Catalunya a lost cause for the 
Socialists, it is clear much work needs to be done here to shore 
up support and win back trust.  End comment. 
ROBINSON