The Prime Minister’s spine is missing: Spain extend the life of the Garona reactor
Does Prime Minister Zapatero of Spain suffer from medial spinal aplasia, a medical condition ‘characterized by isolated absence of spinal segments’?
The reason we ask is that Mr Zapatero appeared to be completely spineless this week when he gave the go ahead for the Garona nuclear power plant’s operational lifetime to be extended by four years.
Lacking in backbone, the Spanish government has broken its election promise and will not now close the aging and dangerous reactor this year but in 2013 instead. At 38 years old Garona is more than ready for decommissioning. The reactor has suffered from severe cracking and corrosion has affected various components in the reactor vessel.
‘We have no experience with plants more than 40 years' old,’ said Zapatero himself recently before he misplaced his spine. So why is he asking his country to nursemaid a 42 year-old one? He’s barely had a good word to say about Garona until now, saying, ‘it has safety conditions, but it is an old plant, designed with decades-old technology and we have to very much bear that in mind when thinking of our country's future’. The national grid operator in Spain, REE, also says closing Garona ‘would pose no supply problems’. It provides a mere 1.4 per cent of Spain’s electricity.
So why the complete reversal of promises and viewpoints? Why the lack of courage when it came to Mr Zapatero making this step for the good of his country? Only he can tell us and we look forward to hearing whatever weak excuses he can give in the coming days. One reason could be that by extending the date to 2013 and with the current government being elected until only 2012, Zapatero is passing the responsibility to a future government. How’s that for leadership?
You can also have aplasia of other parts of the body, most notably shown in the absence of internal organs. Does Mr Zapatero have the condition throughout his body? He’s certainly gutless, that’s for sure.
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