Raphael Minder Profile Banner
Raphael Minder Profile
Raphael Minder

@RaphaelMinder

19,442
Followers
1,490
Following
64
Media
2,634
Statuses

Central Europe correspondent for The Financial Times, based in Warsaw. Previously New York Times in Spain. Book author of "¿Esto es España?" Views are my own.

Madrid
Joined September 2011
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
My sixth Diada as @nytimes correspondent - and still amazed by Catalans who protest peacefully on national holiday
Tweet media one
90
4K
5K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
3 years
Portugal went from saturated Lisbon hospitals in January to reopening nightclubs this Friday, after almost completing its Covid-19 vaccination program. The Navy officer who led its vaccine rollout said success requires "people who are not politicians."
96
1K
4K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Puigdemont starts speaking in three/four languages..You might not agree with his views, but his words reach a wider audience than PM Rajoy
115
2K
3K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
An in-and-out, unscheduled visit by @sanchezcastejon to Barcelona ends with him leaving the hospital using the ambulance emergency exit. Interesting way of restoring a sense of calm to the second city of the nation.
187
2K
2K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
He fought as a teenager in the Spanish Civil War, and five years later drove straight past the Nazis to the city hall to liberate Paris. My obituary of Rafael Gómez Nieto, last member of "La Nueve," honored too late in life for his bravery.
22
525
2K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
NYT obituary of Neus Català, an incredible survivor of the Spanish civil war and Nazi concentration camps, who saved Spanish orphans and later sabotaged German weapons.
15
924
2K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Ballot boxes are being set up tonight for Catalan referendum, despite police block, but will votes be cast Sunday?
Tweet media one
99
2K
2K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
For the past decade, the Catalan independence movement has sought support across the EU, largely to no avail. In contrast, some Hong Kong protesters organized a Catalan solidarity rally. We live in an unpredictable but truly global world.
26
712
1K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
The more I report this story, the more I feel Catalonia is the elephant in the room that will simply make nothing sustainable in Spanish politics until politicians, and not judges, really and seriously try to resolve this conflict.
137
849
1K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Spain classifies cost of police in Catalonia as state secret. But initial estimate til Oct. 5 was already €31.7m... via @el_pais
92
2K
1K
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Ripoll's imam, organizer of Barcelona terror attack, was informant for Spanish secret service, according to @elpais and @LaVanguardia . If correct, this bombshell news could explain why Spanish authorities never worried about him even after his prison stay.
66
2K
965
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Germany discards charge of rebellion against Puigdemont and orders release on bail pending final extradition ruling on possible misuse of public funds. This decision is likely to have big consequences for the whole Catalan trial in Madrid... and future of politics in Catalonia.
25
518
829
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Ten days after King Juan Carlos left Spain, there is still no confirmation as to where he went. Media reports have located him in the Dominican Republic, then Portugal and now Abu Dhabi. Why add such opacity to an already complicated royal situation?
58
611
835
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Among several questionable claims made during the TV election debate, @sanchezcastejon promised to bring Puigdemont back to Spain (prompting @Pablo_Iglesias_ to remind him about the separation of powers.) Puigdemont's defense lawyers took good note.
19
532
780
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Here is a @nytimes video on how Spain's health workers are bravely fighting #COVID19 , often without adequate protection in saturated hospitals. As they tell it, this can require the ingenuity of MacGyver combined with the spirit of the Kamikaze.
23
729
785
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Spain's foreign minister, @JosepBorrellF , denies insider trading while sitting on Abengoa's board...six years after he was forced to leave his rectorship of IUE university in Florence for breaching academic rules on corporate conflicts of interest.
38
976
664
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Another peaceful and massive Diada shows Catalonia's independence movement remains strong - even as its political leadership seems split over how to reach the promised mountain top. The next milestone? The trial in Madrid of those accused of rebellion.
14
444
643
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
As Spain's new government re-establishes a ministry of equality, we publish an obituary for Ana Orantes, the brave Andalusian woman whose horrible murder turned gender violence into a national debate two decades ago.
16
323
630
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
For Spain, an important outcome of the British election is the crushing nationalist victory in Scotland. Sturgeon is already calling for another independence referendum. No doubt Catalan independence movement will welcome that.
30
276
593
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
I predict a heated debate about exactly why Spanish children will be able to go to the supermarket or pharmacy with an adult, but not for a relaxing stroll, far from others. What is the health risk assessment?
54
237
589
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Organized by Vox, today’s anti-goverment, drive-by rally has taken over central Madrid. This couple in their sports convertible know how to protest in style.
Tweet media one
88
358
544
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
44 years after his death and after a yearlong judicial battle, Franco is leaving the giant mausoleum that he built. Ahead of a repeat national election, the dictator's exhumation has also turned into a heated political dispute.
34
235
455
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Puigdemont now seems set to sit next month in the European Parliament in Strasbourg rather than in the courtroom of the Supreme Court in Madrid. This is not the end of the legal battle, but it's not the way Spain's judiciary was hoping to end 2019.
11
207
486
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
It's good to hear @sanchezcastejon apologize, but his repeated claim could be used by Puigdemont's legal defense and is hurtful for Spain's judiciary. As for his explanation that "son expresiones que se utilizan en los debates electorales"... No comment.
62
309
474
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
PM Rajoy is visiting Bulgaria - but ahead of Thursday's EU-Balkan summit, where Spain will be the only absentee among the 28 nations of the EU. The reason? Rajoy didn't want any linkage between unrecognized Kosovo and Catalonia, according to Bulgaria's PM.
39
618
403
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
2 years
1) Some personal news: I'm rejoining the staff of the Financial Times as Central Europe correspondent, based in Warsaw from June. I'm looking forward to the fascinating and big challenge of covering for @FT the region that borders Ukraine at such a decisive moment for Europe.
56
36
465
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Quien dice hoy en Madrid que la izquierda radical trae irresponsabilidad financiera? @ManuelaCarmena ha reducido la deuda en 54%, con superávit en 2018. Un contraste con las cifras de los antiguos alcaldes (conservadores - pero no a la hora de gastar)
47
269
414
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Small protest this pm outside Madrid city hall against Catalan separatists- but is it normal to wave Fascist flags?
Tweet media one
113
709
380
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
3 years
Spain is now leading Europe's efforts to seize superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs. A third was impounded on Wednesday in Tarragona, worth $600 million and apparently the sister vessel of another yacht that U.S. officials have linked to Putin.
22
89
378
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Focus is on Rajoy's Art. 155 response to Catalonia, but party corruption scandals continue growing... via @elmundoes
7
570
390
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Another major independence protest suggests Catalans are ready to take the streets if October referendum plan fails
9
333
372
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
The forthcoming trial of Junqueras and other separatist leaders seems almost certain to return Catalonia to the top of Spain's political agenda. Here's my article after a visit to the Lledoners prison.
40
313
373
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Researchers from the University of Barcelona found the coronavirus in the city's wastewater in March 2019 - one year before Spain decreed a lockdown and also before China alerted on Covid-19. The breakthrough finding, however, has left some skeptical.
32
172
349
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
2 years
In the Spanish village of Urueña, there is now neither a baker nor a butcher, but instead a dozen owners of bookstores who have help turn it into one of Europe's smallest literary hubs.
5
144
372
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Roses and applauses for the Catalan police - a city in shock thanked its emergency and security services today
Tweet media one
4
199
328
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
As part of his legal battle, @JulianAssange_ is opening a Spanish front. He will testify from Britain by video link before the Audiencia Nacional, to accuse a Spanish security company of illegally spying on him while living in Ecuador's London embassy.
17
304
324
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
European Court rules against Spain, saying that burning the King's photo in public cannot be "construed as incitement to hatred or violence.” This ruling coincides with tough report from @amnesty about freedom of speech in Spain.
12
342
289
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Puigdemont starts by defending referendum and voters who "overcame fear" and "unforgettable" Spanish police violence
Tweet media one
12
209
270
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Spain is set to adopt a euthanasia law that is described as "a failure" for society by its Catholic Church, and instead "a great social conquest" by its government leader. Only a handful of other countries already allow assisted dying.
19
64
286
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Catalan independence leaders took center stage on the last day of their trial. “You have the responsibility of not worsening a political situation,” Jordi Sànchez told the judges. “I would not like to be in your shoes now.”
20
225
294
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
El Sr. Juan Ignacio "Desconozco" Zoido: Can a former interior minister really not remember anything, nor even why and how Spanish police officers were deployed in Catalonia before the 1 October 2017 referendum?
45
338
287
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
So Spain's public prosecutor won't prosecute as a national threat a sniper who kept 16 weapons and promised his friends he would kill the prime minister if he exhumed Franco? But what then constitutes a national stability/terrorism threat under art. 573?
60
334
279
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
I visited 5 Madrid pharmacies to buy gloves, but mission impossible. One told me that they last got supplied a week ago, but only a batch of small-size gloves. How will Spain return to normalcy without making basic protection gear available to its residents?
43
182
285
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
How far right is Spain's military? “It’s clear to me that there are now serving officers who uphold anti-democratic values, even if I’m not saying their views are shared by the whole army,” said former Supreme Court judge.
25
182
271
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Portugal's tragic forest fires.. I drove past this destroyed car, but someone, somehow, put pink flowers in the door
Tweet media one
1
146
233
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
PM Rajoy cancels Kiev trip to watch Real Madrid, when in 2012 he went to Poland hours after Spain launched banking bailout. This corruption scandal is clearly worrying him...
14
270
268
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Living and working alone for two months in Barcelona's hotel Vela is a surreal self-isolating experience. Great views from the 24thfloor bedroom, but also 1400 taps to check. Tourism infrastructures need care, even when business has ground to a halt.
12
56
252
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
At @rtve , journalist now steps down to protest the state broadcaster's censorship of video that showed the state secretary of communications for PM @marianorajoy insulting pensioners. Is she the right person to be resigning over this PR debacle?
12
262
249
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
EU's top court rules that Spain should have allowed Junqueras to take his seat in the European Parliament, or get a special immunity waiver. An important case that will no doubt be used by Puigdemont and Comín to fight their extradition from Belgium.
14
220
250
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Fascists protest Catalan secession in front of Madrid police - Not sure this can help bridge divisions
Tweet media one
30
449
226
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Every year, the Council of Europe has been criticizing Spain's weak efforts to fight political corruption, including the failure of lawmakers to adopt a better code to regulate their own conduct.
18
339
242
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Guess who will pay the final bill for the disastrous Castor gas project, led by ACS, financed by the EIB/Spanish banks and approved by the Zapatero government, even though it did not meet the basic industry standards? Well, of course, the Spanish taxpayer.
17
176
248
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
On a Sunday, it’s good to take a break from a serious Catalan conflict and see lighter side of things in @eljueves
Tweet media one
6
96
210
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Catalonia’s Separatists face unusual hurdles to form government, starting with Spanish judges. My NYT analysis of another unpredictable chapter in Spanish politics.
24
317
196
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
2 years
"I want to be able to protect my family," said an accountant who was among Polish civilians on a one-day army training programme. Poland ended conscription in 2009, but Ukraine's war has pushed the military back to the top of its budget spending.
4
49
226
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Worrying to read that the Supreme Court managed to generate a new Franco controversy, by stating in Tuesday's ruling that Franco was "head of state from 1 Oct. 1936 until his death." That amounts to forgetting those who fought to prevent his military coup.
35
190
230
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Concert of Mishima in Barcelona polling station tonight.. Catalans preparing for referendum vote to sound of music
Tweet media one
2
143
224
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
1000 journalists and photographers await Declaration of Independence.. whatever happens, Catalonia is in spotlight
Tweet media one
3
213
200
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Denmark’s foreign minister demands strong action in Council of Europe against Agramunt and other politicians found in Azerbaijan’s bribery scandal
5
203
211
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
2 years
Mil gracias al equipo de @Avivir por esta despedida y a los compañer @s de mesa @mathieudt @anafuentesf y Iñigo Dominguez. Gracias @javdelpino por invitarme a lo largo de estos años en España. Echaré mucho de menos a la gente de este maravilloso país.
12
8
231
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
In Catalonia, latest poll shows public opinion has shifted between the political parties, but not in terms of the broader picture: 48% would vote for independence parties and almost four-fifths are favorable to a referendum.
29
109
218
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
How can a Madrid university @urjc and a politician @ccifuentes let this masters scandal drag on for almost two weeks without doing more than promising internal investigations and launching lawsuits against @eldiarioes ?
31
167
191
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Another Spanish election was held, but for what? On Sunday, it was mostly to hear cheering from the big winner, Vox, and its "patriotic alternative." Spain is no longer a European far-right exception.
52
173
197
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Five coronavirus cases in Spain in the past 24 hours, all coming from Italy. Why is the Spanish government not urgently introducing health checkpoints at airports? It's a longstanding practice in Hong Kong... and Italian airports are now doing it.
9
96
183
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
1 year
A record turnout in Poland's election shaped the opposition's victory, with unprecedented grassroots mobilisation and strategic voting in pivotal constituencies to oust PiS from power. @FT
3
45
201
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Will Belgium return Puigdemont to Spain? Former PM Di Rupo suggests Rajoy hasn't made political friends in Belgium
@eliodirupo
Elio Di Rupo
7 years
Puigdemont a abusé de sa position mais Rajoy s'est comporté en franquiste autoritaire. Trouvons le chemin d'une Espagne davantage fédérale.
2K
3K
4K
20
152
189
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
A Spanish political artwork was banned from @FeriaArco (an art fair whose 2018 theme is supposedly "the future"). The "Streisand effect," of course, is that the work has eclipsed anything else on show - and the debate in Madrid is about censorship.
10
219
174
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
"Spain’s crisis has demonstrated that one symptom of the virus has been the tendency of one government after another to ignore the experiences of countries where the virus has struck before it."
26
153
178
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
On a day when Spain sadly reached the milestone of 1 million registered coronavirus cases, lawmakers traded in Parliament the kind of insults and mutual blaming that suggests the country also faces a tough winter of political antagonism.
13
53
170
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Madrid's biggest snowfall in 50 years put the focus on Cañada Real, a huge area outside Spain's capital whose decades-long miserable living conditions reminded an aid worker of Bosnian refugee camps. My @nytimes story with photos by @Samuel_Aranda_
13
67
177
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Puigdemont took the Catalan conflict to Belgium, Gabriel to Switzerland... and in a different way @JosepGuardiola - Catalonia's main sports ambassador in Europe - is doing the same in England, but by defying FA rules.
10
135
166
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
Puigdemont @KRLS is due in Switzerland this weekend to debate self-determination at @fifdh , Geneva's human rights film festival, alongside Calmy-Rey, the former president of Switzerland. He's no longer seeking re-election, but still spreading the pro-independence footprint..
13
119
164
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
This is the horror story of Spanish soldiers finding dead residents abandoned in their nursing home beds. But I also heard from a nursing home owner about the "shameful" emergency aid he got from the Comunidad de Madrid: only 2 gowns and 8 face masks.
12
239
173
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
This Chaves interview showcases the culture of impunity. Not even a "sorry" to Andalusia from a former @psoe leader who got sentenced as part of a €680 million unemployment corruption case. And published just as he gets indicted in another fraud case...
20
213
183
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
3 years
Feria, a debut novel by Ana Iris Simón, has been an unexpected bestseller that also heated Spain’s political debate over whether past generations lived better than the current one.
13
33
171
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
"Belgica es un país inexistente" - opinión de @pacomarhuenda en @DebatAlRojoVivo : en pleno tema de soberanía espoñala, duele escuchar esto
66
189
163
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
An @nytimes obituary of José María "Chato" Galante, a pursuer of justice for victims of Franco's regime. “I agree with the idea of reconciliation,” Mr. Galante said. “But you just can’t turn the page. You have to read that page before you turn it.”
1
111
173
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Vox is the big winner in Sunday's election. But a dozen parties defending regions/provinces will sit in the Spanish Congress. Nationalism is gaining, but it is multi-faceted and not everybody wants the country back under Madrid's control.
15
58
120
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Turning 100 is a major milestone, but for 27,000 teenagers born in Spain in 1920, it proved a curse, as they got drafted into the Republican "baby bottle" conscription, sent across the Ebro river to fight the longest battle in Spain's Civil War.
13
29
145
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
7 years
5 años después del No al concierto, Rajoy enfrenta un desafío separatista que ya no habla de dinero y solo de votar
10
203
144
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
Much of Spain's bullfighting season was called off by #Covid19 . Animal rights activists are now hoping to accelerate the sector's demise, while breeders and matadors want a left-wing government to come to the rescue of the national fiesta.
15
52
150
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Foreign minister Borrell says Spanish bombs sold to Saudis won’t produce collateral damage?? That should reassure the people in Yemen. vía @Elperiodico
22
212
151
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
La huelga de los taxis destapa elementos inexplicables dentro del mismo sector - a parte del tema VTC. Como se puede justificar el coste de la licencia (mas de €150,000) con un salario mínimo mensual del taxista es €945? Solo si se mantiene un monopolio.
13
112
144
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Spain is rightly proud of its AVE high-speed trains and other great infrastructure, but at what cost? Study suggests +€81 billion of wasteful spending, including more than half of the rail investment. No price for guessing who picked up the bill...
15
182
142
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
4 years
After two Moncloa briefings, I'm still confused by Gen. Santiago Marín's "lapse." Is it better if the Guardia Civil tracks info about “the institutions of the whole state"? Gen. Santiago also said: “We're not talking about political criticism." How do policemen fix this limit?
10
83
151
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
6 years
Puigdemont should be released from prison Friday morning, though that's not the end of his judicial problems. Will there be a knock-on effect for the politicians held without bail in Madrid, now that Germany discards the usage of violence last year?
13
131
137
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
5 years
Protest chaos at Barcelona airport follows a landmark Supreme Court verdict against Catalan politicians, sentenced for sedition. This conflict cannot end in the courtroom, nor on the streets. It seems time for politicians to do far more to resolve it.
25
122
140
@RaphaelMinder
Raphael Minder
3 years
With one quarter of the EU's bike production, Portugal is riding a boom that has speeded up during the pandemic, as more people pedal to stay fit and travel at a safe distance from others.
5
33
131