ALTHOUGH I INITIALLY doubted it would happen, Aznar will finally testify at the March 11 panel investigating the attacks.

There's a fresh controversy, now: the PP -Aznar's party- wants Zapatero to testify too, but the PSOE and its parliamentary allies blocked that possibility. We'll get a German socioliogist who will presumably lecture on "multiculturalism" and the like, but not the current prime minister, even if it was only to talk about the measures taken to prevent another massacre in the future.

Frankly, I can't understand how on earth it's not that everyone who has anything to say is not automatically appearing before the commission. Or why the PP waited until the last minute to ask for it, handing the other parties the possibility of denying it for procedimental reasons. It's a childish tug-of-war between the two big parties (PP and Socialists) which is a real disgrace.

What a difference with the September 11 panel.