Andalucia has confirmed it is studying a request to Madrid for bailout cash as the region continues to have trouble issuing debt in the financial markets.
President Griñán said that although Andalucia has permission from Madrid and the EU to issue more debt, it is experiencing problems at the moment of finding anyone to actually buy that debt.
Well, quite.
Madrid earlier this year setup an emergency cash fund to bailout regions that were expecting to run out of cash, in exchange for agreements from those regions to reign in public spending and cut costs. This plan seems to have quietly gone out of the window.
However, after Catalonia declared itself ready to accept a 5 billion euro bailout from Madrid, after Valencia and Murcia, it seems that the rest of the regions now feel they can ask for free money without having to lose political capital, especially since Catalonia has made it clear that it expects a large cheque for free, and won’t give Madrid any concessions in return.