Madrid bombers’ trial sparks political bickering

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More than three years on, the Madrid bombs are still hurting Spain. Media outlets that support the conservative Popular Party opposition are denouncing the trial of 29 Islamists and petty criminals (including a former male stripper) suspected of the attacks, which killed 191, as a fraud. Instead, they are pinning the blame on the Basque separatist group, ETA. And it’s not just the conservative media flacks: Almost one in five Spaniards now believes ETA was involved. There have been demonstrations denouncing Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and demanding the truth about the bombings. Some have even gone so far as to claim ETA was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center attack.

These are tough times for Spain. The rag-tag defendants in the trial seem unlikely terrorist masterminds, but it is almost impossible to say for sure who was behind the attack. The temptation is always to blame the devil you know, and ETA is a very well-known devil. With an election next year and the ruling Socialist Party holding a tiny lead, the conservatives are simply tapping into latent anti-ETA feeling and using it to attack the government. They should beware: The knee-jerk blaming of ETA contributed to the Popular Party’s downfall after the bombs—it could backfire yet again.