Seriously, Though

In an unenthusiastically crowded square in Burgos last week one of Europe's last remaining old-school dictators rose to congratulate himself. On the tenth anniversary of his rise to power even Francisco Franco himself displayed only lukewarm enthusiasm. "Sometimes," he mused, "I wonder what will happen if the people who have given me their support in these past ten years will give me some support for more years when our problems are solved."

Then the Caudillo abandoned humility for a boast. "Only two countries in the world know where they are going," he said. "They are Spain and Russia." Russia's goal was world conquest; Franco's own (he explained later) was to provide three shirts for every Spanish peasant.

"Remember, my generals," he concluded "that Jose Antonio [son of Dictator Primo Rivera] was right when he said 'one of the most serious things in the world today is being a Spaniard.' "

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