One year ago today, Spain was the target of the bloodiest terrorist attack in western continental Europe since the second World War. Bombs left on four commuter trains during the morning rush hour in Madrid took 191 lives. Terrible as these bombings were, however, the focus of attention shifted swiftly to the extraordinary political row that followed. The government insisted, against clear evidence pointing to Islamists, that the bombs were the work of the Basque terrorist group Eta. Just three days later, these developments led to the unexpected election victory of the opposition Socialist Party (PSOE).
In the eyes of a majority of the Spanish public, the conservative Partido Popular (PP) government had committed the cardinal sin of playing politics with a terrorist tragedy. The outgoing prime minister, José María Aznar, had been a prominent supporter of President Bush's invasion of Iraq, despite the massive unpopularity of that war in Spain. By flying in the face of the evidence on the Madrid bombings, he was seen by most Spaniards to be dodging responsibility for his foreign policy.
The new prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, immediately announced that he would withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. Critics reviled this move as capitulation to the bombers. He claimed that he was honouring an election promise made long before the attacks. Mr Zapatero has been consistent on this issue. He soon dispatched more troops to Afghanistan, where he argues that intervention has a legitimate UN mandate. Al Qaeda then paid him the back-handed compliment of declaring that Spain remains a target.
The prime minister says that Spain is committed to combat terrorism, at home and abroad, but that this campaign must respect international law and human rights. He has shown a keen awareness that the roots of Islamic terrorism lie in the grim conditions endured by many of Spain's Muslim immigrants, and in a world order which has not been even-handed with the Palestinians and other Arab peoples. But it is not clear that Spain has learned the lessons that the Madrid bombings demanded.
The judicial investigation of the attacks has been energetic but it remains to be seen whether it will secure criminal convictions. The investigation has also revealed gross inefficiency, and catastrophic failures to share information, among the security forces. Mr Zapatero's government has made significant moves to reorganise and bolster Spain's counter-terrorism capacity, but still seems reluctant to fully grasp the old nettle of rivalry between the police, the Guardia Civil and military intelligence.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary commission into the bombings has been a shambles, and failed to reach any agreement in time for the first anniversary. The main culprits here are the PP leaders, who continue to stonewall in defence of their bizarre and reckless behaviour over those crucial three days last March. Surviving victims of the massacre have made it very clear that they feel they deserve a lot better from their political representatives.