Lisbon, Portugal
Portuguese novelist José Saramago has outraged his compatriots by proposing that Portugal unite with Spain to form the country of Iberia. “Portugal will be another province of Spain,” he told the Lisbon Diario de Noticias. “We would continue to speak Portuguese, and write, think, and feel in our own language. We wouldn’t become Spaniards.” The comments stirred a flurry of denunciations from politicians, artists, and writers. Several pointed out that Portugal had been a major world empire more than a century before Spain even became a united country. Saramago, Portugal’s only Nobel laureate, moved to Spain after Portugal banned his 1991 novel, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Mickey 17: 'charming space oddity' that's a 'sparky one-off'The Week Recommends 'Remarkable' Robert Pattinson stars in Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi comedy
-
EastEnders at 40: are soaps still relevant?Talking Point Albert Square's residents are celebrating, but falling viewer figures have fans worried the soap bubble has burst
-
What will the thaw in Russia-US relations cost Europe?Today's Big Question US determination to strike a deal with Russia over Ukraine means Europe faces 'betrayal by a long-term ally'
