Graham Greene designated his less serious fiction “entertainments,” though he eventually dispensed with the designation. One such “entertainment” was the thriller Ministry of Fear (1943, now with an introduction by Alan Furst), turned into the 1944 film of the same name directed by Fritz Lang.
Greene’s novel comes to mind this morning in connection with the Brussels Signal daily newsletter Brussels Calling! From Brussels Calling! I learn that Spain has a Ministry of Inclusion and a few other matters. Spanish journalist Antonio O’Mullony writes in the newsletter (links omitted):
In Spain, figures from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration — released only after a transparency ruling — have shown that residency permits granted to foreign women on the grounds of having reported gender violence have risen by 498.4 per cent since 2017, climbing from 628 to 3,758 in 2024. More than 60 per cent of recipients have come from Colombia and Morocco. Critics have argued the route has become a relatively accessible path to regularisation, since it suspends deportation, can lead to permanent residence and counts towards Spanish nationality after two years for Latin Americans. The Spanish Government, in power under Pedro Sánchez since 2018, has not addressed the figures in public.
See also O’Mullony’s European Conservative column “Spain Without Spaniards: The Unprecedented Decline of the National Population.”
Lionel Shriver, call your office!
I can’t find a link to the Brussels Calling! newsleter. However, O’Mullony’s current Brussels Signal story presents a related sort of “inclusion.” Include this: “Spain doubles down on €9 billion green push, leaves blackout questions unanswered.”
