For the first time in history, unless you believe the ancient Greek myth of the Amazons, a European country has a government in which more women than men hold positions of power. The new Spanish cabinet, sworn in by the socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has nine women alongside eight men, including Spain’s first woman Defence minister, Carme Chacon, and its youngest-ever cabinet minister, the 31-year-old minister for equality, Bibiana Aido. This is the country whose exaggerated respect for masculine values added the word ‘machismo’ to the English language. Elderly Spaniards can recall life under General Francisco Franco, when no woman could open a bank account, apply for a passport or sign a contract without her husband’s permission. The idea that a woman might serve in the army was, of course, out of the question. They were first allowed in 20 years ago, and now make up nearly a fifth of the total strength of Spain’s armed forces. Even so, the spectacle of the 37-year-old Chacon inspecting the troops on Monday morning dressed in black pants and a white tunic, and visibly pregnant, was altogether too much for the Conservative daily El Mundo, which raged against […]