Is Spain’s traditional mid-day siesta in danger from a plan to shift Spain’s time zone one hour west?
Politics and the clock may seem an unlikely pairing, but Spain’s recent election may result in shifting Spain’s clocks one hour early, pairing it with England and Portugal in Greenwich, or Universal Mean Time, rather than with Belgrade in the Central European Time zone.
Proponents of the move argue a variety of social and economic benefits, and the proponents have just signed off to become part of a potential coalition government in a deal that includes the time change as part of the program.
But the political background is even deeper: the move would undo a 1942 Franco-era act of solidarity with Hitler Germany in which Spain changed from “English” time to “German” time. It’s been a left-right issue in Spain since. The Ciudadanos party, a relatively new leftist party, made it a campaign pledge, and put the change into its negotiations with the Socialist Party to join a coalition.
Aside from breaking a tie with the Franco past, proponents point out that it would not only line up Spain’s time with neighbor Portugal, but could also result in more “normal” meal times. Spanish meal habits, it seems, never made the change, so that 1 pm lunches shifted to 2 pm, and dinner at 8 became dinner at 9 (or later). Some researchers suggest that the change would “return to the natural order of our circadian rhythm that goes with the sun” and would lead to more productivity and shorter mid-day siestas.
This week will see a parliamentary vote that will determine if the new coalition gets a shot at governing, and at turning back the clock.
Illustration: Siesta in the Garden, by Joaquin Sorolla
