It looks like the Spanish media, the public and perhaps the government, are turning against IAG and the ruthless tactics as deployed by Walsh against Spanish workers. Surely the Spanish people must feel a little uneasy watching the news, and seeing their riot police bashing Iberia employees over the head.
The penny has at last dropped that IAG/British Airways are not some benevolent "White Knight," parachuted in to save Iberia and turn it around. There is now a perception of a Spanish national carrier being pillaged by malevolent and aggressive foreign speculators. A theme that has certainly struck a chord and could spell disaster for IAG.
Why on earth did British Airways get involved in this mess and all the anti British sentiment that it has generated in Spain? Who is responsible? Who is going to take responsibilty?
Like at British Airways, Willie Walsh has turned Iberia into a vipers nest of discord and discontent. He is a deeply divisive and damaging CEO and must go before the Iberia dispute escalates. He may be able to manage the war, but like great military enterprises, it is the peace that will be most difficult to reconcile. You only have to look at BA and the damage wreaked there between pilots and cabin crew, to see the legacy of such a management style.