Spain’s employment minister and deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, described the late opening hours of restaurants and bars, earlier this month, as “madness”. “A country that has its restaurants open at one o’clock in the morning is not reasonable,” she said. Hospitality industry figures and conservative politicians responded with outrage. “The deputy prime minister thinks she lives in Sweden instead of Spain,” a furious restaurant owner in Barcelona told El País, pointing out the late sunset in her city. That day, 6 March, the sun set in Stockholm at 5.29pm, and in Barcelona at 6.48pm. In Stockholm, restaurants typically close at 11pm; in Barcelona, restaurants and bars are allowed to open until 2.30am on weekdays, and until 3am at weekends.

Spain is not Sweden in many ways. In 2022, in Sweden, the GDPvalue of a worker’s hour was $75, compared with $53 in Spain, which is below the European average. GDP per capita is almost double in Sweden. The standard working week in Sweden is one hour longer than in Spain. Overall life satisfaction is higher in Sweden.

Díaz’s remark about opening hours is part of her broader push to have Spaniards work less and better. It is not a new debate: it started in earnest a decade ago with a bipartisan consensus that now seems to be gone, even though some companies and younger workers are on board for change, and behaviours are shifting slightly.

The unique (or crazy) working hours and eating habits in Spain are outliers in Europe and beyond. Working days often start early in the morning and finish late in the evening, leaving little room for personal life, particularly in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, where long commutes are part of the daily routine. On average, the peak time for people to eat lunch in Spain is 2.30pm, and the most........

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