But that still doesnt mean Spain is poor. It just means other countries progressed. And many times its the progress and growth that matters as opposed to stagnation which feels bad. The reason i mentioned that eu countries are richer than others is to put things into perspective.
Europeans are used to growth and thats the issue, there isnt any as of recently. Its just germany flouting its economic dick in everyone’s face while the rest of the eu has to follow rules that dont benefit them.
IDK what do you mean by "natural state". There are too many counterexamples. Ireland or Norway used to be comparably poor countries in the early 1900s, Slovakia was seriously underdeveloped etc. What is the "natural state" of Spain in your opinion? An Arab colony, a center of a huge empire, or a military dictatorship? The country has gone through so many iterations during its existence.
"Poor" is a word that has two meanings. No one in their sane mind would call Spain absolutely poor, like Niger or Afghanistan is. But relative poverty is psychologically damaging too. If other countries progress faster than you, you are slowly moving towards the end of the wealth distribution in your common club. And people don't like that.
That would be unthinkable some 20-25 years ago. Spain back then was, relatively taken, much richer than any post-Communist country and your living standard would have gone measurably down if you moved from Spain to Czechia.