Moisés Naím, one of the most respected global policy analysts, elaborated the theory of the three pes to explain the keys that explain the disaster of current politics: populism, polarization and post-truth (or propaganda that is also written with pe). She was surely thinking of the president of Madrid. It is easy to point to Vox and Podemos as radical epitomes of right-wing populism and the radical left. This game of labels tends to protect the rest of the parties and leaders of the political system, which, due to the game of contrasts, seems to occupy a moderate and institutionalized space according to the most classic patterns of politics. How does Spanish politics work so that someone like Ayuso, chiseled with effects and provocations, with more courage than management capacity, makes her electoral expectations grow every time he says a bigger outrage than the previous one? The explanations are not easy.
The radical and noisy wing of the PP
It is a case similar to that of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, former leader of the Tea Party, the radical wing of the American Republican Party in which Trumpism sinks its roots. Palin, who was a vice-presidential candidate with John McCain, who chose her as a ticket to confront Obama in a moment of alienation, shone with legendary ignorance, terrifying banality, and for manipulating and absurdly addressing any relevant debate in the political agenda. Climate change denier, unable to distinguish a country from a continent, or South Korea from North Korea; and, of course, anti-vaccination, Palin was the epitome of the banal radicalization of the Republican party that ended with a type of QAnon topped by a bison head storming the Capitol.
leave me alone
Only in recent weeks has Ayuso said that Spain could end up becoming a narco-country, that Sánchez intends to end democracy and imprison the opposition as Ortega does in Nicaragua; and he has dispatched the strike and the demonstrations in favor of public health in Madrid with the disdain of the dogmatists: political strike, political demonstration of enemies and bad people from Madrid. It does not matter that there are empty health centers, many others without doctors or that chaos has taken over Madrid’s public health system: official data indicates that communities have increased the offer of family doctors by 36% since 2018 at the same time that Madrid has reduced it by 2%. Ayuso also came to say that clairvoyant about employment: “When they talk about garbage employment, it seems to me that it is offensive to the person who is perhaps looking for a garbage job.” And she is the leader who with the most frivolity and patrimonial sense has tampered with the concept of freedom.
If Feijóo does badly and Ayuso takes over in the PP, the slope will be steep for his electoral interests, especially outside of Madrid. Nothing would mobilize the left-wing voter as much as Ayuso on the other ballot.
Unchained Ayuso
Her permanent search for relevance and her obsession with improving Vox lead her to say anything that occurs to her or write to her, regardless of the unparalleled institutional deterioration that she leaves behind or if she gets in the way of the agenda and strategy of his party, something that happens daily. The latest is the initiative to declare the religious symbols of the Valley of the Fallen an Asset of Cultural Interest, at the request of Vox, to shield them against the law of democratic memory. The objective: that the 150-meter-high cross on the cliff of the ship continue to crown the iconic theme park of the Franco regime. “I love those hockey moms. You know what they say is the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick,” Palin said in a celebrated television speech. Populism, polarization and post-truth. In Spain, hockey is relatively successful, but if there was a Madrid Rifle Association, Ayuso would be its muse.
Depoliticizers who politicize Justice
It is even more cynical to hear the Catalan separatists call for the depoliticization of Justice over and over again while they work to politicize it more and better. Politicization, but tailored. Or is it that using their bundle of votes and their support for the Government in exchange for ending the crime of sedition and reforming embezzlement to benefit their convicted and/or fled leaders is not a politicization of justice? Is it not a spurious use of political power to alter the consequences of the application of the Criminal Code on crimes committed by politicians? Well, no major politicization occurs. In fact, few reforms are as politicized as this one. For the independent hell is always the others. And as far as the Government is concerned, it should sign up for more doses of politicization of justice, because agreeing to reform crimes with so much political significance -and with names and surnames- lowering the cost of their consequences and benefiting the moral leaders of those who lend their votes it cannot be interpreted otherwise. It must be that citizens do not fully understand what they are talking about when they denounce the politicization of Justice, although in reality what they mean is sex.
Communists, repent
If you demonstrate against the destruction of public health in Madrid, you are a communist. If you have doubts about whether bars should have been open happily during the pandemic, you are a communist. Even if you believe that climate change is something to be taken seriously and downplay the rigor of the theory that it came from the dinosaurs, you can be branded as a four in one: communist, Marxist, Bolshevik and Bolivarian.
There was a time when communism had a certain prestige. The prestige of the losers of the war who, led by Carrillo, were the ones who gave in the most and moved away from their positions to contribute to the transition. They had the recognition of having been the ones who fought the dictatorship and suffered the most from jail and persecution. Recognition of a political formation for its actions during a dictatorship and the Transition should not be confused with the assumption of its sclerotic political or economic principles, which failed everywhere in all corners of the globe. What is striking is the neo-Franco hobby, between a Fraga cañí and the McCarthyism of the witch hunt, of counting communists with such joy. Vox started and the president of Madrid has followed with odd self-confidence. That’s how it starts. And the issuance of a stamp commemorating the centenary of the birth of the PCE ended up being suspended at the request of the group of Christian lawyers. During the dictatorship, the Post Office issued 103 stamps with Franco’s effigy and another 41 in which the dictator appeared in relation to “victory”. 144 to nil. thrashed. Be careful: either with me or communist. And be careful with the stamps, the devil loads them.
hammers and nails
Judicial shocks top the political agenda. Some judges are reviewing convictions in light of the Sexual Freedom Act, known as the only yes is yes And they are putting those convicted of sexual abuse of minors on the street when the courts understand that this crime has been declassified since the consent of those over 16 years of age is not a crime unless there is violence, intimidation or abuse. The more favorable application of the legal regulation is thus benefiting some convicts, even though with the same law in hand other courts are deciding otherwise. At the moment there are 14 sentence revisions favorable to the convicted. On the other hand, the Court of La Rioja has reviewed 54 cases and has not reduced a single sentence.
chain error
The technical issue is that neither the Council of State, nor the Justice commissions of the two chambers, nor the plenary sessions warned that there was a lack of a usual transitory provision in these cases to avoid the review of many downward sentences. A string error. When UP raised the text with the Ministry then headed by Juan Carlos Campo, he warned of the legal deficiencies of the text, which made it appealable before the TC. Pablo Iglesias settled those cautions: “In technical excuses there are many frustrated macho.”
Now that some courts are releasing convicts based on the law, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, has concluded: “Judges have a margin, but stereotypes and machismo can lead to judges misapplying the law.” The quality policy focuses on solving the problems of citizens, not on wanting to be right or walking all day with the flaming sword in hand, expelling the wicked from your paradises. The law is important and it was born in a context of social alarm, but legislating is a job that requires finesse, patience and consensus. The permanent appeals to machismo are impoverishing. You cannot solve all problems with a single strategy: all macho and enemies. Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist, stated it: “When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.” The law is so relevant that it requires immediate reform and not go around hammering against everyone.
Breweries
1. Employers and unions, an example
The contribution of employers and unions to social dialogue and understanding is being one of the most comforting milestones in these times of institutional anxiety. Even with discrepancies and disagreements, the dialogue is being productive. The labor reform is in this sense the great milestone of the legislature. Now a space is being opened for an agreement between the CEOE, UGT and CCOO to work around the new social security system proposed by Minister Escrivá. The parties believe that the employment plans grant more margin to close agreements in the sectoral agreements through contributions to the employment plans to offset part of the rise in the CPI. Both parties can collaborate in this way to improve the savings of workers for retirement. Keep the party going.
2. Structuralism: Rubiales and Piqué
Judge Delia Rodrigo, who is investigating the so-called Super Cup Files, the secret agreement between the president of the Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, and Gerard Piqué is being worked on to celebrate the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia with a commission of 24 million euros. Four facts: -1- The judge wants to know where the two million euros that Rubiales paid to buy a penthouse with all his dressings came from. -2- Rubiales asked for the mortgage at Bankinter. -3- The Tax Agency, which analyzes the accounts of Kosmos, Piqué’s business network, has registered bank movements shortly after having received the commissions from the Saudis for 3.5 million euros and about whose destination everything is unknown. -4- The Prosecutor’s Office has detected that Piqué opened accounts at Bankinter on dates before Rubiales bought the penthouse through a mortgage at the same bank. Sometimes the news lines up and overlaps like structures that generate an apparently unequivocal meaning. pure structuralism.
3. A humanistic approach to Artificial Intelligence
Spain will be the first European country to have an Artificial Intelligence Supervision Agency, anticipating the future EU regulation. The body will have to supervise, minimize risks and generate an ecosystem of research and business development around AI “from a humanistic point of view.” Controlling the impact of AI on our lives is as urgent as it already affects us almost every minute of our existence, most of the time without being aware of it. Either the new world guarantees and protects the rights of citizens, or we will go straight into chaos and be controlled by powers. As Sami Nair has just written: “Behind every bad idea lies a political, economic, cultural or religious interest.” You have to focus the development of AI towards good ideas. Technology must serve the general interest. The headquarters of the future agency will leave Madrid following the “territorial cohesion” process promoted by the Government, although it is warned that the city that hosts it must have “a strong business and research ecosystem on this technology”, which It limits the options a lot. Ourense, Granada and Santiago de Compostela have been interested in staying the headquarters.
