If last year the Fundeu and the Royal Academy of Languages had announced that the word of the year for 2023 was “polarization”, by the end of January the winner of 2024 would have been said to be “non-radio”. La Mancha President Page began by declaring that “PSOE is outside the Constitution.” Minister Oscar Puente responded in his usual strong tone: “The person on the outskirts of PSOE is Page.” And popular leader Núñez Feijóo defended Page, agreeing that “PSOE is outside the Constitution.”
Two thoughts on this discussion. The first: “slums”, According to RAE, being away from the center rather than outside; therefore even in the municipal area. Seen this way, the drama of all these so-called provocative statements is alleviated. Neither PSOE would be outside the Constitution nor Page would be outside PSOE, although in both cases there was a danger of spillover.
And second: with very few exceptions, it is the politics found on the outskirts of the citizens, and not only the politics of the socialists and the popular. Polls should measure this: openly ask Mr. Tezanos and other demoscopic citizens about their frustration, tired of conflict in all Parliaments and politicians’ inability to reach agreement to build a better country. It is no prestige for Spain that Europe has summoned Socialist Minister Félix Bolaños and the popular González Pons to Brussels to mediate their failure to renew the Judicial Council.
But the rest of political life is shocking: the usurpation of Puigdemont’s party, Junts, into the socialist government is insatiable. And the president’s hatred for Pedro Sánchez, who fled to Belgium, continues at the highest level. One person who spoke to her recently conveys the aggressiveness of the relationship verbatim: “Make no mistake, we’re not any closer: it’s not love, it’s sex.” That’s how impressive Puigdemont is.
Open a list of politicians going one way, while citizens are demanding another. Generalitat president Pere Aragonés remains adamant that the referendum on self-determination is what matters. He makes little mention of the drought ravaging Catalonia or the devastating evidence of the PISA report that Catalan student numbers are too low. Daily information on Friday refers to PSOE’s supposedly impossible-to-cross red lines on Monday.
Subsequent transfers, because they threatened to overthrow the government.
Given this landscape, don’t be surprised to hear complaints that the political proposal is rather limited, predictable and inadequate. If Albert Rivera had not suffered the ego crisis that led him to reject the vice presidency of the government and ruin his party. We would be in a different scenario. It achieved the key to governability with 57 MPs in April 2019 but went on recess: it was down to 10 seats when elections were repeated in November; Today, citizens, there is zero. Podemos is moving towards this pointlessness with a significant decline every week. The last one was Lilith Vestrynge, the party’s number three MP. The Galician elections will continue to aggravate their crisis and their only hope is for Irene Montero to secure a European seat on June 9. This will be the last taxi to escape the burial of so-called “new politics”.