Felipe González had the distinguished honor of being the longest-serving president of the government of Spain in the country’s history. Four years after Adolfo Suárez’s first term and after almost two years of Calvo Sotelo’s government, the then leader of the PSOE would command the country from 1982 to 1996, becoming the third man to command the territory. A period of time that he gave a lot.
This Thursday, the former president visited El Hormiguero, the Antena 3 nighttime program presented by Pablo Motos, and gave an extensive review of current political events in the country and the rest of the world. From the last stretch of Pedro Sánchez’s government to Salvador Illa’s victory in the Catalan elections, passing through the state of Carles Puigdemont, Javier Milei’s notorious intervention in Madrid or the war conflict in Gaza.
The interview, however, started with a significant moment on the set. González carried with him a briefcase similar to that of the deputies of Congress, revealing to Motos that he brought him a paper copy of the Spanish Constitution. “I bring the Constitution and I tell young people that where most people voted was in Catalonia. After the real exile, Josep Tarradellas, arrived,” he noted, when asked about the Catalan question.
“Maybe Puigdemont and Aragonès will find out tonight. In Catalonia they voted for this and not the nonsense they invented,” attacked the former president of the government, who also had words for the Junts candidate in reference to his government agreement with the current PSOE. “What do they say is a progressive coalition government, but when I met Puigdemont I saw him as right-wing, separating. I don’t know where the progressivism is there,” he said.
“It is not a weapon of aggression, but of harmony, of coexistence, of pact so that we can all live with freedom, so that no one points fingers at us,” the former politician insisted, also mentioning Illa: “On the contrary, I believe that we must support, we really have to support Salvador, for the Catalans, for the Catalan society, because it also has the style of coexistence that the citizens deserve. He dialogues with everyone and worries about people’s real problems, not fantasy.”
They were not the only ones to receive comments, after he also dedicated a few words to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero: “He is a good boy, when he left the Government, the PP won with an absolute majority, he left Rubalcaba alone and the PSC fell to historic lows. The worst period of the PSC is the legacy of Zapatero, who is now there saving the PSC and everyone else. “I don’t know what he is going to save us from, because it was a terrifying inheritance.”