Together save. Together submit. Together forgive life. A martyrdom of transfers, because Carles Puigdemont drags Pedro Sánchez along. This has been the main synthesis of the first plenary session of Congress on January 10. And yet, it is not the real chronicle. As you know, since 2014 we have lived in a multi-party system, as the President of the Government himself recognized, and not in an almost perfect two-party system, that is, with the testimonial presence of what in the transition they called “Basque and Catalan minorities.” “Minorities,” they said. It was the Spain of then with its bills and also Royal Decrees Law as now. But, of course, with a big difference from 2024: those who were a “minority” until a decade ago make up today, together with the left, the peripheral and transversal social majority that decides in our country.
In these 45 years of the Constitution, Spain has produced two different arithmetics for two different teachings of power that remain in cultural dispute. The first, the “arithmetic of transition”, which indicates that the one who wins the elections governs by divine pattern, without the predominance of the legislative over the executive, and whose purpose is absolute majorities to impose your policies. The second, the “democratic arithmetic”, which explains that it is not necessary to win to be able to form a government, since Congress decides as after 23-J and which also tells us that it is not necessary to be a deputy to be president as in the motion of censorship of 2018. All of this, in this case, in strict compliance with the spirit and letter of our Constitution.
From these bases, for the “arithmetic of the transition”, everything is “dishonor” and “humiliation”, whether due to the amnesty, Pamplona or Junts. This didactics, which is dying of old age, does not realize that it despises the people who vote, because the amnesty, Pamplona or Junts are, plain and simple, the representatives of the citizens voting. “Democratic arithmetic”, for its part, requires understanding, as should have happened before last week’s plenary session, that in a parliamentary democracy there are many political spaces at stake and dialogue must be permanent.
One “didactic” has a future, the other none. Consequently, “democratic didactics” is accepted after what happened in the plenary session and the modus operandi for legislative production is changed. No drama. Because beyond the leaf litter, all the parties are back inside to do politics. And taking care of it requires time, patience and effort with Junts. Trust between one another is not built in two days or two months and that is why the laws must be discussed in advance so that Parliament, instead of a souk, becomes a political chamber. And, of course, with Podemos, which is outside the progressive coalition and deserves the same treatment as the rest of the partners. With this, dialogue will not be humiliation or farce, but rather negotiation.
About Junts: he opted for cunning at the last moment. He didn’t vote no to anything, but he didn’t vote yes either. Getting it right in terms of political storytelling. Now, an unclarified immigration agreement can be very dangerous and confusing if you do not have a clear joint roadmap with the Government. Immigration is a very profound issue that without realistic management of expectations, there is a very high risk that the extreme right will control the situation as in Italy, France or Germany. Of every 100 expulsion orders in the EU, only 18 are carried out. There is, therefore, a real risk if Aliança Catalana from Ripoll, today amplified, ends up imposing its point of view, establishing the issues and immigration as the great threat. Attacking the multiculturalism typical of our politics, and characteristic of the global Barcelona and the international Catalonia that we know. With this, suddenly, it could happen that the situation before the European elections pushed Junts through its messages in a direction contrary to that of a progressive Government. Entering the legislature into “nonsense.”
Taking control over any matter, and even more so an exclusive competence of the State, is materially impossible if everyone, the Government and parliamentary partners, do not go hand in hand. Beyond the Organic Law. Today is immigration, tomorrow will be another matter. Therefore, Junts does not save, subjugate or forgive anyone. It is “democratic didactics”, they save each other, submit and forgive each other. All the votes all the time. all inside
