It is not at all clear to me that cunning is a virtue, despite the fact that the protagonists of Catalan politics often boast about it. Hugues-Bernard Maret, an encyclopedist diplomat who was Napoleon’s Foreign Minister, wrote that the great cunning of some often contrasts with the stupidity of others. A warning to sailors. The cunning person always believes himself to be smarter than others, but cunning is not associated with intelligence or academic training. Of course, cunning is a natural gift that is based on knowledge of the environment.
But tricks are like close-up magic tricks: if they are not done well, the audience discovers the trap and leaves the room. The latest trick of Carles Puigdemont, who someone has come to describe as the man of the master strokes, although some have turned out to be a disaster, is about to perpetrate his last act of sleight of hand: achieving the first defeat of the Government in Congress, with his refusal to support the three decrees that are part of Pedro Sánchez’s anti-crisis plan. He argues that they put the amnesty at risk, when that is not the case and that they invade the powers of the Generalitat, which does not appear to be the case either. Above all, what Puigdemont wants to demonstrate is that he is in charge here, an expatriate in Belgium who does not even have a position in his party.
Cunning can be a virtue in small doses, like some specific risks. This trip to the Executive will mean the Government will suffer a hard blow and its inducer will not be free. You cannot make an agreement and almost the minute later cause a crisis. And, between these two moments, let the world know that he fooled around with Manfred Weber, the leader of the European conservatives, opening a loophole for future agreements with the right.
Santos Cerdán is running out of patience with the post-convergents and Pedro Sánchez is fed up with so much gesticulation. They only have to negotiate until exhaustion, knowing that they will sweat blood. The president is aware of what the writer Ludwig Börne said: “Cunning is often annoying like a lamp in a bedroom.” Any day the lamp will manage to melt the leads.
