Saying something new about an election held a week ago is a vain pretension. Therefore, I only propose to reflect on the attitude with which its result must be accepted. And, to do this, I start from the political situation in which Spain currently finds itself. It has been rightly said (José Antonio Zarzalejos quoting the political scientist Ángel Rivero) that “the transition (is) a world that has vanished”, which is why it is urgent to strengthen, among others, the values of unity, solidarity and effectiveness of freedoms and rights. And, to undertake this task, the defunct transition has left us a law and institutions. The law is the Constitution and, among the institutions, there is the monarchy. It is the only thing that remains, because its spirit has long been lost due to the castling of some and the revenge of others.
On this basis we must face – in my opinion – the result of the recent Catalan elections. With a strong abstention and the loss by the separatists of their previous majority, the clear victory of the PSC and its leader, Salvador Illa, stands out, whose own merit cannot be obscured by that attributed to the president’s “policy of appeasement.” Pedro Sánchez, who, along with resounding applause, has also garnered harsh criticism.
Salvador Illa is a hard-working politician, with a proven track record of work, which has now reaped its fruits, when contrasted with the radical and frontist spirit of some of his contenders. Now, the electoral result says that Illa could only form a left-wing majority with Esquerra and the Commons, which is impossible today because the current state of ERC prevents it after its enormous disaster. Likewise, any other coalition is unthinkable to achieve investiture in the first round. So everything is then limited to obtaining a simple majority in the second round, which is feasible although not easy.
This situation has become even more complicated with a threat that is as predictable as it is rejectable, the best summary of which is found in a message received from a Mallorcan friend: “Hello, Juanjo. A question: Do you think that Sánchez will be able to sacrifice Salvador Illa to retain Puigdemont’s support in Madrid? This question responds to the information that appeared in some media about the Junts leader redoubling his pressure on Sánchez, warning him that he will not accept a pact between the PSC and the PP, and that he plans a “sovereignty, Catalan obedience” Government with the support of Esquerra and the CUP, and the abstention of the PSC. More clearly, water: I vote for you in Madrid and you leave me the field free in Barcelona.
Let’s go ahead and assume that the PSC has sufficient dignity and self-esteem not to accept such abject humiliation as that demanded by Puigdemont, making the mistake of judging others with his particular scale of values. And I also don’t think it is possible for President Sánchez to commit such cowardly, base and stupid villainy. But, despite this, it is worth keeping in mind:
1) That Spain runs a serious risk of entering into a deep crisis, which erodes the validity of the 1978 Constitution, conditions the normal performance of the institutions and puts the monarchy in check.
2) That, in this situation, all the parties that want to defend the current regime of rights and freedoms must make common cause against the parties that want to destroy it for the sake of their own and separate national project.
3) That, consequently, there is no valid wall, since all parties are equally called upon for this purpose, regardless of the program they defend, as long as it fits within the Constitution.
Hence, he maintains that the PP should take the first step, committing to support Illa’s investiture without the need for any prior agreement and in the interest of the general interest. Someone has to take the first step to overcome the wall and thus defend themselves against a common enemy. This is the attitude required of a party with a sense of State.