It had been 22 years since I treated Aznar in the short distance. And the lunch-conference of the Equestrian, three days after the elections in Castilla y León, was morbid. What would the second living Chinese vase say about Spanish democracy?
Surprise. Physically, for Aznar, 22 years do not seem to have passed. Y his speech is less harsh. It has evolved? In private he was courteous, even witty, unlike the aggressive – even angry – of some meetings or parliamentary debates. And in the Equestrian he did not play in the opposite field. The truth is that he relegated the verb of the militant right and preferred the moderate. It affects realism (politics is the art of the possible), rationality (quoting Abraham Lincoln) and respect for the great laws.
Martí Saballs, the moderator, began where he touched. Should there be a coalition government of the PP with Vox in Valladolid? The response was cautious. The PP has won and the right adds much more than all the left. But its internal composition has changed because Vox has broken in, which is more to the right than the right. “And whoever has won has to find the solution, as happened to me in 1987 when I won in Castilla y León and had to govern in a minority more than two years. Don’t ask me any more -gesture seeking complicity from the audience- because I don’t want to, I can’t, I don’t I must say more”.
Point. But he added that the PP is pro-European, that if Spain had not entered the euro (thanks to him, who has never sinned in modesty) we would be much worse off, and that Vox is linked to Marine Le Pen and other far-right parties that do not like the EU. “I don’t think that a government with Marine Le Pen inside is convenient for Spain”. Did he want to confuse her with Abascal? It understands all feelings and emotions, but the political roadmap must be guided by reason.
Grand coalition? “The important thing is that in Germany the two central parties have resisted fragmentation well. And that is the great danger of Spain, which began with Podemos, Cs, Vox, extreme nationalism and now continues with provincial parties (Soria Ya) that weaken governability. A grand coalition may be desirable, but it requires shared objectives that are not met today”. I thought he knows that Casado is in a mess and now he doesn’t want to make it worse: “He will be president and, I add, he will do well & rdquor ;. Any hesitation (the press was on top of it) and the scandal would have been huge.
doCatalonia? It is in a sterile melancholy loop because politics is the art of the possible and nationalism (Pujol?) did well, very well, as long as it took it into account. But the independence of Catalonia is not only inconvenient but also impossible in today’s Europe. And it’s even worse if you try to break the law and divide people. Enforcing the law is never the problem but the beginning of the solution.
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Could the successive governments of Spain have done better? “Look, the problem is that they tried to break the law, so don’t hold me responsible for instead of bringing investors, the city council imports squats”. Aznar continues to be forceful, but he no longer talks about “coup plotters”.
Is Biden the worst president? Negative gesture: “No and he is handling the Russian crisis reasonably well. And understanding with the allies, which is not little & rdquor ;. Change of elevation: “But Spain is not in the allied meetings where it is decided because it ceased to be a reliable partner & rdquor ;. Understood, which did not happen when he was president. But, cautious, he did not go further on the trio from the Azores.