The body of the Mossos d’Esquadra has been in the limelight for too long. And that is not good, neither for them, nor for the citizens, nor for democracy. Like any other specialized body of the Administration, they must have a statute that guarantees their full freedom of action operative in what corresponds to them as security and criminal investigation technicians who, on many occasions, only owe obedience to the judicial authority. But this principle cannot be applied absolutely. Because democracy requires that any discretionary action of the Administration subject to political scrutiny in Parliament. The budget, the endowment, the action protocols or the priorities must be decided by the government in power. When they exercise that power, what they are doing is doing their duty, not interfering with professional policing. The line they cannot cross is that of giving orders or request information in investigations under judicial protection. If that has happened in the Mossos, as the ‘exconseller’ Sàmper has denounced on the radio, what should be done is to go to court as the inspector to whom he alludes has done, although in the administrative sphere and not in the criminal. Those red lines are not easy to resolve, but they cannot be crossed happily nor can they pretend that they do not exist. The Parliament has debated countless operations police and security, from riot control to firefighting. If politics did not have to intervene in these operations, and they had to be a matter only for technicians, these debates should not have taken place.
In recent years, the governance of the Mossos has not been easy because Catalonia has had governments that boasted of breaking the law, something that put them under suspicion in relation to the police force that has viewed these maneuvers with suspicion. But neither has it been for other reasons. For example, the figure of Major Josep Lluís Trapero, with a rank that places him hierarchically above any other member of the body, and converted correlatively into a hero and a villain by those who, in the name of professional autonomy, want to interfere like no one else. No ‘conseller’ has known what to do with the ‘major’ when he has not been the highest leader of the body. An uncomfortable situation also for Trapero himself who sees how some and others use him as a throwing weapon. Nor has it been easy for the Catalan police to swallow his rapid deployment, which has generated a generational cap at the controls with some first promotions more concerned with being a comparable police force than with responding to the demands of the Parliament.
Faced with so much confusion, the constant changes in the leadership of the Mossos deserve serious reflection. And the ‘conseller’ Joan Ignasi Elena must show her face, explain themselves and explain themselves in order to seek sufficient support in Parliament for their security policies. If they seek the feminization of the body, its adaptation to an advanced European society and professionalization, they will surely obtain support. If what you are looking for is only avoid the historical weight of Trapero or protect certain party interests, which are not political, then he will show that he has been reckless in waging this fight from a minority government. Elena has the background, the experience and the courage to do politics without falling into partisanship or revenge. But the silence doesn’t help him at all.