Mortadelo and Puigdemont

But I admire them because they have a functioning democracy, the separation of powers is undisputed and the law is obeyed. That's why they were able to intervene in the autonomy of Northern Ireland for several years without anyone tearing their hair out, and that's why Assange was kept isolated or locked up for several more years without giving in to strong pressure from Washington to hand him over. There they say such elementary things as not to legislate with names and surnames or under the impression of recent events, however terrible they may be. These are wise measures.

That's why there, as here, the shameless application of 155 would not happen, there would be no hasty laws like those of Yes is Yes or the Amnesty law that puts criminals on the street in exchange for votes and assures that we will return to work (especially after having filled the newspaper archives with declarations on the unconstitutionality of the measure), the Public Prosecutor's Office would act independently, citizens would not be bewildered by fights between the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, those in power would not campaign for one thing and then do another (as this government has done with Western Sahara without yet explaining the reasons for the change), and if a criminal wanted by Justice returns, he would be arrested and the Security Forces would not be made a fool of. These are just a few examples.

I may be wrong and I respect those who think otherwise but I believe that the Catalan "conflict" had lost a lot of strength and that it was revived by the elections of 23 July because Pedro Sánchez needed a few votes to remain in government, something very different from governing, as shown by his inability to push through the budget and other laws. The May elections in Catalonia were won by the PSC socialists, who have every right in the world to negotiate the necessary agreements to form a government. What happens is that in this case they are making the rest of Spaniards pay the bill, and that doesn't seem so good to me. Handing over the Caja to the Generalitat breaks the solidarity and equality between Spaniards that I, in my naivety, thought were the hallmarks of socialism. Well, it seems that they are no longer and I am amazed at the meekness of an apesebrated party that accepts these things without complaint, apart from a few criticisms that do not go as far as that. Now we Spaniards will continue to pay the pensions of our Catalan friends while they will reduce their contribution to the inter-territorial solidarity fund. It is like the pigs in Orwell's "Animal Farm": here we are all equal but with the PSOE some are more equal than others. Or like Groucho Marx: "These are my principles, madam, but if you don't like them I have others". If this is "progressive", may God come and see.

I do not think it is wrong to move towards a federal formula, as Pedro Sánchez is now saying, but I believe that instead of just spouting it as an idea in a press conference, the matter is important enough to merit a profound national debate in which the competences, rights and obligations of the federal and federated powers are clearly delimited. And above all, I believe that a federal system requires a minimum of constitutional loyalty because if each concession from the central government is only a stepping stone to more concessions in the future, as is the case now, the invention does not work because it ends up starving the State, which is what some partners in the current government openly advocate. That is why I believe that the minimum necessary conditions are not in place now.

One can be wrong, and the list of mistakes made by this government seems to me to be long. There is even talk of a pact to let Puigdemont come, speak and leave without interfering in Illa's investiture. I don't know. For some, the end justifies everything. What is not acceptable is the monumental ridicule that has been made. Some talk of Mortadelo and Puigdemont. I let them decide who Mortadelo is here.

Jorge Dezcallar, Ambassador of Spain

Published in the Diario de Mallorca, el Periódico de Catalunya and Cadena de Prensa Ibérica on Sunday 11 August 2024