Dynamiting Spanish Politics

Afilonius Rex, New York, 18th January 2025

The right in Spain offers no realistic alternatives in terms of coherent and cohesive policies, principles and initiatives. They offer no leadership, ideas or statesmanship. Their opposition is not based on respectable alternatives but on lies, defamation and smears.

Every day that passes, the Spanish political system and the effective governance of Spain are being put under tremendous pressure by rightwing and extreme right political parties, extreme rightwing pressure groups, the corrupt and corrupting media, media-oriented agitators and spreaders of misinformation and lies, and certain powerful elements of the judiciary, including Judges who clearly exceed the limits of what is their power and influence. Then, we can add to this group the reactionary, repugnant and hypocritical political agitators in the Catholic church.

Because of this continual, coordinated, and untamed abuse of power, the right in Spain is putting the stability of the state, including the parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the respect for the institutions, and the viability of the constitutional and democratic state in grave danger. In short, the rightwing in Spain, in all of its forms, is at war with the Spanish civil state, and they are waging a tremendously squalid war too.

Let me explain.

The largest opposition party in Spain is the Popular Party. They are roughly approximate to the CDU in Germany and the Conservative Party in the UK but with far fewer pro-democracy tics. The second largest party in Spain is Vox, which is roughly equivalent to the fascistic AfD in Germany and the extreme-right Reform Party in the UK. And whilst the CDU would never contemplate governing with a fascistic party, the PP has done so.

To put things in perspective, it was only the leader of Vox who was invited to Trump’s inauguration as POTUS.

Spanish society generally welcomes improvements in equality, plurality, human rights, and social justice. It is a generous, accepting, and flexible society that embraces values of solidarity, care for others and decency. But when it comes to Spain’s rightwing parties, they couldn’t really be found guilty of any of that. As a means of bringing down the elected and legitimate progressive coalition government, the rightwing parties, with the collusion of their little toxic helpers, have embraced racism, inequality, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, misogyny, apology of fascism, apology of genocide, Islamaphobia, anti-LGBT activism, anti-ecology actions, denial of gender violence, and which constantly campaigns and discriminates against many vulnerable groups. Like many groups elsewhere, these parties embody ideas of nationalism that defy any rational, academic and historical analysis: they look for legitimacy in their rejection of reality, myths, lies and vulgar revisionism.

So, what can be done about a malign rightwing front that would bring about the crippling of Spain just in order to bring down a legitimate and elected government? Would they be capable of that? Well, it wouldn’t exactly be the first time, would it?

In a sane world, Pedro Sanchez Will lead the Spanish government until the elections of 2027, in two years. He Will be able to do this through the continued support of the basque parties, PNV and EH Bildu, ERC and JUNTS from Catalonia, the PSOE, BNG from Galicia, Sumar, and others. The only weaker link I see in the chain is JUNTS, a rightwing catalán-nationalist party. Still, I really hope that they are not emboldened to open the door to an extreme rightwing, ideologically twisted, and anticommunity government in Madrid.

This is another reason why channels of disinformation, lies, smears, defamation and blackmail need to be regulated, policed and punished. It’s a genuinely poisonous phenomenon that, in the end, serves nobody who believes in democracy, equality and the rule of law in a civil society.

What should be on the horizon is a full review of the Spanish judicial system, preferably with the supervisión and help of the EU and international governing bodies. Clearly, some judges are allowed to exceed their roles and responsibilities massively.