Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2010, when Spain had just won the World Cup, Zapatero was in government, Rajoy led the opposition and early elections were being debated. The general election was eventually brought forward to November 2011, and Rajoy won it.
In Spain we have a football league in which teams from different regions face each other. Madrid play Barcelona, Valencia play Betis, and so on, and the rivalry is total and absolute. But then the World Cup comes along, and players from different clubs join forces with a single goal.
At that moment there is no Barcelona, no Madrid, no Betis and no Valencia. There is only Spain and its national team, and that made us world champions. Unity showed that we are the best at something.
In Spain we have the PSOE, the PP, Izquierda Unida and so on, and the rivalry between them is total and absolute too. But then the crisis comes along, and representatives of the different parties join forces with a single goal: their own interest.
When a country like Spain is going through bad times like the ones we are living through now, and you can see that there is no unity among those with the most responsibility, that is when I realise how weak this country is.
This is no longer about left or right, PP or PSOE, Zapatero or Rajoy. It is about common sense. That Spain needs a change, new ideas and new measures, I agree completely. But if the only option is an opposition policy based on 100% criticism, 0% proposed solutions and 0% cooperation, that is when I start to wonder whether we are witnessing the death of good politics.
If we use our common sense and forget our political ideals, does anyone know of a head of government who has admitted that the country he governs is not doing well at all and may soon face even bigger problems? If he did, the markets would panic, causing an economic disaster with terrible consequences. That is plain as day.
Zapatero asks for confidence abroad so as not to alarm investors, while his main opposition sells CHAOS in Spain.
You’ll have to forgive me, but when I look at our politicians I see only one image: two children. One of them ended up with a toy, and the only way the other can get it back is by breaking it. Of course there is one small difference: Spain is not a toy, and at this rate it may end up not just damaged but broken.
I have a message for the leader of the PP (with all due respect to his supporters). The government is practically his already, because these days Zapatero gets blamed for everything, even “the end of the world”. He has never been as close to becoming prime minister as he is right now. So it is time to cooperate and change strategy, or else, when he finally achieves his goal, there may be no country left to govern.
Throughout history, many enemy armies have joined forces to face a bigger enemy. So the time has come to forget about elections, votes and selling panic, and to get down to work solving the extremely serious problem that is about to arrive, because if things carry on like this, it will arrive.
I would ask the media to set their political pride aside and not twist the news. With a left-wing father and a right-wing mother, I know every last bit of nonsense people can come out with when they talk from their political ideals rather than with their heads.
And for all those who are able to separate politics from common sense, I imagine you already know that we got into the situation we are in solely because of abusive, open-ended speculation, combined with a capitalist system that put us all in our place once it was over.
I know this article will divide readers’ opinions. I just hope it doesn’t divide the main message, which is this: “Spain does not need early elections. It needs to park the elections and for everyone to row in the same direction over the coming months.”
Featured image: Daniel Dionne, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
