Antoni Bassas' analysis: 'We started talking about immigration and ended up talking about identity'

We end the week with another worrying background noise, that of the drones that have crossed the airspace of Denmark and Norway, and that have been buzzing around Poland and the Baltic republics for some time now, probably sent by Russia, which does not give rise to anything good in a false response and a possibility of a NATO response. All this in a Europe that already has a war, that of Ukraine; in a world that already has ethnic cleansing, that of of Israel on Palestine, and that spreads to Trump's rule of law. And Trump is a dangerous president, because what he says (his egomaniacal UN speech) and what he does (deploying the army in the streets of his cities) allows us to assert, without sounding exaggerated, that he must be thinking about perpetuating himself in power.

Meanwhile, in our country, this week has brought us the eternal debate about identity, with the brusque, threatening, and distrustful forms that have prevailed in recent years, driven by the message of hate and fear promoted by the far right. The transfer of immigration powers to the Generalitat (Catalan government) has ended amid serious accusations of racism and a return to Pujol's old question (and answer) about who is Catalan. In fact, as if reflecting the need to take a stand on immigration against Vox, Feijóo went so far as to define what Hispanic identity is. "Hispanic identity is not a label or a demand, but rather a shared social, linguistic, and behavioral ties that must be protected by positive discrimination." And note the point: when Sánchez says he will run in 2027, he's buying Vox time to eat into the PP's expected vote. A dangerous calculation, but one that now has the PP sticking its tongue out. Meanwhile, Vox, which thrives on fueling identity conflict, is doing like Trump and persecuting comedians and television presenters like Marc Giró. Giró started the program on Tuesday. Late show, from La 1, with a monologue in which he joked about "the Spanish male" and his alleged persecution by "gender ideology." The speech didn't go down well with a Vox deputy, who said: "When Vox arrives at RTVE, he will be summarily dismissed for having laughed at the Spanish people.".

As Mònica Planas writes today, "Why does it make you so for television humor to the leaders of the extreme rightBecause laughter is a shared social act, and comedy erodes the myth of greatness on which they claim to be built. Paradoxically, their threats only serve to further empower comedians. The witch hunt returns.

Good morning.