Ayuso's mockery of Catalan and institutional blockage

This Friday's Conference of Presidents in Barcelona will not go down in history precisely for its usefulness. It is a format that can only work if there is a minimum of institutional loyalty and political will to reach cross-party agreements, two ingredients that have completely disappeared from the Spanish political landscape today. The tension felt in Madrid has spread to Barcelona for a day, and the men The Popular Party, although they participated correctly, refused to sign any agreement and took the opportunity to call early elections for Pedro Sánchez, who has already made it clear that he intends to complete his term. In other words, the institutional deadlock between the Popular Party's autonomous communities and the Spanish government will continue to be the norm for the time being. A situation that only has a few losers: the citizens of those territories.

However, if the summit will be remembered for anything, it will be for the gesture of derision by the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, towards official languages other than Spanish, primarily Catalan and Basque. Ayuso made good on her threat and left the table just as the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, began his speech in Catalan, as a gesture of courtesy to President Salvador Illa. The Madrid president has once again managed to become the center of attention, but she has also been left alone, as no other Popular Party president has supported her. Ayuso displayed her contempt for Spain's cultural and linguistic diversity, even when, as was the case, she was the one visiting Catalonia. In fact, the rest of men They did not seem particularly happy with the prominence given to the language issue, which has somehow overshadowed their political offensive against Sánchez.

But Ayuso doesn't care about any of this. "I'm not an Ayuso expert," the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, responded sarcastically when asked about the Madrid president. The Basque government made it known that it considered the gesture a "lack of respect for the Basque people," and Pradales couldn't hide his indignation, to the point of wondering whether he will attend these conferences again. Generally, the men The Popular Party (PP) doesn't want to break relations with the Spanish government because many issues depend on it, but they also know that right now they have no room to reach agreements because the slogan coming from Madrid is that they have to put all their eggs in one basket to oust Sánchez from the Moncloa Palace.

The Spanish president has gained political oxygen this Friday, since at least the Leire case and Ábalos weren't mentioned. But the laughter and hugs of the morning in Pedralbes (with the exception of Ayuso, who also had an unpleasant incident with the Minister of Health) have been a mirage. Regional Spain is basically in the hands of the People's Party (PP), and this party has decided to use its institutional power to oppose Sánchez. And this is what it seems we'll see for the rest of the legislature.