The 'Abc' loses subscriber Florentino Pérez

There is something touching about Florentino Pérez's disastrous press conference announcing the call for elections. The matxuril·lades he let slip may even have some anthropological interest, but the announcement that he is cancelling the subscription to Abc is a rather pathetic gesture, a misstep that strips him bare in front of the public. It is evident that Florentino Pérez intervenes much more decisively in the media than by cancelling his contribution of 400 euros. A few hours later, the Vocento group – precisely the publisher of the newspaper – announced that its president, Ignacio Ybarra Aznar, had resigned. The juxtaposition does not indicate cause and effect, but it can be seen as a suspicion that when Florentino gets cold, you never know who will end up sneezing. 

In fact, the Madridista president has always had a soft spot for the media. As when in the 70s he founded La Guía del Ocio and, according to critic Carlos Boyero, forced the editors to speak well of the films of the multinationals that watered down the magazine. Later his ambitions escalated to the point that his web embraces and ensnares the two televisions of the duopoly that make up 50% of the television audience in Spain and, more importantly, 85% of the advertising in this sector. El Confidencial, in a piece from 2021, quoted a former Mediaset screenwriter who made it clear who was in charge at the company: “Here you can make fun of everyone except Ana Rosa Quintana, Florentino Pérez and the Church”. We could also mention the audios where he boasted about having placed his vassal Eduardo Inda as director of Marca. Or the lustful relationship with García Ferreras. Or with Pedrerol. Etcetera. The subscription stunt is a misstep by someone who has lost perspective and is too accustomed to impunity. If only there had been a VAR to review the press conference.