One of Milan Kundera's best-known works has been published in Catalan with two different titles. Monika Zgustova translated it as The unsustainable lightness of being (Destino, 1995) and Xavier Lloveras for The unbearable lightness of being (Tusquets, 2014). And although I had always resorted to the first title to describe the stanissa condition of political power, given the current state of Spanish politics—and the Catalan rejection of it—I now stick with both adjectives: untenable and unbearable.
This is neither an unprecedented nor an exceptional situation. The fact that Trump is using it to hide his weakness is what we now euphemistically call the fabrication of a "story," which always sounds better than propaganda. The worst backstabbing comes from—refers to the awareness of the precariousness and the anxiety it creates within the SNP. And, obviously, it explains very well Donald Trump's aggressive comings and goings to hide a weakness that, I'm sure, will lead him to collapse.
However, it is deeply disappointing that, in the face of this unsustainable and intolerable levity of political power—which can be considered structural—there are those who maintain that the situation can be overcome with emotional resources, regaining the public's trust. Good faith and promising transparency are insufficient when dealing with repeated incidents. Rely derives from Latin fidas, Which, according to Joan Coromines, means faith, credit, good faith, a given word. And the fact is that if earning trust in politics is already a feat, when faith and credit are lost, when you break your word, regaining it is a feat.
Be that as it may, what we see is that beyond these gestures of public atonement, the underlying response is the opposite. When everything is so fragile, political organizations react by trying to build walls of containment. President Pedro Sánchez and his party apologize for reinforcing their positions. With Sánchez, you can never say that, true, but he doesn't seem willing to take on more responsibility. And for Núñez Feijóo and his people, it won't be the time to acknowledge the supposed good intentions of the government and his party either; rather, the opposite: they will exploit the bad moment to the fullest. Out of patriotism, of course.
In Catalonia, the situation of the parties that have been supporting Sánchez and his government—all of them, except for AC and the Spanish right—is quite dire. It's unbearable for them to keep Sánchez in government; not doing so is unsustainable, and they risk losing all visibility in Spanish politics. Any alternative would lead them to irrelevance.
The only solid powers are the same as always. Acciona, ACS, the banks... Also the traffickers of ecclesiastical influence and thieves of artistic heritage. And I would add some organizations disguised as charitable organizations. They know that those who traffic in oil grease their fingers, and they always find the weak links in political power to corrupt them. We must get rid of those who fall, yes, but until the law brings its full force to bear on the corruptors, there will be nothing we can do. What is unsustainable, when it is visible to everyone, is unbearable.
