Isabel Díaz Ayuso stepped out for a moment
Isabel Díaz Ayuso said she would "walk out of the Conference of Presidents" if anyone spoke "in any language other than Spanish," after Pedro Sánchez "allowed" presidents, for the first time, to use the co-official languages.
When the lady said this, she was clearly referring to Catalan. If the president of her party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, had used Galician, he wouldn't have even batted an eye. All these monolithic (some monolingual) people consider Galician a harmless language, one that doesn't even need subtitles (it's never used on television, thus reinforcing the idea of a mountainous "variant" of the imperial language). Therefore, they wouldn't have budged. Let's say, in passing, that it's not clear why, if they don't use Galician at the Conference of Presidents, they say yes, they do, in Europe, but it's not the right time. It will be the time when cows grow hair or when ultra-religious people have a sense of humor.
The Basque president began his speech in Catalan out of courtesy and then spoke in Basque, but Ayuso lacked the courage. She didn't put on her earmuffs, which is a rebellious and childish gesture that makes you bite your lip with a "can't believe it" look, like when you see a drunk on the street talking to himself, but she didn't move. Needless to say, if she had heard any other language other than Spanish—but not a "regional" one—she would have smiled neatly. For example, we imagine that Queen Sofía had spoken in her native language or King Felipe in his own (English, by the way).
The president "left for a moment" but came back in. And she did so, I would say, because none of her other colleagues followed her. It's a banal gesture that reminds me of Melody. You go around the world singing that you're "a diva" and everyone ignores you, proving you're not one and prefers a macchiato instead. If you're a diva, you never say you're a diva. If you want to leave a place, you don't have to announce it. You have to do it. Nobody says "Stay or I'll shoot" if they really want to shoot.
