Shamelessness

The parliamentary commissions investigating the DANA storm may not serve to assign blame, but they will certainly expose the true character of the government led by Mazón. Education Minister José Antonio Rovira, a staunch opponent of public schools in Valencian, was genuinely surprised when ERC deputy and former minister Teresa Jordà reproached him for not being present when he should have been, in contrast to the headmaster of a school who was swept away by the floodwaters while trying to help students. "Am I supposed to look after 500,000 students and 80,000 teachers?" he asked, astonished, as if the idea were absurd. Meanwhile, Mazón's former chief of staff, José Manuel Cuenca, appeared before the commission looking like a bull in a china shop, with the air of a thousand men. Deputy Mikel Otero, from Bildu, a firefighter by profession, brought him down a peg or two. Otero explained in detail what an operational coordination center is, how it works, and the responsibilities of Mazón and his team. His explanation was so clear that Cuenca had no choice but to admit his complete ignorance. He did so, however, with a touch of boastfulness, presuming that this wasn't his job. But it was. (A brief aside to applaud the parliamentary work of the Bildu deputies: they speak with a calm and firm tone, without gestures or overacting, and for that very reason, they are forceful and convincing. They also respond to the insults from the nationalist right, which labels them murderers and terrorists daily, in the best possible way: with a sliver of victimhood.)

Rovira and Cuenca, in short, hammered home what Mazón has repeated ad nauseam: that those in power are not there to take responsibility for anything. Managing events, particularly crises and catastrophes, is the job of the experts. Those in power are there to network, inaugurate projects, shake hands, and, if necessary, divide among themselves (between the party and affiliated businesspeople) well-deserved emoluments such as the 29 billion euros from the Adelante Plan for the reconstruction of the Valencian Community. Juanfran Pérez Llorca, secretary general of the Valencian PP and Mazón's successor as president, has taken office with a real fire in his shoes (read: urgency) to "get down to work" (read to distribute contracts).

The former king has also displayed remarkable audacity with a promotional video for his book that hardly needs comment, but which—given his status as a former head of state—perfectly illustrates the strength of Spain's fully functioning democracy. However, he does have a point: Felipe VI, the current king and head of state, is not a victim of his father's criminal activities, but rather—over many years—a possible accomplice and beneficiary of these activities, like many of the leaders within the institutional hierarchy. Juan Carlos is right to complain about being ostracized now.