To parasitize misfortune
The word "dead" hadn't even appeared in the headlines about the train derailment in Córdoba when the Spanish right wing was already seizing on it with its usual rapacious voracity. Its political leaders used Twitter to gauge how to exploit the tragedy. The most aggressive was Abascal, who sees himself as the moral leader of the so-called new right in Spain (in reality, it's as old as the hills). He also acted as quickly as possible: at 10:48 p.m. on Sunday, he had already published his tweet. The Vox leader established a causal link between the Sánchez government and the events: "(...) I cannot trust the actions of this government. Nothing works under corruption and lies," he wrote, or rather, was written to him. The party, financed by Iranian opposition groups, wants to present itself as a guardian of integrity and transparency.
The award for unintentional comedy went, as usual, to the People's Party (PP) candidate for the Spanish presidency, Núñez Feijóo, who, after beginning his message (published at 11:03 p.m. on Sunday) by stating that "nothing is more urgent now than attending to the victims and their families," announced, upon proposing a change to our meeting tomorrow, that... The bare minimum of courtesy, the bare minimum of decency, is not to publicize a change of agenda presented as a great gesture of respect for the victims and their families. It is another form of opportunism, and not a very subtle one at that.
Feijóo should take a page from "his" president in the Andalusian Regional Government - and also possible successor to lead the PP, in case he fails to reach La Moncloa in the next elections - Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who, in a subtle way, after midnight, came up with this message: "I sincerely appreciate the closeness and esteemcloseness and affection"[of King Felipe]." In times of tribulation, clinging to the figure of the King of Spain has become, in the PP's idiolect, another way to discredit Sánchez. We sidestep the villainous president and entrust ourselves to the virtues of the Spanish royal family, understood as a source of closeness.closeness and affection). The Twitter account of the Royal Household had already published, at 22:56, a message conveying "our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as our esteem and wishes for a speedy recovery [Love and wishes for a speedy recovery"To the wounded." You may have lost your partner, your children, or your parents, but you have the affection of King Felipe.
At the same time, the trolls and other riffraff who spread misinformation (in exchange for hefty salaries: the ideology of the new right boils down to the mandate to rake in the cash, by any means necessary) from social media and pseudo-media outlets, disguised as influencers and journalists, were launching a full-blown attack. Something similar happened with Salvador Illa's hospitalization, which provoked outrage from both Vox and Aliança Catalana and their supporters. In the coming days, all of this will become even more intense and unbearable.
