Vox yes, Bildu no

The left tends to fall into its own rhetorical traps. The most recent one is claiming that the fear of the far right coming to power is no longer an argument for mobilizing the progressive electorate. These are the solemn gestures made just before the big impact. "We are the left, we are: we are not convinced by such flimsy arguments." This reasoning rhymes well with the "They're waving the scarecrow of the far right again" refrain that the so-called traditional right used and repeated countless times, until the far right was present everywhere and trying to make it seem like it was just a scarecrow no longer worked. There were also those who celebrated that there was no far right in Spain because the country "was vaccinated by Francoism." In the Catalan version, some astute minds categorically denied the existence of what we now know as Aliança Catalana, and insulted anyone who said otherwise. Now they say that it's not so bad to reach an understanding if, after all, it's an option voted for by the citizens.

All of this contributes to the normalization of the far right as a political actor, which is part of the process of major democratic backsliding as we know it from history. If we talk about the PP and Vox, this backsliding is already quite palpable in the places where these parties govern together, with formally established alliances or de factoIn social, environmental, cultural, and gender policies, the setbacks are evident. The same is true in aspects concerning democratic quality, such as the patrimonial use of public institutions and media. Of course, in the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, attacks against Catalan and its use in public education and healthcare have been constant since day one. I know some of you will read this with a raised eyebrow, thinking, "What an idea, comparing us to the Valencians and the islanders." The arrogance of the weak is always a step toward failure. And, what's more, it drives you mad.

We were saying that the discerning left-wing voter isn't won over by being told the far right is coming. But the fact is, it is. The right wing remains perfectly mobilized, more or less always, without needing much in the way of arguments, beyond simply regaining power, because out of power, it's cold. Feijóo now explicitly acknowledges that the PP will have to govern with Vox, and clarifies that his cordon sanitaire is against Bildu, "as it has always been in a democracy." Indeed, democracy, as it's known in Spain, rewards fascists and criminalizes democratic parties, especially those—like Bildu—that have had to make significant sacrifices and greater efforts to build this democracy. Until recently, they placed Vox on the opposite side of the scale from Bildu (or the Catalans, or Podemos): now they say Bildu is much worse. If we allow this to happen while we exquisitely discuss which arguments are the right ones to keep us up at night, it won't take much foresight to understand how Vox will be the winner of the elections in the coming months.