What Mazón represents
Like a cynical amoeba, the supposedly resigned president of the Valencian Generalitat, Carlos Mazón (who spends his days in office collecting a salary and allowances), burns through appearance after appearance with his impassive, offensive demeanor. However tough the questioning may be (those of Águeda Micó and Gabriel Rufián this Monday in the Congress of Deputies committee were indeed tough), Mazón remains unperturbed, shirking responsibility, his mind on the appearance that truly terrifies him: the one he might have to make testifying as if he were under investigation, for a brief period, should he have parliamentary immunity. Yesterday, new details emerged about the infamous lunch at El Ventorro that add to the indignation: on the one hand, when this lunch took place, on October 29, 2024, Maribel Vilaplana had already rejected the directorship of À Punt days before; therefore, the reason for and content of the meal was not this supposed offer of a position. On the other hand, Mazón claims he didn't answer a call from the councilor because "he must have had his cell phone in his backpack." His entire story is a constant insult to intelligence.
However, his shameless attitude demonstrates a widespread idea in Spanish politics—and in Valencian, Catalan, and Mallorcan politics—during the current democratic period, the fifty years being commemorated this week. This idea is that of politics as a cushy job, a cushy gig, a prize won effortlessly, by force and for no reason. The idea that holding public office is not a demanding responsibility, but a kind of lottery win simply for having positioned oneself and cultivated relationships within a particular political landscape. The position of President of the Valencian Generalitat is not only completely unsuitable for an individual like Mazón; he doesn't even seem to grasp what it entails, what commitment it involves, or what commitment to public service is necessary to carry it out with dignity. That is why he insists time and again that nothing that happened had anything to do with him and hides behind the experts, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Júcar River Basin Authority, and whatever else suits him. Mazón was convinced that being president of the Valencian Generalitat consisted of a continuous party of inaugurations and public events, of handshakes and always smiling faces, of courtesies and friendly conversations, of grateful party intrigues and, of course, of luxury lunches and dinners paid for with public money.
The weakness of democracy lies in the fact that Mazón isn't the only one who thinks this; a large number of people do, many of whom have held, hold, or will hold positions of responsibility at various levels of government. We only know about Mazón because his ineptitude and his cronies have cost 229 lives. But it's reasonable to wonder how many parasites live unnoticed, fortunately harmless as long as they don't have to face any crucial decisions, during their time in government. nothing published.