The 'moment' Miriam Nogueras with the Pope and the disappearance of Aznar

MadridAt eight in the morning, twenty PP deputies were already queuing to enter the Congress of Deputies. On days with a joint session with the Senate, the hemicycle becomes small and it is difficult to fit. And this Monday, which was a historic day in Madrid, some were afraid of not finding a seat. The Pope's visit is an exceptional mobilization of resources and organization, even for those accustomed to dealing with state and international authorities. To give the reader an idea: while Leo XIV arrived at 10:30 at the carrera de San Jerónimo, Congress opened its doors at 7:30 so that both parliamentarians and journalists could enter and have the necessary accreditations (to reach today, considerable paperwork has been required). In addition, although the press normally moves up and down with some freedom around the hemicycle and the courtyard of Congress, this Monday one had to choose where to follow the event: the courtyard to see the arrival accompanied by music; the tribune inside the hemicycle or from the usual press facilities. What's more: at the end of the event, the deputies had to wait a few minutes inside the plenary until the Pope's entourage dispersed and they could circulate normally.

From the Congress tribune, the view was privileged. When Leo XIV entered the plenary session, a sepulchral silence fell. A concession that parliamentarians rarely grant to any speaker who takes the floor. However, just a few seconds before, it was not like that: the deputies seated in their seats were watching live the pontiff's arrival at Congress via the voting screen and commenting on the handshake that each of the parliamentary spokespersons had with the Pope. Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, Gabriel Rufián, Patxi López, Verónica Martínez Barbero... The longest was that of the spokesperson for Junts, Miriam Nogueras: "I am Catalan. Speaking the language of the place that welcomes you is an act of love and respect," she told him in English after the controversy over the extent to which the pontiff would speak Catalan, the language of Gaudí. Leo XIV looked at the leader of Junts and nodded with a smile. In Catalonia, where the visit to the Sagrada Família will be the central point, it will be known whether the response was due to protocol or because he shares the reflection. The spokesperson for ERC, Gabriel Rufián, called the act "empty of content": "Banal nationalism." "I took advantage of having the full focus to put Catalonia and Catalan at the center," Nogueras defended.

The conversation between Illa and Rajoy during a waiting period

From half past nine in the morning, the hemicycle was almost full and deputies and senators were entertaining themselves while waiting for the pontiff. The journalists, in turn, carefully read Leo XIV's speech, already selecting headlines and observing the guests. Among them, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who was one of the first to make an appearance. Later, former presidents José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy arrived, who had used up their time standing and chatting until almost the start time. Once seated, Illa and Rajoy were seen talking in a relaxed manner: from a distance, it seemed they were discussing a mundane issue like football, but the chat turned to "an update" on the family. There was no exchange, on the other hand, between the president of the Generalitat and José María Aznar, the author of the phrase that marked the Spanish legislature with the quien pueda hacer que haga. In fact, the former Spanish president disappeared as soon as the Pope's speech began: he had a flight scheduled, but he wanted to make an appearance at least at the beginning.

Aznar disappeared this Monday like the judicial cases that plague the PSOE in conversations in the corridors of Congress. The pontiff's visit was a true parenthesis in the midst of the storm and, with the exception of some "corrillo", the conversations were not about Zapatero's jewels – absent, incidentally, from the event –, nor about Leire Díez, nor about the presence of the Civil Guard at the headquarters in Ferraz street. What was being discussed was the Pope's speech: for some, a hard blow to the PP and Vox for their discourse on welcoming migrants, for others a total rejection of the left's positions regarding the right to abortion and euthanasia. "A little bit for everyone," comments a deputy on the way out, who believes that everyone can grab onto the "perla" that they like best. Of course, the end was a contest of applause between the right and the left for more than seven minutes: no one wanted to be the first to stop... for fear of what could be interpreted.