The Spanish contribution to global uncertainty
MadridSo many good words uttered from the Vatican in recent weeks—starting with the latest from Pope Francis—heard globally, and so little echo in the political sphere. new pope, Leo XIV, speaking after bridges and peace on their first outing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, and the following day one of the first news items on the news was The military parade, with 11,000 troops, in Moscow's Red SquareThe message consisted of a display of equipment, the martial prowess of the troops, and Vladimir Putin accompanied by Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping, next to the Kremlin Wall. The purpose of the event was to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but Putin turned the whole thing—including the international guests—into a personal propaganda event. In parallel, another scene showed Donald Trump expressing his respect for Pope Francis in the Oval Office, while his advisors, who surrounded him, burst out laughing, perhaps because they remembered his head. disguised as a pontiff by artificial intelligence a few days before.
A world of contrasts, without a doubt, and very summarized, just to describe with four brushstrokes the contrasting force of photographs obtained in Rome, Moscow and Washington within a period of 24 hours, and very descriptive of the distance that separates religious and civil ideals from the reality of the moment, of the new world disorder. All this precisely eight decades after the Soviet troops raised their flag on the dome of the Reichstag, as a symbol of the fall of Berlin. That photograph described something real, although it was manipulated to give it a more solemn and epic air. And precisely in this last city, Berlin, the new candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, was the victim of the first parliamentary upheaval before starting his term at the head of a government that was warned about the conditions implied by the balances inherent in coalition formulas.
From Madrid, it was normal in these circumstances to take note of the surrounding reality before looking inward, toward home. This week's debates in Congress have been important enough to share headlines here with major international events. But they have always done so with the peculiar characteristics of local idiosyncrasies and customs. It remains to be seen whether Chancellor Merz—with a straight face that day in the Bundestag—will have the ease—or arrogance, as Feijóo says—demonstrated by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in his parliamentary appearances. In that case, the call was initially to provide some detailed information on the projected increase in spending on security and defense. But the most recent events logically meant that the information and evaluation of The causes and consequences of the general blackout of April 28.
Now, it was a very unusual seven-hour debate, in which nothing new was said, nor was anything decisive in terms of understanding the causes of the day we spent without electricity. The long session served, generally speaking, another purpose: to vent the political forces represented in Congress. The peculiarity is that we still don't know for sure what caused the blackout and how such an event can be prevented from happening again. The debate was thrown at one another, but without shedding any light, not even on the increase in the percentage of GDP with which we will contribute to the better defense of Europe and of Spain itself. The combination of the blackout and military spending was indigestible. No details were given about how Spain's contribution to global uncertainty will ultimately be. We will have to return to both issues, but hopefully, if we do, it will be to answer the questions that remain on the table.
Energy and tariffs
It was clear to us, in any case, that Sánchez rejects the attempt to take advantage of the blackout to reopen the debate on renewable energy and nuclear power plants. He will surely be able to prevent the controversy over this dilemma from gaining new momentum if we don't experience another power outage like the one on April 28th. But the attempt did exist, and it influenced the reasons given by the PP for not supporting the Trump's tariff war decree and its effects.
This already happened in a second debate, when it became clear that the dialogue, which had begun with good expectations between the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and the deputy secretary general of the People's Party (PP), Juan Bravo, was not coming to fruition. The reason given by the PP is that the government has not accepted any of their proposals, including that of extending the useful life of nuclear power plants. This specific issue, if necessary, could have electoral relevance. Sánchez had played the card in obvious allusion to the PP, saying that "the same people who accuse the executive of not having provided any information about the blackout have been recommending a solution for days." He added that this solution coincides not only "with their ideological agenda," but also with the "interests of some energy companies."
In the end, the decree was passed in another exercise of variable geometry. The PP has continued to refuse to support government initiatives, not even when it comes to helping companies and sectors affected by the tariff war. It would be logical in the final phase of a government, but Sánchez has once again taken for granted that the term will end. Under these circumstances, the favorable vote of Junts takes on special value, provided that 25% of the aid reaches Catalonia. This is no small feat, if it materializes, because it represents a quarter of the 14.1 billion euros provided for in the decree. "If it is negotiated, as in this case, with rigor and is fulfilled," said Junts spokesperson Josep Maria Cruset, "my group will also comply." In this episode, the seven votes of Junts have illustrated Archimedes's assertion when he said, "Give me a lever and I will move the world." Here, the displaced mass has not been so great, but the effort and the result have been worth it.
