What has become of politicians like Xavier Trias?
BarcelonaFor years, electoral strategists believed that electoral battles were won in the center. That is, the party that managed to convince the most moderate voters, who were the ones who tipped the balance, won. And that's why they worked hard to find candidates who were flexible enough to please the centrists and not create hostility on both sides. This is what Xavier Trias would call the formula, since the former mayor of Barcelona perfectly represents this type of politician.
Current polls, with the emergence of far-right forces, show that this paradigm is being outdated. Now, the one who wins is no longer the one who appeals to the center, but rather the one who mobilizes the most of their supporters through a polarized, divisive discourse in which the opponent is dehumanized, vilified, and portrayed as a traitor, an enemy, or both.
This phenomenon particularly affects traditional conservative parties, which are rapidly losing their clientele to far-right forces. We are witnessing the disappearance of a certain type of politician and voter: that conservative with a willingness to talk, capable of reaching agreements with the left and even adopting some of its proposals. Someone who shuns extremism and makes good manners their calling card. However, today it would be unimaginable to see someone doing what Xavier Trias did in 2015 when he didn't hesitate to call Ada Colau to congratulate her on her victory.
The discredit of politics
What has happened that makes people no longer trust politicians like Trias? There are several factors, but I'll point out four. First, the discrediting of politics and professional politicians, who have been replaced by effective communicators adapted to the language of new technologies. These are the ones who "tell the truths that no one else tells" and who believe that it's no longer necessary to be polite or respect certain boundaries. It's as if voters no longer value expertise or experience, but rather seek to identify with the politician, that is, to see them as "one of their own."
Second, the growth of an identitarian and essentialist drive that already existed in traditional center-right parties but has now been exacerbated by the arrival of immigration. Catalan nationalism was able to ward off the danger of fracturing with Spanish immigration with the principle of "Catalonia, One People," inspired by Candela. But now even this principle is being questioned in the post-Trial period when people talk about Nyordos, and the rejection of Moors or other immigrant groups is added. The response is to create political parties solely for the native population, the "pure Catalans," as Najat El Hachmi would say.
Thirdly, there is the particular existential crisis of the conservatives. It seems as if the traditional right has trouble claiming its contribution to the European social system, a construction created by social democracy and Christian democracy, and is now tempted to renounce certain basic consensuses, such as the need for taxes, labor rights, feminism, or climate change, and wants to opt for a Neolio-type model. A right, in short, without the social soul championed by Xavier Trias.
The fourth factor, and perhaps the most important, is that today a pessimistic attitude towards the world, marked by fear, has spread among conservatives, while optimism is seen by them as "wokes"left-wing and "lyricists." And when you think "everything is very bad," it's easier to vote for a Trump (or an Orriols) and their radical proposals than for a Trias.