One of my readers has challenged me to give further evidence of Diez being a puppet for PP. Firstly, I'd like to thank him for his comment that always enriches debate and secondly I will gladly accept his challenge.
Here are some comparisons in statements between Diez and the PP leadership:
'It's an obscenity the use of numbers to count the dead'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on May 5, 2008.
'It's very miserable of him to compare numbers of deaths'- Mariano Rajoy (PP) on May 5, 2008.
'It means Zapatero is against the Pact for liberty and against terrorism'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on May 5, 2008.
'With the arrival of PSOE to power the Pact for liberty and against terroism is broken'- Mariano Rajoy (PP) on June 2, 2006.
'When I say Spain breaks I mean a fracture of constitutional Spain'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on September 24, 2007.
'The secessionist menace, the breaking of the State, the fragmentation of the national sentiment. In other words, a great national crisis'- Jose Maria Aznar (PP) on October 4, 2007
'Those that don't put it up [the Spanish national flag] attack the citizenry'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on September 30, 2007.
'It's the flag that unites us all and it has to be put up in all the town halls of Spain'- Mariano Rajoy (PP) on September 8, 2007.
'PSOE has stopped being a centralist party and started defending the nationalists' interests'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on September 30, 2008.
'PP defends better the interests of Spain and of all its citizens'- Mariano Rajoy (PP) on February 22, 2008.
'To act against terrorism without political concessions'- Rosa Diez (UPyD) on September 30, 2007.
'To support the Government in the anti-terrorist fight but without political concessions'- Mariano Rajoy (PP) on May 27, 2006.
The fact is that Diez uses the same catastrophist language as Rajoy and Aznar and focuses her entire campaign on supporting PP's key attack lines. Furthermore, for all those that don't know who Rita Barbera is just simply say she's not your moderate conservative of the likes of Gallardon and Villalobos but rather part of the hardline within PP, more Aguirre style.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
It seems tendentious to me to read the same level of "catastrophism" in the previous comparisons. (Mind that catastrophism, means in English something different than "extreme pessimism").
For example: "When I say Spain breaks I mean a fracture of constitutional Spain'" is a plain explanation of a term that is abuse of language and that deserver more precision. Constitutional Spain doesn't necessarily refer to geography, I read it more as 'unique Law for all citizens'.
On the other hand, terms like "secessionist menace" and "great national crisis" are more emotional. Therefore the first sentence goes in the direction of providing precision, the second quotation appeals to vague emotions.
As another example, these other two sentences are in no way comparable:
'PSOE has stopped being a centralist party and started defending the nationalists' interests'
'PP defends better the interests of Spain and of all its citizens'
Only strong bipolar partisanship can lead you to conclude that being against the politics of PSOE (first sentence) is equivalent to say that PP is a better solution (second sentence).
So you haven't convinced me yet.
Di Lampedusa said: "For example: "When I say Spain breaks I mean a fracture of constitutional Spain'" is a plain explanation of a term that is abuse of language and that deserver more precision. Constitutional Spain doesn't necessarily refer to geography, I read it more as 'unique Law for all citizens'."
About this quote, I would like to say that the Constitution of Spain is effectively the "unique Law for all citizens". But in this unique Law are also included some different institutions of the state, the Autonomies, who have their own Parliaments and regional Governments with particular legislative and executive powers. Where is the problem? Perhaps UPyD want to change the spanish Constitution and to revoke the Autonomies and their powers and regional laws?
I will agree with what Karmalope says. Spain is an extremely decentralised state and Autonomous statutes are in plenty of circumstances the reason many peripheral nationalists support their inclusion within a legitimate Spanish state while at the same time protecting their identity. Diez and Rajoy's usage of the Constitution put in the context of the last four years and within the 'Spain breaks' discourse states a willingness to recover some powers away from the Autonomies which in effect means the questioning and destabilisation of the Spanish state model agreed in 1978.
I guess that those problems that parties like UPyD complain about are
not necessarily implicit in the Constitution nor in the early stages
of democracy, but created lately.
"Perhaps UPyD want to change the spanish Constitution and to revoke
the Autonomies and their powers and regional laws?"
It is in their program that they indeed want to change the
Constitution, probably because despite its success it can still be
improved.
I'm no expert, but maybe the State model agreed on 1978 didn't imply
artificial legal and political differences between regions. Maybe it
simply recognizes the historical and cultural differences while
building a common country and allowing local governments to develop
politics that should in any case protect the basic rights of all
Spaniards. Maybe there are even logical conflicts in the Constitution,
if it simultaneously allows basic differences to emerge while it
states that all citizens have the same rights.
Things can always be improved based on experience, but specially
obvious contradictions.
I partly agree with you Di Lampedusa, but the reality is that there are two very strong currents within the Spanish state, Spanish nationalism and peripheral nationalisms. When Diez talks about remodelling the Constitution she aims at the Spanish nationalism electorate but also alienates the other electorate. Those two forces within the Spanish state have to be balanced to create a state legitimated by both parts with a common Spanish identity but that respects difference.
In terms of your argument about unequal citizens just to note that any Spanish autonomy has a right to claim the same level of competences than that of the one most decentralised. And obviousy a solidarity and redistributive system exists to help those less advanced.
And as you say things can be improved based on experience. UPyD's Constitutional change would mean the establishment of Constitutional red lines to any potential changes in the territorial system in Spain independently of what happens. Too rigid I would say because we never know what will happen in the future.
Well so what you are trying to tell us is that if anyone has an idea like the ones the have at PP , then that turns me pretty much, into a PP voter??
She has criticized PP.
Post a Comment