Last week we talked about the next Federal Congress of the PSOE, convened very early by Sánchez to close ranks within his party, thus opening the possibility of also bringing forward the general elections. But on Tuesday the 29th, the lives of many Spaniards changed radically and they disappeared from the news, which until then had captured the attention of all national media.
He Errejon affair disappeared, accompanied by the vice-president of the government Yolanda Díaz and the minister Mónica García, respective leaders of Sumar and Más Madrid, the “feminist” groups, whose spokesperson is an abandoned and deposed leader. As for international news, even Trump and Harris disappeared last week, as the most competitive American elections in recent history take place this Tuesday.
The situation evokes and makes us reflect on the ephemeral nature of vainglory and the concerns of the world, which is reflected in the famous Latin expression “sic transit gloria mundi”. This document reminds the military leader who was honored upon his victorious return to Imperial Rome that “this fame and glory was fleeting and fleeting.” Something similar can be applied to Spain, shocked by the tragedy that devastated and continues to devastate – transformed into a real quagmire – a large part of the province of Valencia, causing a large number of deaths.
The concerns and worldly illusions of Monday October 28 acquired their true dimension in the face of the evidence of their ephemeral value. In this context, the novel of the great Francisco de Quevedo is better understood than in a particular context of tribulation of the Spanish Empire where “the sun has not set”, he writes: “I looked at the walls of my homeland / if a strong time collapsed/…/ I went out to the field, I saw that the sun was drinking / the streams of the sky were raging/ ../ and I found nothing to lay on my eyes/ which is not a memory of death.
In particular, this is the image that was transmitted this Sunday to national – and unfortunately also international – public opinion in our Spain. That in the face of a tragedy of the magnitude that devastates us, the response that is transmitted is that of insult and threat, is devastating. And also because the response given to the inhabitants of the city where the epicenter of the drama, the mud and the indignation is located, is far from being that demanded and assumed from a country which is at the forefront -guarding development.
Unfortunately, these tragedies are not rare today, whether in Europe or on other continents. The images of France, Germany, Turkey, Morocco, etc., with floods and earthquakes, are present in our memory, and we do not know that something similar happened in these countries.
Fortunately, the King, accompanied by the Queen (and the president of the Valencian Generalitat despite his questionable management of the emergency), lived up to what we could expect of them, safeguarding the dignity of the Crown and of the Headquarters of our State. Concretely, the King demanded that this state be on the front line in helping the victims, which is of particular importance after the pathetic behavior of the President of the Government Pedro Sánchez.
His flight from the epicenter of the indignation, leaving the kings alone to face their neighbors, will accompany him to the end. It is not surprising that social networks are full of images of all kinds that recall his unfortunate, inappropriate statement for a government president: “If they need help, let them ask for it.” What if the tragedy and suffering of so many Spaniards were a secondary concern for him, maintaining a passive attitude.
He now sees himself reflected in an image of his car fleeing Paiporta with the sign “Pedro, if you need help, ask for it”. And also another with him in front of the microphone in the Moncloa press room: “Friday: If you need help, ASK ME.” “Sunday: Get Me Out of Here, STONE ME.” I think circumstances now force him – with or without his 5 day “retirement” – to stand before the Spanish and announce that this time he is serious and he is leaving.
