The elections of July 23 last year brought us a result that almost no survey had predicted: the restoration of the two-party system, with a fragmentation of the rest of the political forces which seriously hampers the action of the government.
The prices that minority parties want to impose for their support are unaffordable. At the same time, the possibility of a grand agreement between the PSOE and the PP or between the PP and the PSOE, which seems so necessary, is today a mere utopia.
With the exception of the exemplary agreement on the renewal of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the PP and the PSOE have failed to reach a state agreement. Of course, it comes from behind.
King Felipe VI during the opening ceremony of the 15th Legislature, December 4.
This situation is part of a context of serious crisis which transcends our country: the war in Ukraine; the various war conflicts in the Near East and the Middle East; the growing and worrying phenomenon of polarization in our democracies; and, as if all this were not enough, the climate change crisis.
Reflecting on the situation we live in, It is appropriate to start by recalling what we achieved in 1977, thanks to the spirit of political consensus. and the civic harmony that illuminated the Transition.
The dictatorship that emerged after the civil war and was in power for almost forty years, transformed into a full-fledged democracy, culminating in the clash of these two Spains which, as he writes Machadohas frozen the hearts of Spaniards since their birth. This was done without violence, without imprisonment, without exile. And what’s more, we have joined Europe.
Those of us who experienced this political miracle were surprised by the current difficulties in reaching political pacts.despite the seriousness of some of the problems we have discussed. Added to this is the fact that new generations tend to despise what the Transition means out of pure ignorance.
The foundation on which this exemplary transformation rests is undoubtedly political consensus. That is to say the supposed desire for pact of an intelligent and generous liberal spirit, which recognizes the part of truth that the other has in his condition of adversary and not of enemy.
Once the constituent moment had passed, it was natural that the practice of consensus declined and that the game of non-agreed alternation prevailed. But we must not forget that in a democracy, there is always a moment when the political pact becomes practical, even essential, again.
“The EC of 1978 left open an unlimited process of decentralization which threatens the integrity of the State and its proper functioning”
The scale of the current challenges in Spain requires politicians capable of approaching the next stage of our history with the vision of great statesmen. Let us review very briefly some of the issues that define the nature of this hour.
First of all, It is not possible to continue to delay the moment of facing the most resolved problem of the transition.. I am referring to the territorial structure of the State which remained unfinished.
Indeed, the 1978 Constitution left open an unlimited process of decentralization which, years later, threatens the integrity of the State and its proper functioning. Starting with the Catalan question, as long as the PSOE and the PP, the PP and the PSOE do not together address the solution to this constitutional vacuum, we will not be able to get rid of its serious consequences.
A federal model can and perhaps should be considered. In any case, this should be done in a constituent spirit. In other words, a grand pact is needed between the two main parties, which will then be extended to the nationalist parties.
The pact must imply a stable definition of the territorial structure of the State. And also find a feeling of institutional loyalty between the main parties that compose it. In short, a constitutional change like those approved some time ago in Germany and Canada is necessarywhich could perhaps serve as a reference.
But there are other important issues that also require this consensus. For example, the approval of an education law intended to be long-lasting.
In a country like ours, with recognized linguistic, cultural and territorial differences, the existence of a sustainable educational law constitutes an essential element to promote a shared culture of coexistence. In forty-five years of democracy, eight education laws have been adopted. which occurred after each change of government, canceling the previous one.
The very harsh OECD report on our education system is very significant. If education is the backbone of a society, this legal instability constitutes one more element in the disintegration of our country.
“It is unimaginable to consider a constitutional reform without a prior consensus between the main parties which legitimizes the solutions found”
Another pressing issue is reform of the public health system. We have gone from a system that was a reference in Europe to a fragmented and impoverished system.with some black holes which, if not resolved, can lead it to bankruptcy. The system has also collapsed with millions of people on waiting lists and 800,000 people awaiting surgery.
The problem cannot be solved with private health care, which works, and even less by trying to intervene in it. We must rediscover the principle of exemplary and viable public health. Currently, there are treatments, for example in the oncological field, available only to public hospitals in certain communities, creating a situation of unjustifiable civic inequality due to autonomous fragmentation,
Justice reform also requires the necessary political consensus. I am not only referring to the fact that the main organs of Spanish justice are sufficiently renewed, as provided for in our legislation, the blockage of which has constituted an unacceptable phenomenon, but also to the slowness of the administration of justice, which itself represents a profound injustice for citizens. I’m sure anyone could share an improbable anecdote about this.
An update of our Constitution, not only in the area of territorial structure, would also be necessary to address, for example, the process of succession to the Crown, in which men predominate over women, the functioning of the Senate and a reform of the electoral law.
It is unimaginable to envisage all this without a prior consensus between the main parties, the essential majority of which legitimizes the political solutions obtained.
Of course, This consensus is not obtained in a televised debateno less because of media headlines. Any political agreement, and even more so if it is relevant, requires first addressing discreet, even invisible bridges of dialogue, which serve to explore and prepare these necessary public agreements.
I end with a hopeful testimony.
During my meetings with certain political leaders from our two main parties, I verified that there could be a coincidence in the need for a great pact which would allow us to resolve the main problems posed by our democracy, as well as the necessary reforms which require a Constitution, after forty-five years of validity.
Certainly, The political moment we are experiencing does not seem, in this sense, encouraging. But, by definition, I am an optimistic person, and I cannot resign myself to the fact that we will not change signs.
*** Gregorio Marañón is president of the Teatro Real and the Ortega-Marañon Foundation.
