Three acts of full democracy

It's worth remembering that Donald Trump was the US president in 2017 when the events of October 1st unfolded in Catalonia. For the boy from Queens, there were neither rebels nor heroes in Catalonia; it was all something more prosaic, even if it was a false path, an internal problem of coexistence that Spain first confronted through the judiciary, then through the executive branch, and then through the legislative branch. In these three acts, with their timing and procedures, justice prevailed with the judicial ruling (punishment), the executive branch prevailed with the pardons (forgiveness), and finally, the legislative branch prevailed with the amnesty (forgetting). Three acts of full democracy.

In the eyes of an average citizen of Denmark or Belgium, to give two examples of European NATO countries, the Constitutional Court's (CC) ruling on the Amnesty Law also focuses on a strictly local issue in Spain without causing any surprise. This demonstrates that, at least in the EU, political government remains the most democratic of governments. In fact, there are three constitutional powers, and our Constitution does not place any power above another. Each one fulfills its role, and that is the norm in Europe and also in the US, although it may seem otherwise.

Young people demand a clear future, speaking to the political void and not to the storytelling industry.

Furthermore, in Spain, there hasn't been a problem of coexistence due to the Amnesty Law. It's a very stable country, there's no civil strife, the institutions function, and Spain pays its bills, although in Madrid, the government falls prey to the media every morning for a thousand reasons. The Amnesty Law allows for "everyone in," returning to politics, nothing more and nothing less, the desire of the majority of Spaniards for more than ten years.

The average citizen continues to know, however, that Spain still owes itself a new way of integrating the different national realities, which fill the room like a void, and that this cannot be resolved in the authoritarian manner with greater tension in Catalonia. The Spain of the constitutional amnesty continues to face the same challenge as before the law itself was passed: resolving plurinational coexistence. Our country is a full democracy with alternation and alternatives. And the PP, sooner rather than later, depending on who they vote for, will have to respond to plurinationality.

In the face of so much heat, anguish, and sulfuric acid, the amnesty has been a breath of fresh air these days. Now, we're entering the most important July in the president's history. While we await the September polls, which will truly measure the impact of the corrosion on the PSOE, we can reach some initial conclusions. The right, in its three forms (PP, Vox, and SALF), does not exceed its best result in absolute votes, which was in 2011, with the PP and UPyD. The left of the PSOE, separately, obtained the same number of votes as on June 23. The nationalists and independentists are in their place, because they are people of different national identities, with the Catalan Alliance emerging as a new state-wide phenomenon, while the PSOE is reportedly suffering on the periphery from the return of some of the plurinational parties to their original acronym and, above all, a significant abstention rate among older voters.

The most alarming aspect of the current situation is that Vox regularly receives state aid, both through the "and you more" message, and also directly through Trump's social engineering and indirectly through Felipe González's declaration that he won't vote for the PSOE, as well as through so many other manifestos, testimonies, and statements that generate disaffection. Increasing the protest vote, whether active, passive, or transitive.

The younger generation is observing. They see the political agenda as a matter for politicians, while wondering if we're in a war zone and what will become of us if we enter the war: what will my life plan be, and who will best ensure my place in the world? What do they demand? Clear leadership speaking to the political void, not to the narrative industry.

While we wait for that leadership, for how long we don't know, let's smile and remember what the popular Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said in 2010: "The Constitutional Court has spoken, and now it's up to everyone to abide by and respect the ruling." That's it. Then and now. Success in politics will continue to be the sum of good decisions in difficult times, like the pardons, the amnesty, and this ruling. Three acts of full democracy.

Next week The electorates

The constitutional amnesty allows Junts to remain in power and, in the medium term, to encourage the very diverse Spanish right to express itself with greater autonomy, as it is already beginning to do on economic issues. While resolving plurinationality will remain an internal problem for Spain, the configuration of future electorates is becoming increasingly important in the underlying battle between Trump and the People's Republic of China. Don't forget that electorates are formed on a regional, not local, scale, although it may not always seem that way.

The Hawkeye Filling the political vacuum

When you read about the new real estate product that, according to the media, is a hit: room-buying, imagine yourself in that wave from the movie Interstellar and remember Article 47 of the Constitution. Therein lies the gap, as with immigration or poverty, even if you have a job. It lies in the forgotten Spaniards struggling to make a living. The profile: he's 30 years old and owns an eleven-square-meter room that cost him 52,000 euros. Is this the Spain we want? And there's a waiting list across the country. This is what filling the political vacuum is all about.