We need a little less outrage and a lot more inspiration. While the damage to democratic institutions has been done and has come a long way, it is not yet irreparable. After a moderate reflection, we must do everything we can to restore the confidence lost by the Spaniards as quickly as possible
Calling on the Christmas spirit to reverse the institutional crisis Spain is currently experiencing may sound like one of the greatest ingenuity imaginable, though there may be no more favorable times to underline shared democratic values, those invisible bonds that can be so strong. become like the bands relatives when threatened. If in China or Russia displaying blank pages in the street has become a powerful symbol to protest against censorship, why not stand up here against the polarization that weakens our democracy with pages written with everything that unites us and we can lose. We need a little less outrage and a lot more inspiration. Although the damage has been done and comes a long way, it is not yet irreparable. After a moderate reflection, we must do everything possible as soon as possible to regain the confidence that the Spaniards have lost in their institutions, however difficult that may seem.
The majority of Spaniards are witnessing this latest political and judicial storm, between stunned and embarrassed, with little doubt that the judiciary has become an extension of partisan disputes, rather than a guaranteed counterweight. The first recipe to recommend would be to deflate a dialectic filled with bombastic expressions and great emotive language along with the already usual harsh and tense parliamentary tone. Neither Spain is broken nor Parliament silenced. The key to the vault of democracy is not the supremacy of parliamentary majorities, but the separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers. The first gives legitimacy to carry out full government action, but in no way implies a blank check justifying actions questionable in accordance with the rights enshrined in the Constitution. It is the respect for minorities and the dominance of the rule of law that distinguish electoral democracies from liberal democracies, the former being very close to the autocracies in which people vote, but there is no real framework of freedoms that allows participation in public life.
In this dying ‘horribilis’ December, the only thing in which there has been full agreement between the left bloc led by the PSOE and the right bloc led by the PP is that the other is to blame for institutional breakdown. And they are somewhat lacking in reason, though only in part because both bear some of the responsibility, though because of strategy and tribalism, neither side will acknowledge its mistakes, violations, and excesses. Neither the PP is taking responsibility for blocking the renewal of the General Council for the Judiciary (CGPJ) for four years, nor the PSOE for trying to unblock that shield with amendments to a reform of the Penal Code due on in turn, several organic bills from the constitutionality bloc, an initiative as controversial and unprecedented as the TC’s decision to cripple it before it was voted on in Congress.
The renewal of the CGPJ and the Constitutional Court is clearly enshrined in the Magna Carta with the aim of having a portion of its members elected with the greatest political consensus. Of the 20 members of the CGPJ, four should have the support of a three-fifths majority of Congress and another four from the same number of senators. The same happens with the procedure for choosing eight of the twelve parts of the TC. Our Magna Carta was devised by those who subordinated the development of democracy to dialogue and agreements. The renewal of both institutions should no longer be postponed and, as the European Commission proposed this week, should be done with respect for the established rules. And once these steps have been taken, it is necessary to agree on the reform that the Group of States against Corruption (Greco), dependent on the Council of Europe, has been demanding for fifteen years, so that judges, without any political intervention, are the ones elected by the twelve members of the CGPJ of judicial origin. Instead of moving in that direction, some have held back the renewal of judicial institutions and others have toned down sedition and embezzlement at the express request of the separatists. If this political fire that has arisen in Spain stems from the will to appease Catalonia, given the result, someone will have to look into it. Without bitterness.
Source: La Verdad
I am George Kunkel, an author working for Today Times Live. I specialize in opinion pieces and cover stories that are both informative and thought-provoking – helping to shape public discourse on key issues. My work is regularly featured across the network’s many platforms, including print media and social media.
