In a tennis match, players try not to commit so-called unforced fouls, that is, fouls not caused by the opponent. In politics it happens just like in tennis: sometimes unforced mistakes are made. Perhaps from overconfidence; or for lack of talent; or for not accurately calculating the consequences of their decisions. And these mistakes are sometimes so serious that they can cost an election. For example, in the city of Murcia, nobody forced the socialist mayor, Mr. Serrano, to submit a mobility plan a few months before the municipal elections. The PP, from the opposition, did not order him to carry it out. Neither the neighborhood associations nor anyone else. Serrano and his team got into this mess. When the plan was announced, many citizens were outraged. The anger is great in the neighborhood of Carmen. Local residents protested against the plan. But this happened months ago. Anyone with any political acumen, faced with the anger of the citizens, should have understood that it was nonsense to face the implementation of this plan in the middle of the election campaign; and he should have withdrawn and left the debate on the necessity or convenience of this initiative for later. But Serrano and his team, on the other hand, are determined to go ahead with their plan. And so we enter the election campaign with many streets in Murcia under construction; with the town’s residents angry at the difficulties of leaving their homes by car; and with the residents of the neighborhoods also angry about the difficulties of reaching the city center with their cars. Finally a disaster. Before the works were carried out, the PSOE had a hard time in Murcia, now it’s worse. And the bad thing for the socialists is that a third of the region’s electoral count lives in the capital. Serrano’s unforced error could also hurt Vélez in the regional elections. Another unforced error, and a very serious one, is that of Moreno Bonilla with the Doñana affair. Was it worth legalizing hundreds of illegal irrigation systems to win a handful of votes in the Condado de Huelva region? It concerns just over a thousand farms. How many families would benefit from this legalization? How many votes would that mean? Another unforced error, and a very serious one, is that of Moreno Bonilla regarding Doñana. Moreno Bonilla has been wrong in both form and content. The PP won the Andalusian regional elections with an absolute majority. Juan Manuel Moreno’s government could have sent a bill to the Andalusian parliament to legalize this illegal irrigation. But he hasn’t. Perhaps to avoid pre-presentation messages that were unfavorable; perhaps imagine the consequences of this initiative; the truth is that Moreno Bonilla preferred to throw the stone and hide his hand. A bill has been introduced in parliament, which does not come from the government, but is signed by two parliamentary groups, that of the PP and that of Vox. But the deception has not deceived anyone. They all blame Moreno and they all ask him to withdraw the bill. And as for the heart of the matter, the scientists, led by the biologist Miguel Delibes, have raised a shout to the heavens. The legalization of illegal irrigation in the Doñana area would be a fatal blow to the survival of the park. Unesco considers it a World Heritage Site and has requested that this parliamentary initiative be withdrawn. And the European Commission has been particularly strict. It has warned that this initiative is contrary to Community law and contrary to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union condemning the Kingdom of Spain to take measures to save Doñana; and the Commission has also warned that, in addition to losing subsidies, Spain could face significant sanctions. Is there any justification for this very serious error? I think there isn’t. It is said that irrigation with groundwater will not be allowed, but with water from the rivers Tinto and Odiel. But it turns out that the aqueduct was not built. So the PP, as always, blames the government of Pedro Sánchez for not building the aqueduct. But the most basic common sense makes us wonder: wouldn’t it make more sense to wait to actually drain these surface waters before legalizing illegal irrigation? I’m afraid Moreno Bonilla’s mistake is so serious, with such resonance and such significance, that he will have no choice but to simply withdraw the bill. In fact, if this article has not been published at the time of publication, they should try to persuade Moreno to withdraw it from Genoa 13 onwards. Because his unforced error seriously damages the entire PP election campaign.
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.
