The PP and the adversary
PalmaThe PP would do well to be careful with certain successes it thinks it might have. There are battles that, even if you win them, can end up leaving you facing an adversary that is much stronger (and much more dangerous) than the one you intended to defeat. This is what might be happening to it with the extreme right. In its battle against Pedro Sánchez, the PP has been adopting part of the postulates, the language and, above all, the way of exploiting the fears of Vox. And it is multiplying its electorate.
On the same day and at almost the same time that we were saying goodbye to Celestí Alomar at the Llubí cemetery, in Palma –and in many towns– the popular leaders called a rally “in solidarity with the people of Ceuta”. Although the supposed solidarity lost prominence in the face of so many “Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch” shouts that were heard there, the cries, symbols and slogans made it clear to what extent the extreme right is gaining ground on the streets.
It makes you shudder. But the PP should also be worried. Marga Prohens' party, in its attempt to contribute to the defeat of Sánchez, is increasingly resorting to the playing field of the extreme right: fear, insecurity, the enemy, suspicion, simplification. But when you normalize an idea because you find it useful against your adversary, you cannot decide afterwards who will reap the benefits. Likewise, Prohens' extraordinary appearance to accuse Sánchez of hiding information in the Balearic Islands is an example of this. Fanning the flames of fear in the face of a threat to the security of the Islands that presents itself as uncertain is demagoguery. And demagoguery is one of the tools with which the extreme right manages to grow. If a ruler incorporates it into their repertoire, they are doing its work for it. The PP may think that, if it talks about security, immigration or insecurity in the same terms as Vox, it will win back the voters that Vox has taken from it. But therein lies the risk of the next regional elections. It is evident that the main threat to the PP will not come from the left, but from the right. It will have contributed to making the adversary that will end up challenging it for power stronger. It may be that the PP is shooting itself in the foot.
In any case, there is a more important issue than the electoral future of the conservatives. When rulers turn fear into a political tool and resort to simplification just to mobilize the electorate, democracy becomes weaker.
It is hard not to think about Celestí Alomar these days. Of his defense of democracy and social justice, but also of that way he had of understanding politics, so far removed from demagoguery. Saying goodbye to him while we witness this degradation of public debate makes the concern for what may come even greater. Perhaps many of us are already trembling at the advance of the far right. But, in another sense, I believe the PP also has reasons to be worried. Not only because Vox may grow, but because when, in order to combat the left, it prepares the ground for the far right, it will have fed the very monster with which it will have to govern.