Spain doesn't work

If Felipe González defined change as making things work, under Pedro Sánchez things have stopped working. The great blackout has revealed Spain's enormous vulnerability. An apparent imbalance in the electrical grid has been enough to leave us without electricity, water, internet, gasoline, payment methods, subway, or trains. Without receiving a single shot or cyberattack, we have lost the battle. Under these conditions, it will be very difficult to explain to citizens that hundreds of billions must be spent to stay safe.

But this was just one episode in a chain of events that demonstrates that Spain isn't working. The Dana tragedy was another demonstration of the lack of coordination between public administrations. The same thing happened with Filomena, which left Madrid in lockdown for a week, not to mention the La Palma volcano, the floods, or the COVID epidemic, which revealed that the strain on the healthcare system had left it paralyzed.

The massive blackout has highlighted the country's enormous vulnerability.

We can add to this list justice, legal uncertainty, the lack of independence of regulatory authorities, the lack of credibility of surveys, and much more.

A simple purchase of Israeli bullets for the Civil Guard's pistols has revealed the weakness of the security supply. All defense companies have contracts with Israel, and if relations are suspended for ideological reasons, the Army would be left without a job.

If we look at the Prosecutor's Office, it's paralyzed because its top official is under indictment. The Prime Minister seems more concerned with the corruption cases affecting his former deputy and the issues affecting his wife and brother than with the functioning of the country. As long-time PSOE leader Alfonso Guerra has stated, the Prime Minister is more concerned with ensuring the stability of his government than with resolving the issues Spain needs. In his opinion, when the situation can't be controlled, elections must be called. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and nothing happens.

But this isn't what Pedro Sánchez seems to be thinking, as he hasn't been able to present the general state budget for two years, and his intention is to continue this way until the end of the term, without approving a single budget. The fact that more than 10 billion euros have been approved behind Parliament's back demonstrates a breach of the Constitution. Spain is a parliamentary democracy, and Sánchez has effectively turned it into a presidential democracy. He seems to have missed Karl Popper, who noted that "democracy consists of keeping political power under control." The exact opposite of what the progressive coalition government is doing.