Roger Watson
Working in Italy, reading a French newspaper (Le Monde) I learned something about Spain. This is not a boast about my jet-setting, multilingual life; I am neither a jetsetter, nor multilingual but I pick up French newspapers when I can and force myself to read a few key articles as part of my sexagenarian efforts to polish up my schoolboy French.
My point here, apart from how difficult it is to get a foreign newspaper except in an airport, is that we in the UK are clearly being sold only the news that our government and ‘its’ (as opposed to ‘the’) Fourth Estate deems fit for us to read.
An article caught my eye on the forthcoming Spanish regional elections where, despite the political right probably being ousted by left-wing Podemos in Madrid, a significant move to the right politically is expected elsewhere. If I translated it all properly, it should probably see the continued success of the semi-sensible Parti Populaire and the first appearance of political party Vox in the regional parliaments.
The article referred to a speech by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, People’s Party President of the Assembly of Madrid. Although her party did not hold power in the city she was elected—and recently re-elected—to this position which is akin to Mayor(ess). While the left challenged her she sold herself as the candidate likely to keep the far-right at bay. She avoided any mention of immigration, described the Basque nationalists as fascist and then spoke of freedom, including—and this really got my attention—”la liberté de maintenir les bars ouvert durant la pandemique de Covid-19 (the freedom to keep bars open during the Covid-19 pandemic).” That was the first I had ever heard about that particular aspect of her campaign.
Admittedly, Covid-19-wise, she was not perfect as her reference to a ‘pandemic’ suggests. She has also boasted elsewhere how Madrid took very early measures such as isolating care homes. We know how disastrous that was in the UK and we were treated to some terrible pictures of mortuary vans full to the brim leaving Spanish care homes. However, in hindsight we have to question the veracity of any Covid-19 related news that got through the mainstream media firewall to us here in the UK in the early days of 2020.
While The Daily Telegraph has run articles on Ayuso’s ambitious plans for Madrid and her plans for a low-tax, pro-enterprise culture, I found little else in our newspapers. Certainly nothing about her determination not to let Covid-19 restrictions ruin the economy of her city; thus her reference to the freedom to keep bars open during the Covid-19 restrictions.
Earlier this month she saw her share of the vote to keep her in office in Madrid increase by 22 percent, from 22 percent to 44 percent with a 99 percent turnout at the ballot. Compare that with some of the dismal turnouts in the recent UK elections. Speaking after her win she said that “the results backed her policies of keeping bars, restaurants and other businesses open even in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic to keep the economy up and running.”
She is not beyond reproach Covid-19-wise and I am sure, like any politician, she has her faults. But foisting unnecessary economic disaster on the people of Madrid was not one of them. We now have plenty of Johnny come lately candidates in fringe parties in the UK who would not support another lockdown. But if there was a single one who was in his or her position in 2020-2021 who effectively opposed economic lockdown, like Isabel Díaz Ayuso did, they would have my vote next time round. Alas, there were none.
Roger Watson is a retired academic nurse who lives in the UK.
He is currently engaged in a range of professional consultancies in the UK, Europe and China. He writes regularly for several outlets including The Daily Sceptic, The European Conservative, Country Squire Magazine and The New Conservative.
