Por fortuna, no todos somos iguales

Efectivamente, no todos somos iguales. No todos pactamos nuestra permanencia en el poder con partidos cuyos dirigentes han justificado o blanqueado la violencia de ETA, ni compramos apoyos parlamentarios mediante una amnistía que beneficia a dirigentes condenados o procesados por el desafío independentista que intentó romper la convivencia constitucional. No todos utilizamos los votos de los españoles como moneda de cambio para satisfacer a quienes quieren debilitar la unidad nacional. No todos convertimos la Fiscalía, los organismos públicos y los medios financiados con dinero público en instrumentos de combate político. No todos hemos asistido a episodios tan inquietantes como las investigaciones sobre las llamadas cloacas del poder, las presiones denunciadas sobre instituciones y las actuaciones que han colocado bajo sospecha la independencia de organismos que deberían servir a todos los ciudadanos. La democracia no consiste en conquistar el Gobierno a cualquier precio y después considerar que todo está permitido para conservarlo.

Tampoco todos hemos deteriorado la credibilidad de la política hasta convertir la mentira, el cambio permanente de discurso y el incumplimiento de promesas en herramientas habituales de supervivencia. No todos hemos gobernado con una mayoría parlamentaria construida sobre concesiones que dividen a los españoles, mientras se acumulan deuda, impuestos, deterioro de servicios públicos y una preocupante pérdida de confianza en las instituciones. No todos hemos convertido la propaganda en sustituto de la gestión, ni hemos pretendido que las dimisiones de los subordinados borren las responsabilidades de quienes los nombraron, los protegieron y los mantuvieron en sus puestos. Y no todos hemos tenido la tentación de culpar a los escalones inferiores cuando los errores alcanzan una dimensión insoportable.

La responsabilidad política no se liquida con una dimisión, y menos todavía con un elogio presidencial fatuo. Si un ministro fracasa, el presidente que lo nombró y respaldó también debe dar explicaciones porque el fracaso también es suyo.

Por eso, cuando Sánchez proclama que «no todos somos iguales», conviene recordarle que tiene razón, aunque no por los motivos que él pretende. No todos somos iguales de corruptos, ni de irresponsables, ni de autoritarios; no todos despreciamos de la misma manera las instituciones, ni estamos dispuestos a sacrificar la democracia para conservar un sillón.

España necesita políticos decentes, servidores públicos competentes y gobiernos sometidos a la ley, al control parlamentario y a la vigilancia de los ciudadanos. Necesita dimisiones auténticas, explicaciones convincentes y responsabilidades, no ceremonias de autoelogio entre compañeros de poder.

No, señor Sánchez, no todos somos iguales. Y esa diferencia, que debería avergonzar a quienes han contribuido a degradar la política española, es precisamente la esperanza de quienes todavía creemos en la libertad, la decencia y la democracia.

Francisco Rubiales

English version:

Fortunately, We Are Not All the Same

We are not all the same, and may God spare us from being like people such as the Sanchistas, who will go down in Spanish history as a lethal plague.

Pedro Sánchez, weighed down by hypocrisy, has come out in defence of his Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, following his resignation. He has described it as exemplary and declared, with the brazen self-assurance that has become part of his political personality, that “we are not all the same”.

The defence is false, in the purest Sanchista style, because in reality the two men have fallen out and hate each other. But public opinion is more accepting of an affectionate farewell than of an open quarrel, especially on the eve of a general election.

But Sánchez is right. Fortunately, we are not all the same. Not all of us have turned power into an instrument of impunity; not all of us have confused government with an employment agency for friends, relatives and people lacking ethics or qualifications; nor have we all allowed public institutions to become territories subject to the interests of a political party.

Not all of us have had to live with scandals involving contracts, commissions, intermediaries, judicial investigations and figures close to those in power whose dealings with public money demand explanations. Nor have we all tried to portray as exemplary a record of political management burdened by too many shadows, too many failures and too many responsibilities left unacknowledged.

Fortunately, we are not all the same, nor are all political parties equally criminal.

Indeed, not all of us have negotiated our continued hold on power with parties whose leaders have justified or whitewashed ETA's violence, nor have we bought parliamentary support through an amnesty benefiting leaders convicted or prosecuted over the separatist challenge that sought to break constitutional coexistence. Not all of us use the votes of Spaniards as bargaining chips to satisfy those who want to weaken national unity.

Not all of us turn the Public Prosecutor's Office, public bodies and media outlets funded with public money into instruments of political combat. Nor have we all witnessed such disturbing episodes as investigations into the so-called sewers of power, reported pressure on institutions, and actions that have cast doubt on the independence of bodies that should serve all citizens.

Democracy does not mean winning government at any cost and then deciding that anything is permissible in order to hold on to it.

Nor have we all undermined the credibility of politics to the point of turning lies, constantly changing positions and broken promises into habitual tools of political survival. Not all of us have governed with a parliamentary majority built on concessions that divide Spaniards, while debt, taxes, declining public services and a worrying loss of confidence in institutions continue to accumulate.

Not all of us have turned propaganda into a substitute for governing, or tried to make the resignations of subordinates erase the responsibility of those who appointed them, protected them and kept them in office. Nor have we all been tempted to blame those lower down the chain when mistakes reach an unbearable scale.

Political responsibility cannot be settled by a resignation, much less by a fatuous presidential compliment. If a minister fails, the president who appointed and backed him must also provide explanations, because that failure is his as well.

That is why, when Sánchez declares that “we are not all the same”, he should be reminded that he is right, although not for the reasons he intends. We are not all equally corrupt, equally irresponsible or equally authoritarian; we do not all show the same contempt for institutions, nor are we all willing to sacrifice democracy to keep a seat in office.

Spain needs decent politicians, competent public servants and governments subject to the law, parliamentary scrutiny and the watchful eyes of citizens. It needs genuine resignations, convincing explanations and accountability, not ceremonies of mutual self-congratulation among those who hold power.

No, Mr Sánchez, we are not all the same. And that difference, which should shame those who have helped degrade Spanish politics, is precisely the hope of those of us who still believe in freedom, decency and democracy.

Francisco Rubiales