2023-12-22 05:00:52
So many things have happened in Spanish and world politics in recent times, and so disconcerting, that it is essential to look back and analyze them to have a good understanding of the present. This book brings together dozens of articles published since 2020 in LA NUEVA ESPAÑA and other newspapers, and is a detailed review of the Government’s actions regarding the rule of law, which pays special attention to the conflict raised by the Catalan independence movement. The texts are not chapters of a posteriori, distanced reflection, as a report or historical balance, but rather they were written as the events were happening, which gives them more value. In its paragraphs it is dissected and put into perspective, with crystal clear clarity, a way of doing politics that cannot cause less than serious concern to the defenders of liberal democracy.
The author, Luis Sánchez-Merlo, maintains a privileged relationship with politics, which allows it to adopt a panoramic vision available to very few. He lived it behind the scenes at La Moncloa, under the orders of Calvo-Sotelo, a politician of stature, cultured, ironic; He is a reader who has taken great advantage of the classics and the most recent works of political science, as demonstrated in the pages of the book, and he is a lucid observer of current events, who puts his eye on everything that has true interest and detects new trends in politics, for example the “apotheosis of the event”, which deserves a juicy discussion. With such a baggage of experience, information and ideas, his writing goes straight to the heart of the matter, grasps the main issue and makes a solidly informed judgement. In his texts there is no filler, waste or baroque, everything has substance and substance.
The conclusion drawn from the book is that a serious breakdown has occurred in the Rule of Law in Spain and that the greatest responsibility lies with the Government, for not adhering to its obligation to respect the principles, forms and procedures that are its own. of that State. Sánchez-Merlo notes the patent flaw that he sees in each piece of the institutional framework and attributes it to the perfectly aligned acts of the Executive. From its columns it can even be deduced that the uselessness of the Rule of Law is the consequence of the deliberate action of the Government, with the intention of controlling and not being controlled, inspired by a monumental misunderstanding about the rule of law in a democracy, although without rule out that this is not a confusion, but rather a political conception assumed with full awareness.
In one of the last columns collected in this volume, Sánchez-Merlo anticipates that the amnesty will open a huge hole in the Rule of Law. International experts consulted by a Catalan newspaper have ruled that Spain’s deterioration in this regard is not yet comparable to that of Hungary or Poland. The author maintains that in recent years we have accumulated too many anomalies and warns that politics, outside the law, is a deviation of power or prevarication. He considers, however, that Spain is not a failed state, but thinks it could become one if it continues down this path. In one of the articles he asks: “Doesn’t anyone care…?” And in the final sentence, in bold, he responds: “How can there not be people who care?” Sánchez-Merlo’s articles are animated by transparent civic engagement. They propose a recovery of the spirit of reconciliation and harmony. While reading, there are many questions that run through the reader’s head. And Sánchez-Merlo is still at the foot of the canyon.
culture
Tough times for the rule of law
Luis Sánchez-Merlo
Edition by Marina Prodan, 312 pages, 25 euros
#Law #politics