Spain, further away from the Ukrainian theater of war and less affected by the consequences of the war – most of its gas imports come from Algeria, for example – still wants to be one of the political heavyweights in Europe. Until March 1, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had assured that he would stick to the slogan “No a la guerra” (No to the war) coined by Luis Zapatero in the middle of the Iraq war. But then everything turned out differently.
After the attack on March 11, 2004 in Madrid, Zapatero won the elections with 193 dead and replaced José María Aznar and his right-wing government. One of Zapatero’s first decisions was to withdraw Spanish troops from the “coalition of the willing” (George W. Bush) in Iraq – at the price of falling permanently out of favor with the outraged US President. Under “No a la guerra” Pedro Sánchez agreed in the case of Ukraine until March 1 to limit the Spanish commitment to the minimum, namely fulfillment of NATO obligations and participation in the “European Peace Fund of the EU”, the possible arms deliveries to the Ukraine and their procurement “like the vaccine campaign” (El País) should be organized centrally.
Grenade launchers, machine guns and ammunition
On March 2nd came the turnaround. “No to war” suddenly meant “No to Putin’s war” and therefore Spanish arms to Ukraine. A few days later, the first aircraft of the Spanish Air Force took off for Poland: with 1,370 grenade launchers (Spanish make), light machine guns (Spanish make) and 700,000 pieces of ammunition of various calibers on board. The whole thing – as in Germany – wrapped up in the new “feminist” culture of female defense ministers. Unlike Christine Lambrecht, however, Minister Margarita Robles is under the command of the (male) Spanish king.
The first grenade hit shortly afterwards, namely at the coalition partner Unidas Podemos, an alliance of left-wing parties, including Izquierda Unida. Alberto Garzón, coordinator of Izquierda Unida and minister in the Sánchez government, had called for a protest demonstration against NATO’s role in the Ukraine conflict the day before in Madrid. Collateral damage from the shelling: Yolanda Díaz, Vice-President under Sánchez and currently the most prominent representative of Unidas Podemos, unreservedly supported direct arms sales to Ukraine, while Ministers Ione Belarra and Irene Montero insisted on the pacifist foundations of the electoral alliance.
In order to save the government, a language was finally agreed with the socialist government partner: In Unidas Podemos as a party alliance there is no consensus on the question of arms deliveries, but as a government partner you will (for the time being) behave loyally. In the meantime, Podemos has convened the “Citizens’ Council” (Consejo Ciudadano Estatal) to clarify the party’s stance on this issue. In any case, Podemos is a long way from the harmony of the formerly pacifist Greens in the German government.
Spain is a “defective democracy”
In another discipline, Spain not only plays in the top European leagues, but has also risen to become European champions: for the first time in the European Union, there is a “people’s party” – as the Spanish “Partido Popular” (PP) is called – a government alliance with entered the fascists. After the electoral failure in Castilla y León in February, the party leadership there has just accepted the fascist party Vox as a government partner and offered its regional leader Juan García-Gallardo the post of vice president. The Spanish media speak of a test for the fascists, of a new phase in which they now have to show whether they can govern.
Meanwhile, at a hastily convened meeting in Paris, Donald Tusk, leader of the European People’s Party, which also belongs to the Spanish PP, has called the pact a “surrender” and expressed hope that the event will not mark a trend in Spanish politics – an impressive euphemism regarding the Spanish fascists, who are now banking on the chance of overtaking the PP in the next elections.
By the way, Ukraine and Spain have one thing in common: In both countries, the democracy index calculated by the British magazine “The Economist” fell in 2021: the country is still in Ukraine despite a drop from 5.81 to 5.57 in the “hybrid system” category (one notch above the lowest category, “autocracy”). Spain falls from 8.11 to 7.94, slipping from full democracy to poor democracy. It remains to be seen how a fascist party in a government will affect the next index for Spain.