A sleepy nation cannot defend itself because it does not see the danger.
We are an ageing country. In the last decade, babies born of Spanish mothers have dropped by 40% and the birth rate is not promoted. We have 9 million pensioners, 3.2 million public employees, of whom 1.5 million are civil servants, plus pensions for which no tax has been paid, and 3.36 million unemployed. All this sums 16 million supported by the State. There are slightly more than 11.5 million private taxpayers. Protecting the unemployed without protecting firms will increase the former because the latter will close. This situation is unsustainable, and government announcements will worsen it by placing more taxes because consumerism, investment and tax collection are very low. Without tourism, but with all-time low consumerism, unemployment will grow and accounts will worsen. As if there were not enough problems, illegal immigration never stops growing, who have no life project and live badly. The imposed cuts for the unavoidable bail out will be unparalleled.
It is the ideal situation to take totalitarian measures with a population frightened by the healthcare and economic pandemic. Communists are delighted, and Sánchez will do what they tell him to remain in his post. The amazing thing about the EU is that it does not make Spain reduce its political-administration expenditure (1 politician for every 106 citizens) under bailing out conditions and democratic hygiene measures. The speed of the Spanish government converging with totalitarianism exceeds that of Chávez in Venezuela, and many distracted people do not wish to know.
In the next 6 years, many thousands of public employees will retire. What a sensible government would do is to pact to not replace many to reach a reasonable State size and eliminate politicians. Otherwise, soon we will see public universities closing or merging because there are too many and are subsidised by the State by 80%. All patronage subsidies in the budget should be eliminated and public spending should be reduced, except healthcare, education and national security.
The government states that its wishes to save lives and use “expert” scientific criteria-. If this were so, why is the VAT on face masks 21% when many families in a precarious situation cannot afford them? Another lie. They only think about remaining in power. After the Court of Justice in the Madrid Autonomous Community ruled to not confine Madrid, President Sánchez showed his arrogance while in Algiers. In his arrogant rage, he urgently called for a cabinet meeting the next day to show who was in command despite the judge’s ruling. They confuse country with their party, and applied a State of Alarm in Madrid without it being passed by Parliament, and despite Madrid having better epidemiological data than the Navarre Autonomous Community where, for example, Bildu party members decapitate statues of the King and Columbus in Pamplona. Was that legal? Does independence of powers exist? This is the government we have, which acts against those who voted it. By acting this way, it will be a long time before they govern in Madrid, unless Ciudadanos supports them with another censure motion, which is PSOE’s favourite way of governing, and dare to tell PP and VOX they will not govern Spain. What is happening? Do they already know what the Spaniards will vote? Or will they not give them the opportunity? Let Iglesias and Lastra explain it because they seem to know despite what they ignore. They cannot stand that what they seek not happening, which shows just how democratic they are. By acting against those who defend private initiatives, but not letting it seem obvious, they believe we are fools; the government wishes to increase VAT on education and private healthcare so that the price rise prevents the middle class from using it, and not the rich who do not care about VAT going up.
The worst of this government is not catastrophic data, but that which cannot be measured: Spaniards’ dignity and freedom. Blas de Lezo said: “a nation is not lost because they attack it, but because those who love it do not defend it”.
Post published in Las Provincias