The harsh verdict against Proces came out in October 2019 and that set Barcelona on fire. In this context, in the Spanish State, the following sentence was read in the right-wing press: “For the good of Spain, Barcelona should be bombed every 50 years.” It was the phrase of the liberal general Espartero, who dominated Carlism in the 19th century.
The biographers of Espartero have denied that this phrase belongs to him, but it does not matter, if it is not a phrase of him, the Spanish right releases the character from time to time, in part or in some way. This time it has been assigned to the right-wing economist Jesús Fernández-Villaverde. In the chronicle of Enric Juliana, deputy director of La Vanguardia, it was possible to read the name of the general in his successful speech at the Rafael del Pino Foundation in Madrid. This foundation is one of the references of the most representative leaders of the Spanish business world and the new ideologue that Fernández-Villaverde wants to Spaniard the Trumpism, according to Juliana.
Fernández-Villaverde has been warning PP for a long time: If he doesn’t make a government pact with Vox, his majority in the election will die successfully in the opposition. Here is the core of the old reworked ingredients of their recipes: one, the authoritarian unity of the right in a modern way, that is, the iron hand in the silk glove; two, the strong growth of the economy driven by new technologies and artificial intelligence, in an even more deregulated and flexible market, not guaranteed by the current EU.
According to the economist at the Madrid conference, General Espartero is the most harmful character in the history of Spain, because during the First Carlist War (1833-1840) he did not destroy the Carlism and made an agreement with it. As a result, there are currently four Carlist parties in the Spanish Congress: Junts, ERC, EAJ and EH Gather.
Aside from the rigor with history, the fact is that with the impulse of the new US winds, all types of European right are ready for the government dance, and the next dance will be in Germany on February 23. The forecast is: The Christian Democrats of the CDU will prevail, the second will be the AfD of Alice Weidel of the far right, and they will be able to form a government. Are they going to do it? The CDU has recently opened several doors, and with Elon Musk as its friend, it seems that it does.
And in Spain? With the difficulties of the government of Pedro Sánchez, the united Spanish right – PP-Vox, one in two – is working towards the coming months, or at most, 2027. The northwest wind is with them. Fernández-Villaverde did not say what should be done with modern “carlists”, but even reading his thinking is not that bad in this case. Vox has in his program the illegal placement of nationalist parties, the PP’s Isabel Díaz Ayuso agrees, and other popular “barons”. Extreme fear freezes one, but not being afraid fools one.