Vox and something important that we had almost forgotten that a politician could do

@ElentirENG ES 7·12·2024 · 9:12 0

Last July 1 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of a great Vigo native, don Casto Méndez Núñez, rear admiral of the Spanish Navy.

The vicious circle of the Popular Party and many right-wing voters in Spain
The step that PP and PSOE should take after agreeing on the CGPJ and the Electoral Board

“First honor without Marina than Marina without honor”

This great man dedicated his life to serving Spain with honor. A well-known phrase is attributed to him: "honor without ships is better than ships without honor." This expression has its origin in 1866, during the so-called War of the Pacific (1865-1866, which faced to Spain against a coalition formed by Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia), Méndez Núñez received a letter from the then Minister of State, Manuel Bermúdez de Castro, in which he encouraged him with these words:

"Entrusting to God, to the virtue of our right and to the honor and bravery of our Navy, the triumph of our cause, in the firm understanding that it is better to succumb with glory in enemy seas than to return to Spain without honor or shame."

Méndez Núñez answered the minister with these words, which would be summarized in the famous expression attributed to the Spanish sailor:

"If unfortunately I do not achieve an honorable peace for Spain, I will carry out Your Majesty's orders by destroying the city of Valparaíso, although it is necessary to first fight with the English and American Fleets, gathered here, and Her Majesty's will sink in these waters rather than return to Spain disgraced, thus fulfilling what Her Majesty, her Government and the country desire; that is: first honor without Navy than Navy without honor."

The importance of not giving up integrity

Méndez Núñez's words captured the way in which Spaniards have understood honor for centuries, something that Miguel de Cervantes had already captured in these beautiful words of Chapter LVIII of "Don Quixote": "for freedom, as well as for honor, one can and must risk one's life." Both the words of Cervantes and those of Méndez Núñez came to express the same idea, that preserving integrity, acting well and with justice, is something worth taking risks for, although that lead you to lose very precious things.

Today, in a world where materialism and selfishness wreak moral havoc in our society, it may seem incredible to many to risk not only one's life, but even some material advantages, for honor, to fulfill the given word, for being faithful to your principles and for doing the right thing even if you do not obtain any benefit from it, or even get materially harmed. That is why today it has become normal for politicians to betray their commitments and principles to achieve power and to keep it.

Vox leaves the regional governments with the PP

Yesterday, the national leadership of Vox announced that it is leaving the governments regional coalition with the PP in Extremadura, the Balearic Islands, Aragón, the Valencian Community, Castilla León and Murcia. Vox's positions in those governments pass to the opposition. Vox's decision is explained by Alberto Núñez Feijóo's decision for the PP to give in to Pedro Sánchez's claims regarding immigration, distributing hundreds of illegal immigrant minors throughout Spain in instead of sending them back to their parents.

“At Vox we have no attachment to the chairs, but to our principles”

Santiago Abascal, president of Vox, has indicated that Feijóo "did it knowing that his government partner -Vox-, in several regions of Spain, did not agree and it caused a great concern, and he did so condemning insecurity, the call effect, occupations, crime and an increasingly greater economic cost for all Spaniards" Abascal pointed out that Feijóo has dedicated himself "first to preventing and then torpedoing all agreements with Vox in the regions, and he has achieved it."

The Vox leader added: "If Mr. Feijóo wants to defraud his voters and continue applying socialist and globalist policies, that's up to him, we are not going to do it." Furthermore, Abascal stated: "At Vox we have no attachment to the chairs, but to our principles."

Something that we Spaniards had almost forgotten that a politician could do

As I have said before, I have been a Vox voter since the founding of this party, ten years ago, and I applaud this decision. In fact, I feel great pride in knowing that I have been voting for a political party whose leaders prefer to resign from their political positions rather than renounce their principles and the commitments made to their voters. It is something that we Spaniards had almost forgotten that a politician could do. Something that seems absurd, because everyone else does the opposite and we had already gotten used to that.

Of course, it is a decision that the Popular Party and its related media are ruthlessly criticizing, and that Pedro Sánchez has received with "joy" and "happiness". This doesn't surprise me at all. The PP has spent decades throwing its principles overboard and betraying its electoral commitments, believing that the end justifies the means, that conquering power and maintaining it justifies giving up its integrity and deceiving its voters. Pedro Sánchez is the extreme personification of this petty way of doing politics: he has proven to be capable of betraying Spain and the Constitution in order to stay in power, allying himself with those who have hatred of Spain as their flag, granting them illegal privileges, undermining our rule of law and doing serious damage to coexistence between Spaniards.

The PP, a false opposition from which Sánchez benefits

It is sad to see that, despite this, Feijóo and the PP have decided continue to agree with Sánchez on institutions such as the General Council of the Judiciary and the Central Electoral Board, mocking once again those who placed their trust in the PP to oust Sánchez from power. With its policy of pacts with the socialists, the PP proves to be a false opposition, a fraud from which Sánchez benefits to continue demolishing our democracy and causing serious damage to Spain. If the PP feels more comfortable with the socialists, they will now be able to govern together in those six regions, without using Vox as a crutch.

My thanks to Vox as a voter of that party

This decision by Vox is risky, of course, but being faithful to its voters and its principles implies taking risks that are worth it, like the one that has just assumed the national leadership of Vox. A decision that honors the leaders of that party and with which Vox demonstrates that there is another way of doing politics in Spain, a very different way from that petty politics and deception to which others had accustomed us. . A way of doing politics in which honor and respect for one's word are sacred. As a voter of this party, I thank Vox for this decision and for not letting us down.

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Photo: Vox.