The title of the article is a loan of Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the phrase was some success, he pronounced it after his resignation to the General Secretariat of the PSOE in the summer of 2014. Before the torrent of praise received, inside and outside his party, for retiring from politics after losing the European elections he said, with his fine irony, that the Spaniards buried very well. The phrase has come to my head after reading and listening to the multiple panegyric dedicated to Pope Francis after his death.
Lu Tolstova
They have highlighted their many virtues until satiety: humility, closeness, or their preferential option for the poor. In addition to them, which are indisputable, I will add two other features of their less complimentary character, the first is that it always seemed little friend of Spain and the second – after listening to him in enough interviews, in which he responds with the spontaneity away from the reflection of an encyclical – shallow depth in capital issues for a Catholic, although perhaps it was his way of reaching more people. But since I am not an expert I will not dedicate these lines to their papacy, but to reflect on how it usually responds to the death of a relevant person.
With the exception of Jiménez Losantos, that Easter Tuesday was already reiterating in Antena the same negative qualifiers that he dedicated in life, many others who called Francisco, Mason, infiltrate of the extreme left or emissary of the 2030 Agenda, turned 180 degrees as soon as his death was known. One of the most curious turns, which is not surprising given the character, has been that of Milei, who after having branded Francisco de Representative of the Malignant on Earth, has been the first to praise him in his final hour. And in Spain, what about Minister Bolaños’s condunted condolence? It seemed that a close relative had died, not to mention the second vice president of the government, the communist Díaz, who highlighted his coincidences with the Pope, claiming that they were still each other.
The point is that this surprising behavior of vitupere in life and praising in death extends to all areas of life and especially in politics. Moreover, in politics it is not even necessary to die to be extolled, it is enough to leave the expedited path, although that yes, death ensures a special special burial the greener you have put you in life. There are the cases of Suárez, Fraga, Carrillo or Pérez Rubalcaba himself, but as he said it is not necessary to move to a better life. We have with us Felipe González and Alfonso Guerra, personification of evil and corruption forty years ago, turned today into a paradigm of the state man.
I do not want to end with a simple criticism of an excess of posture, it is more constructive, as impossible for it to seem, do so positively and with one purpose: the need to incess less and understand ourselves more. The panegyric and elegy are very good when they are sincere – and if not better to remain silent – but I think it would be much more enriching for all, to find the virtues of the neighbor in life than to discover them when it has left us.
- Carlos de Urquijo fThe Government Delegate in the Basque Country
