Marcus Aurelius is credited with advising that "the best way to take revenge on an enemy is not to look like him." The phrase serves to have a little more clarity about what should be the treatment that politicians and the media should dispense to the extreme right, once it has taken high electoral positions and to govern in the institutions. However, not all the evils that concern democracy are due to the irruption of ultra-nationalism.
Although they feed each other, the degradation of the political debate is not due exclusively to the intervention of ultranationalism, but is sometimes a consequence of the shot in the foot that supposes a weak adherence or defense of democracy by those who are destined to protect it. such as politicians and the media. This is precisely the wake-up call launched by the manifesto “Improving public debate is strengthening the quality of democracy”, presented this Wednesday at the Col•legi de Periodistes de Catalunya.
The document, promoted by the Fundació Catalunya Europa (former President Pasqual Maragall), is signed by the foundations of some of the main Catalan left-wing parties, such as the Rafael Campalans Foundation (PSC), the Josep Irla Foundation (ERC), the Fundació Nous Horitzons (ICV) and the Sentit Comú Foundation (En Comú Podem). Also included is the Cipriano García Foundation (CC.OO.)
This compendium shows the transversality of the approach, launched at the gates of a new electoral cycle in Spain that, according to its promoters, could give rise to the "destructive dynamic" through a debate in such poor terms that it will only serve to widen the gap caused by political disaffection and to increase mistrust in institutions.
The manifesto goes on to point out that democracy is at constant risk in the face of any of the forms that authoritarianism can take and that maintaining its quality requires a "constant effort." The risks that our political system runs derive from the attack launched by its adversaries, but also from the negligent actions of those who, in theory, have the mission of defending it. They mention as an example decisions and behaviors that are topical, such as the espionage suffered by dozens of Catalan political leaders. They are actions that "violate basic rights such as the right to privacy of personal communications" or "the right to truthful communication" of the media, they warn.
The former president of the Generalitat and current president of the Fundació Campalans, José Montilla, emphasized this idea, saying that democracy is degraded "with policies that erode rights", with "corruption", when "citizens are lied to ”, or “when the adversary is perceived as an enemy to beat”. And while the person in charge of the driving foundation, Josep Maria Vallès, warned of the "alarming signs" of the surveys on democratic malfunctioning, "with a large percentage of dissatisfaction", the president of the Fundació Irla, Joan Manuel Tresserres, did I emphasized the need to agree on how to treat the extreme right, which will be the main axis of a forthcoming debate.
The manifesto also highlights the drift that populism generates in its opinion: "Partisan actions that focus on extreme differences instead of looking for points of agreement that could facilitate the resolution of problems of general interest," says the document. And to this are added some forms of debate that "degrade legitimate political controversy" because "aggressive language, in which insults, falsehoods and the caricature of the adversary's positions" dominate the discourse.
These practices, installed in the lecterns and parliamentary forums, undermine trust in the institutions and in the people who represent them, as they point out, and "the institutional functioning and its legitimacy are put at risk."
Without providing magic recipes and aware that the intention can end up as preaching in the desert, the promoters of the manifesto urge institutional representatives, politicians and the media to "make this concern their own" and to cultivate "approaches and forms of expression that help to consolidate the quality of democratic institutions as an instrument to manage conflicts”. Although the document holds these three major actors responsible, the promoters highlight the "collective effort" that represents "improving public debate and, consequently, protecting and strengthening our democracy."
