Garicano leaves politics in the midst of the Citizens' crisis

The hitherto MEP and leader of Ciudadanos Luis Garicano announced this Wednesday that he is leaving politics to return to teaching at Columbia University (United States), in the midst of the crisis that the formation led by Inés Arrimadas is going through, a circumstance that “ It has not been the key” in his decision.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
20 July 2022 Wednesday 02:51
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Garicano leaves politics in the midst of the Citizens' crisis

The hitherto MEP and leader of Ciudadanos Luis Garicano announced this Wednesday that he is leaving politics to return to teaching at Columbia University (United States), in the midst of the crisis that the formation led by Inés Arrimadas is going through, a circumstance that “ It has not been the key” in his decision.

In an interview in El Confidencial, Garicano explained that his “professional vocation has always been the university”, where he has worked for almost three decades. Thus, he said that he had "always" thought that he "would be in temporary politics, that he would be there for a few years."

“I have been in the European Parliament for three years and I think it is time to return to my activity. I leave. That does not mean that he stops thinking about public policies, about ideas. On how to improve education, training… But not from active politics”, he stated.

Garicano assured that the Ciudadanos crisis has not affected his decision "in any way" and wished "all the luck in the world" to the party he is leaving, immersed in its refoundation. “It has nothing to do with my decision. It is based exclusively on the fact that I want to continue with my academic life and I have the opportunity to do so at Columbia University, in the United States”, he reiterated.

Beyond teaching, he advanced that he will write a book and reflect on "the crises we face." "There is talk of a polycrisis. I think there are a couple of short-term crises, which we know, war and energy crisis, but in the medium term there are other crises such as the food crisis, and then we have a potential crisis in the euro zone, and in the long term, the climate crisis, about which we Europeans are increasingly aware”, he explained.

Finally, in a political key, the former leader of Ciudadanos defended that the liberal space "does exist" in Spain, but acknowledged that it was "a mistake" not to agree on a government with the PSOE after the April 28 elections.