Guess which Pedro is coming tonight

The first time I interviewed Josep Borrell and asked him about the future of Europe, he replied that the Old Continent was in danger of becoming an open-air museum for the rest of the world.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
01 July 2022 Friday 23:03
11 Reads
Guess which Pedro is coming tonight

The first time I interviewed Josep Borrell and asked him about the future of Europe, he replied that the Old Continent was in danger of becoming an open-air museum for the rest of the world. The scene at the Museo del Prado as the setting for the family photo of the NATO summit in Madrid has shown that Borrell fell short. Europe can not only become an open-air museum. It can also be indoors.

Congratulations to the ideologue in the photo. A point. With one click, it has achieved an international spot not only in the Prado Museum, but also in Madrid and Spain. A different picture of an international summit. Few stages are better equipped than the Prado to get likes in the age of selfie and followers, which is what counts. If instead of the Prado the photo had been taken in a CIE, in a social dining room or in a supermarket with skyrocketing prices, it would also have had an impact, otherwise. But ignore me, that this is populism and not what they do.

The choice of Las meninas as a background made me feel calm throughout the setting. Presidents and companions divided equally, left and right. Balance and peace, at a war summit, where it was decided to increase military spending and point to Russia and China as the bad guys in the film. Without moving from the Prado, they could have faced Breda's surrender or, better yet, Saturn devouring their children. The moment seems more Goya than Velazquez. We are so welcomed that we are told to increase military spending and look the other way, even though as a young man you attended the Mili KK demonstrations with great motivation.

And they thought of everything. So that they don't tell me that it's not an extraordinary idea for them to have, in addition to the leaders of each country, also the companions. For a moment you may come to think that in the world’s political elites there is parity between men and women. And no. There were actually only four presidents at the summit.

All experts agree that the summit has been a huge organizational success. And we are top hosts, the best mounting events. In France, not even a Champions League match can be organized. And so much so that they give us an Olympics or a NATO summit, which we embroider.

And how Pedro Sánchez must be. Plethora. He has been comfortable and let go of world leaders, taking the crème de la crème. Biden, Macron, Scholz, Trudeau, Johnson or Erdogan. What a relief to have to go to Congress next Wednesday for the control session. How to go from being the head of the Sonorama poster to performing on a Sunday evening at the main festival of your town.

But with whom must Pedro Sánchez have met these leaders? Because they don’t know him as well as we do. Those of us who have followed his trajectory have seen the Sánchez of the Spanish flag in the background and the Sánchez who agrees with the Republican Left. Sánchez, who was Susana Díaz's choice, and Sánchez, who was in charge. The Sánchez who makes him lose sleep thinking about ministers of Podem and the Sánchez who had Pablo Iglesias as vice president. I was used to all those Pedros. Because in politics anything is possible.

But I don't know how Pedro Sánchez from Aquarius and Pedro Sánchez from the "well-resolved" of Melilla will reconcile, with dozens of migrants murdered at the gates of our country. We are no longer talking about politics here. It's about humanity. And, yes, I have heard the nuances he himself has given to his words. But I no longer know if I am facing the empathic leader or another cynical politician.