The XIV Legislature of the Courts of the Kingdom of Spain will go down in the annals of our country's history as one of the most complex and full of unexpected events, although it is already known that in politics you cannot choose the circumstances you have to face, but you can choose the attitude to adopt towards them. The pandemic, the volcano on La Palma and the war in Ukraine are just some of the unfortunate unforeseen events on which, from Congress and the Senate, we have had to legislate suddenly, with the approval of social protection mechanisms never seen before. But, on a much smaller scale, it has also been the legislature in which Spanish parliamentarianism has discovered Fernando Clavijo and his innovative ideas.
Rarely does a worker advocate for the elimination of their job. Much less in an interview on RNE and with a proven record of absenteeism. Fernando Clavijo surprised us all when, in the same week that he missed a Senate plenary session (September 7) to attend the Romería del Pino, not without first deceiving the people of Güímar, to whom he addressed via Twitter writing "that he could not be at the Bajada del Socorro because his attendance at the plenary session, which he did not attend, prevented him from doing so", he called for the closure of the Upper House. I admit that, once I have heard the argument that the senator uses, I can only praise his courage and flatly reject his conclusions.
From variable geometry to normality.
Clavijo explains that his parliamentary work has "zero reflection" and that "no matter how much you have the interest in doing that work and that it bears fruit, in the end you end up getting discouraged [because they vote against it]". It is undoubtedly novel, as I said, that a person who has been mayor, regional parliamentarian, regional president and now senator is unaware of the roles that the parliamentary majority and minority have in our political system.
When the Senate rejects a motion, an amendment or a bill presented by the opposition, it is not rejecting or preventing anyone's work. It is exercising the popular will that the citizens expressed in the last general elections. It is the duty of senators to do exactly that: to transfer the electoral result to each parliamentary initiative. And the obligation of citizens in the next elections to assess the position that their representatives had in each vote and in each initiative presented.
Senator Clavijo's criticism would, in my opinion, have a modicum of reason if in both houses a political party had an absolute majority that, summarily, rejected any debate and alternative project to its own. But it is not like that. One of the characteristics of this legislature is that the Government of Spain and the Socialist Parliamentary Group have relied on unorthodox and heterogeneous majorities for each project. What was previously called variable geometry is now the norm.
Senator Clavijo's inability.
In my opinion, Senator Clavijo wants to transfer his inability to reach majorities to the existence of the Senate, instead of questioning his political ability to agree with those who do not think exactly like him. A behavior copied to what we experienced in the formation of the Government of the Canary Islands in 2019: unable to form a majority, he went to the Senate instead of exercising the opposition to Ángel Víctor Torres that the polls dictated. Given that in the situation in which he finds himself there is no higher instance to flee to, and knowing that his immunity is not in danger because of his request, he now advocates for the closure of the chamber.
This attitude, similar to that of a child who, when angry, prefers to take the ball away rather than solve the problem, defines Mr. Clavijo's conception of politics. For almost all the representatives with whom I have coincided and worked, politics is a mechanism with which, by debating and reaching agreements and compromises, we build a better society. For Senator Clavijo it is the exercise of power. Either what he considers is done or, in his own words, "Canarias is attacked", "the Canarians are affronted" or "Canarias is betrayed". An appropriation that encompasses not only the concept of Canarias, but the exercise of power, and that is opposed to the basic democratic concepts of government and opposition.
The seat occupied by Senator Clavijo is useful and relevant
In order to debate Mr. Clavijo's arguments more specifically, I would like to talk to him about the usefulness we gave to the chamber in the plenary session of the first week of September. On Wednesday, September 7, almost at the same time that the offering to the Virgen del Pino began, we approved an amendment to the Penal Code that increases the penalties for recklessness in driving motor vehicles or mopeds, and in the gallery were cyclist associations from all over Spain who applauded the initiative for obvious reasons. Senator Clavijo could have supported or rejected the project, intervened to amend or veto it. In short, to act as a representative of the Canarian people. But, instead, he preferred to play the respectable role of pilgrim. We also debated in that same plenary session on the principle of equity in scholarships and energy saving measures, among other issues, without the contributions of the senator.
The seat occupied by Senator Clavijo, contrary to what he thinks, is useful and relevant. Being designated by the Canarian Parliament on behalf of all the Canary Islands and not only of one island, it is the clearest expression of the representation of the Canary Islands in the territorial chamber. If due to his absences, his inability or for whatever reason, Clavijo considers that the Senate has no reason to exist, for coherence, perhaps he should consider giving his seat to another party colleague. He himself is aware of the desire that in Tenerife (and increasingly in other islands) his seat generates.
Of course, this humble senator would ask Coalición Canaria that, in its next internal election for the position, propose someone who complies with the obligation to attend the plenary sessions of the Senate, ex art. 20 of its Regulations, instead of going on a pilgrimage, without prejudice to the respect that they deserve.
Manuel Fajardo Palarea, PSOE senator for Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
