Gabriel Rufián is determined to teach us how to stop fascism. The formula is very simple: be brave, unite the left, and subjugate the PSOE, which, apparently, is only capable of legislating in favor of the people when someone like him twists our arm, reminding us of the O of Obrero (Worker).
His recipes are always simple, delivered with witty phrases, because from tweeting so much he is only capable of thinking in blocks of 280 characters, which is an advantage when it comes to gaining notoriety and, above all, a fantastic excuse to not have to justify his claims, which remain striking headlines devoid of content.
Rufián's (pen)ultimate move has been to accuse Sánchez, after his appearance on La Revuelta, of not having done enough: "You look great with Broncano, but you could have done many things."
I am left with the doubt of whether this is foolishness or cynicism, because Rufián knows perfectly well that to move any measure forward in Congress it has been essential to reach an agreement between the left of the left of the left, dizzy from so many turns, with the right of the PNV and with the right of the right of the right of Junts.
Sánchez's government has not been a Frankenstein government, but the parliamentary majority it has relied on has been, a real headache, although essential to avoid the alternative: a government of the orcs of Mordor.
Rufián knows this. He even knows that Podemos was willing to vote against the Maricarmen Decree and only the pressure from the Tenants' Union forced them to support the measure, with the peace of mind for Iglesias, who continues to govern in the shadows, shielded by Belarra, knowing that Junts would torpedo it.
Rufián knows this because it was his group, precisely, that almost caused the labor reform to fail, saved in extremis by the clumsy, though correct and providential, finger of the popular deputy Casero.
Rufián knows this because with his maximalist demands he prevented the reform of the Gag Law from moving forward, and he did the same with different government initiatives on housing, considering them insufficient, when they were the only ones possible to obtain the support of Junts and PNV.
For Rufián, mathematics is a matter of will, as if one did not have to count the votes and obtain enough to approve the measures that improve people's lives.
But that has never been its main objective and it has demonstrated it with what really matters: its votes in Congress, which, like those of Podemos, have been added to those of the PP and Vox whenever it suited their interests.
And it is not just about the times it has voted against. Throughout this legislature, there have been initiatives that have not even reached Congress, including the budgets, due to the impossibility of agreeing with ERC and Podemos on a text, again due to that all or nothing.
Sánchez's success has been to navigate for more than three years between the opposing demands of the PNV and Junts, on the one hand, and those of ERC and Podemos, on the other, and to govern in favor of the people with the support of a parliamentary majority based solely on the rejection of a far-right government.
Rufián knows this, just as he knows that stopping fascism is only possible by re-editing a heterogeneous majority, in which the fundamental thing is the ability to find common ground and not the desire to become the only left.
But that is not his style, as Puigdemont knows well, whom he encouraged to politically commit suicide with his famous tweet about the 155 coins.
Rufián knows this, but his vanity and opportunism can get the better of him: in fact, he has managed to turn his call for unity of the left into a decoy that has allowed him to secure his result in Catalonia and form a candidacy to his liking, at the cost of destroying the prospects of the commons. A surprising way to unite the left.
Now, during the campaign, he will continue to give us lessons on how to stop fascism, when his irresponsible tacticalism is one of the factors that can make the victory of the far-right possible. Yes, of the far-right, because at this point it has eaten up the ultra-right.
You look handsome and intelligent on Twitter, Rufián, but you could have made many things possible.
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