Democratizing Spain's Socialists
VALLS-RUSSELL, JANICE
A PAGE IS TURNED Democratizing Spain's Socialists By Janice Valls-Russell Barcelona At a time when many voters throughout Europe feel their political leaders are often out of touch,...
...In addition to effectively managing the city's finances and social services, Maragall won international respect for his skillful handling of the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992...
...In some areas, however, Borrell simply lacks adequate experience...
...Indeed, many ex-Francoists were among the founders of the Popular Party...
...Until now, the General Secretary automatically became prime minister if the party obtained a parliamentary majority...
...Charges of corruption leveled against members of his entourage contributed to his defeat, as did revelations that his Interior Minister, if not Gonzalez personally, had sanctioned illicit action against Basque terrorists in the mid-'80s, including kidnappings and murders...
...Most of all, though, Spain needed to prove its political maturity and to convince itself that it was no longer afraid of the Right, long associated with Francoism...
...Certainly, too, the country wanted a change of style after so many years of Felipismo...
...Almunia displayed considerable courage in accepting the proposal, despite the fact that he undoubtedly assumed, as did many others, that he would be the only candidate...
...Thus at the PSOE's last national congress, the Catalan delegation suggested the direct selection of the man who would top the Socialist ticket and become prime minister in the event of a victory...
...Gonzalez' selection would give the office to the political group that obtains most seats in the European Parliament...
...After the primaries, both Gonzalez and Borrell insisted that Almunia stay on as General Secretary and remain in charge of the day-to-day running of party affairs...
...The Socialists' still unofficial but probable candidate in Catalonia is Pasqual Maragall, who stepped down last year as Mayor of Barcelona and has been enjoying himself running seminars at the University of Rome and Harvard...
...The enthusiasm of the rankand-file and the surprise results have brought new life to the Socialists, who suffered electoral defeat in March 1996 at the hands of the Right-of-Center Popular Party (PP...
...The New Left's chief asset is its leader, Cristina Almeida, a former feminist lawyer widely respected even in non-Marxist, nonfeminist circles...
...One is Catalonia, where Jordi Pujol has ruled unchallenged for almost 20 years and shifted the allegiance of his once CenterLeft Convergence and Union Party...
...And he won...
...In Madrid the PSOE is considering an alliance with the New Left Party, a small group of not-quite Marxists who were expelled a few months ago from the United Left (IU), the erstwhile Communist Party, ostensibly for being too moderate...
...Prominent Socialists here and in other European countries would then like to see him replace Jacques Sanier as president of the European Commission when the post falls vacant in 2000...
...Aznar himself belongs to a generation that grew up under Franco (as Gonzalez did) but was too young to serve him in key positions...
...His most spectacular success was in his home region of Catalonia, where he obtained 82.8 per cent of the vote...
...He combines the drive and independence of a self-made man with sound government experience and in-depth knowledge of public finances...
...From there they went to a forum on Europe hosted by French Socialist Jacques Delors, the former President of the European Commission...
...Although he fared poorly in the mid-May parliamentary debate on the state of the nation, this was put down to his having little time to prepare because it was held within a few weeks of his election...
...A year later Spain's dictator, Generalissimo Francisco Franco, died...
...It was felt, rather, that he lacked the charisma needed to lead the Socialists back to power...
...Borrell, meanwhile, became leader of the Socialist opposition in the Spanish Parliament, a position previously held by Almunia...
...Gonzalez is toying with the idea of heading up the Spanish Socialists' ticket in next year's elections to the European Parliament...
...Friends say the gods were with him: The balloting took place on his 51 st birthday...
...Actually, IU leader Julio Anguita objected to the way they questioned his autocratic style...
...They did not doubt that Joaquin Almunia, to whom Gonzalez handed over the leadership last year, was an honest, hard-working man devoted to the PSOE...
...He is also involved with think tanks and behind-the-scenes discussions on promoting closer political cooperation among the various members of the European Union, a concern he shares with Delors...
...If the Gonzalez page is being turned in Spain, that does not mean the man himself is retiring from politics...
...The president of the Commission is appointed by the European Council, composed of heads of state and government...
...After their defeat most Socialists resigned themselves to a long spell in purgatory...
...The other is Madrid, controlled by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon of the PP...
...Now that the Spanish Socialists have picked their leader for the next general elections, they are busily preparing for the regional contests due to be held in 1999...
...Almost all of them had backed the General Secretary against Borrell...
...Last May 17-19 he accompanied his new mentor to a meeting of the Socialist International in Oslo...
...In June of the following year Gonzalez resigned as General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE...
...Its leader, José Maria Aznar, then replaced Felipe Gonzalez as Prime Minister...
...Borrell, in fact, describes himself as "lichen on [Gonzalez'] rock...
...Delors publicly supported the idea on May 19, following a meeting that included Gonzalez, Portuguese Socialist leader Mario Soares and French Centrist François Bayrou...
...His 14 years in office (1982-96), however, did take their toll...
...A special congress in the coming months to decide whether Borrell should take on the General Secretary's post as well has not been ruled out...
...The handsome young Socialist leader (he was 33 in 1975) swiftly emerged as one of the key figures in the peaceful transition to democracy, alongside King Juan Carlos and Centrist Adolfo Suarez, who served as Prime Minister from 1976 to 1981...
...His close ties with González also hindered him, because the former Prime Minister gave the impression of still running things from the wings...
...In particular, they have their sights set on two key economic and political regions currently dominated by the Center-Right...
...Barely a month before the April 24 primaries, though, José Borrell, a former Public Works Minister under Gonzalez, surprised everyone by announcing he would be standing against Almunia in all except three of the country's 17 regional federations...
...Earlier this year the European Union sent him on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo, in what remains of Yugoslavia...
...Party members preferred to look ahead and ignore the voices of the past," noted the Center-Left daily El Pais in an editorial comparing Borrell's victory with that of Lionel Jospin in last year's French elections...
...Gonzalez is at present loyally trying to help fill in the gaps...
...That lent Gonzalez an aura he has largely retained...
...This, says Delors, would enhance the credibility of the European Parliament, which has few powers, and improve the image of the European Commission, now often seen as a remote bunch of Eurocrats...
...An economist by training, he is a strong advocate of welfare programs and public services, seeing them as a means of guaranteeing equal opportunity and regulating the excesses of a market economy...
...The Castilian stiffness of Aznar contrasts with the Andalusian bonhomie that Gonzalez used to cloak his authoritarian manner, and with the mordant wit he displayed in parliamentary debates...
...A PAGE IS TURNED Democratizing Spain's Socialists By Janice Valls-Russell Barcelona At a time when many voters throughout Europe feel their political leaders are often out of touch, Spain's Socialists have offered a lesson in democracy by holding primaries to choose the man who will lead them in the next general election—even though it is not expected to take place before 2000...
...People who have followed Borrell's career cite his mastery of facts and ability to throw punches, be it before a crowd of supporters or in television interviews...
...The outcome was a blow not only to Almunia but to those in the upper echelons of the PSOE, starting with González...
...The son of a baker, Borrell grew up in a village in the Catalan Pyrenees...
...Janice Valls-Russell writes about French and Spanish affairs for the NL...
...The close relationship that has developed between the two men cannot help but benefit the relative neophyte, given the firsthand involvement with events at home and abroad that the former Prime Minister has had over the years...
...His knowledge of international affairs, for example, is limited...
...He had become the head of the party in 1974, at a congress in France, when he seized control from the aging leadership that had been running it in exile since the end of the Spanish Civil War...
...They clearly underestimated the eagerness of Spain's 300,000 Socialists to take advantage of a genuine opportunity to make their voices heard, instead of merely endorsing the leadership's choices...
Vol. 81 • June 1998 • No. 7
