Of the Third Spains

He who follows it, achieves it, says popular wisdom. In case this praise of insistence turns out to be imprecise and the fear of fatigue from repeated attempts lurks, another saying, more optimistic and encouraging, comes to the rescue of the constant. The third time lucky. Perhaps under the inspiration of this heritage of worldly philosophy, in recent decades we have witnessed a succession of parties, platforms and foundations “neither left nor right” that evoke in their names a world of agreement and regeneration. His main aspiration: to become the reference for the centrist electorate disenchanted with the two-party system. But they don’t just repeat the objective. The names of their promoters also often coincide. Greyer, just as intense, a little more burnt with each attempt.

With similar aims to those of the most successful projects, UPyD and Ciudadanos, these days two new attempts have come to the fore: Nexo, a platform that does not want to be a party, but does want to run in the elections; The Third Spain, a manifesto that seeks to become a party. One of the names chosen is revealing, Third Spain, which already crystallizes in the name an aspirational wild card of its predecessors. But what is the Third Spain? For the beloved Alfonso Botti, as he writes in his latest book, Histories of the “Third Spains” (1933-1922), it is a cultural artifact with different meanings that has functioned “as a metaphor, myth, memory and, often, as an instrumental reference according to the most classic of public and political uses in history.” For Javier Cercas, as he wrote in 2019 in this newspaper, it also works as a scam.

The creation of a false equidistance that, in theory, seeks to recompose, but that appeals to division to justify its existence. Who wants to be a bridge between PSOE and PP, while scolding and insulting them. A project that calls itself left-wing, true social democracy, without any left-wing proposal. That takes two paragraphs to defend the business community and does not find space to address workers’ interests. That evokes excellence and forgets equality of opportunity. That claims to be above nationalism, but wraps itself in the national flag. Excellent left for the equality of territories, which neglects equality between people. Self-conscious right wing that escapes the label due to pretensions of modernity, a feeling of superiority or because they have not made room for it. Neither red nor blue, but always with blue. Always against the reds.

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