The Diplomat
The Clara Campoamor Room of the Senate yesterday hosted the first of the major events commemorating the tenth anniversary of The Diplomat in Spain, in which, from the perspective of these ten years, issues such as Spanish domestic politics, the foreign policy of our country – with special attention to the current diplomatic crisis with Venezuela – and the evolution of the European Union were addressed.
During the opening, Prestomedia CEO Yago González expressed The Diplomat’s commitment to providing “truthful information on the most important diplomatic events of today” and highlighted the diplomatic analysis offered by this digital newspaper. González thanked readers for their loyalty and promised to continue being a “beacon of truth” in diplomatic information.
For her part, Ana María Beltrán, First Vice President of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said that “the challenges for diplomacy and communication are now more complex than ever.” “In a world where information moves at a dizzying speed, commitment to truth and in-depth analysis and respect for the diversity of opinions becomes increasingly important. I trust that The Diplomat will continue to play a role in this context, remaining faithful to its principles and adapting to the changes that the future brings,” she added.
Antonio Gutiérrez Limones, second vice-president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Upper House, expressed confidence that The Diplomat will continue working and advancing in the role it plays, “fundamental, necessary and important for all of us”, such as foreign action, in a geopolitical world like the one we are living in.
The event continued with the panel ‘The 10 years of politics in Spain’, moderated by Asela Pintado, president of the European Observatory for the Analysis and Prevention of Disinformation, and in which Gerardo Iracheta, president of Sigma Dos; María Luisa Humanes, vice-rector of International Relations of the URJC; and Antonio San José, partner of Kreab and political analyst of the COPE network, participated.
During her speech, Humanes addressed the radicalisation of Spanish political parties towards the extreme right and the extreme left and regretted that the current speeches of politicians are “easy”, do not delve into messages and are very suitable for the social networks of “friends, enemies”, which is why what triumphs now is more the politician who shouts, “who enters the circus”.
For his part, Sanjosé thinks that political radicalisation works. “The PSOE, it is evident, has abandoned its centre-left political space” and the PP has given space to “remnants of the extreme right” from the Franco era. Iracheta regretted that the media do not delve deeper into political information and are more interested in trivialities and warned that citizens do not understand European politics and understand better the political scandals, where the media delve deeper. In his opinion, politicians are more tense than citizens and gave the example of Venezuela.
Foreign policy and Venezuela
Precisely, Venezuela was one of the important points of the next panel, ‘Spanish foreign policy in the last decade’, moderated by Luis Ayllón, director of The Diplomat in Spain and in which the speakers were Ildefonso Castro, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and advisor to the Parliamentary Group of the PP; Cristina Gallach, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and secretary of the Council of Global Women Leaders; and Ignacio Molina, principal investigator of the Elcano Royal Institute, and professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
During the debate, Gallach pointed out that in 2003 there was a shake-up in Spain’s relationship with the EU due to its policy regarding the war in Iraq and that, from then on, Spain opted for global multilateralism. In her opinion, Spain is currently recovering positions, “with or without support from other parties”, and already has a “great relevance and international presence”. “We see it in the EU, with very proactive policies,” she said.
For his part, Castro regretted the loss of consensus in both foreign and domestic policy and commented on how the 2008 economic crisis in Spain affected some decisions at the foreign policy level. On the multilateral issue, he cited as an important milestone when Spain presided over the UN Security Council in October 2015.
Ignacio Molina said that European policy is not easy to insert into the rest of world politics. “European policy is not the daily activity and files of Brussels or Strasbourg, but the major orientations of European policy,” said Molina, who gave as an example what Spain’s interests are in the enlargement of the EU.
In the same debate, Luis Ayllón invited the speakers to debate the Government’s position in relation to Venezuela. In his speech, Castro criticized the executive’s overreaction regarding Jabier Milei’s Argentina compared to Venezuela and stated that “no one” has any doubts that the opposition won the July 28 elections. “Edmundo (González) won and, if he won, “he is the president-elect of Venezuela.” However, he regretted that the Government of Pedro Sánchez is “anchored” in the policies of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Venezuela.
For her part, Gallach said that President Nicolás Maduro “is very bad at losing,” but warned against the tendency to “repeat movies from the past, with recognitions from the past,” alluding (without mentioning it) to the recognition of Juan Guaidó, which “did not end very well for Venezuelans, especially for those who live abroad.” She also regretted that the European Parliament “wastes time” with resolutions such as the one approved this Thursday to recognize Edmundo González as president-elect of Venezuela. “This is not Guaidó 2,” because the situation in Venezuela has worsened, Castro replied.
The EU
The event concluded with the panel discussion ‘Ten years in Europe’, moderated by Jesús González, director of Aquí Europa and Canal Europa and with the participation of María Ángeles Benítez, former director of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain; and Miguel Ángel Aguilar, president of the Association of European Journalists.
González, after congratulating Luis Ayllón on the tenth anniversary of The Diplomat in Spain, raised three questions: how the EU has changed in the last decade, the positive milestones of the EU and how they see the legislature that has just started the Club of 27.
In her speech, Benítez highlighted the EU enlargement in 2013, which brought about a change of work in the EU, difficulties in negotiations, and a change of atmosphere: from the very warm “illusion” when Spain and Portugal arrived to the “I am here because you owe it to me” of the latest additions. Another change, he said, is the shift towards EU crisis management since 2008, such as Brexit and Covid-19, among others. In her opinion, crisis management gives rise to short-term policies and not long-term ones. In any case, he praised the EU for its management of the pandemic and for its policies in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and highlighted the centrality and balance of the EU in decision-making. In his opinion, the EU “is a guarantee” against extremes, especially against the new European Parliament, which has leaned towards the far right.
Aguilar said that, for Spain, the EU “is not just another issue, it is a capital issue” and important, above all, for democracy. As positive milestones for the EU, he pointed out “going beyond” the treaties, having been able to manage issues of “top priority”, such as economic crises and pandemics, and the way in which it has resolved Brexit. On the future of the EU, Aguilar stressed that the Draghi Report should be compulsory reading in all schools, because it is a source of inspiration for many things, including the need for the EU “to get its act together, because it is playing its cards in a world without power.”
