The Gottmadingen train of some Spanish media that seek to weaken Vox

@ElentirENG ES 12·04·2023 · 7:00 0

On April 9, 1917, 30 Russian emigrants boarded a train in Gottmadingen, a town in Switzerland next to the German border.

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The Gottmadingen train and its result

That train was digested to the town of Sassnitz, in northeastern Germany, where those 30 Russian emigrants boarded a ferry bound for Trelleborg, Sweden. Throughout that journey, and despite the fact that Germany was at war with Russia, those Russian emigrants were not bothered and were given free rein, even prohibiting any German from getting on that train. The reason for this was that one of the occupants of that train was the communist leader Vladimir Lenin.

The Germans knew that Lenin defended a defeatist discourse that would weaken Russia, which had become a republic a little earlier, with a government determined to continue the war. That train traveled along the southern coast of Sweden until it reached Finland (then Russian territory), from where it headed to Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg). Once in Russia, Lenin seized power a few months later through a coup d'état, after which his communist dictatorship declared an armistice to finally sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which was the practical a surrender of Russia to Germany and its allies that led to the dismemberment of Russia.

The authentic extreme right and its hatred towards Vox

The case of that train that left Gottmadingen is an example that encourages us to take with caution certain anti-system speeches, which apparently may seem very brave to some unwary people, but which soon reveal certain characteristics. that betray them. Spain is not an exception to these phenomena, as has been confirmed for some time.

In Spain we can classify anti-system speeches into three large groups: extreme left, separatists and extreme right. The first two have parliamentary representation. Although many media insist on classifying Vox as "extreme right", the reality is that Vox is a conservative, democratic and constitutionalist party, and not an anti-system party. In fact, the authentic anti-system extreme right professes a deep hatred towards Vox for issues such as its support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion or its support for Israel against Hamas terrorism, issues in which the extreme right and the extreme left coincide fully(the extremes often touch).

The favors of that anti-system extreme right to the left

In Counting Stars I have dedicated a lot of attention to the extreme left and separatism in recent years, but not to the extreme right, because it is a marginal phenomenon. However, his marginality does not mean that some of his speeches have detrimental effects for the interest of Spain. Without going any further, we could give the very recent example of extreme right-wing pro-Russian activists who called for "active abstention" in the last general elections, thus contributing - to a certain extent - to the the left continues in power.

However, the clearest resemblance to Lenin's case can be observed in some leftist or centrist media that offer a regular platform for speeches from the anti-system extreme right, while treating Vox with clear hostility, thus demonstrating which discourse is the one that really harms them and which discourse is the one they seek to favor.

These anti-system speeches written from the extreme right - and I call it that in case of clearly anti-liberal militancy - bear the signature of a writer, Juan Manuel de Prada, who writes opinion columns in the newspaper Abc -one of the media closest to the Popular Party, the representative of the most lukewarm centrism in Spain, and is frequently invited to the socialist radio station Cadena SER, where some ago days he defended Pedro Sánchez and his criticism of Israel.

The curious positions of Juan Manuel de Prada

This support from Juan Manuel de Prada to Sánchez can only surprise those who have not found out that this writer insulted those who criticized the photo of Sánchez with his pro-ETA partners in mid-October. Let us also remember that in 2019 the writer aligned himself with separatism by stating that "Catalonia is a nation", in an article in which he criticized the liberals for preventing Catalans from changing their nationality and stated that "the international powers" (he did not say which ones) "do not want Catalonia to be independent", in his usual conspiratorial tone. A few words that do not prevent some "patriots" from continuing to support him, perhaps because his support for Putin's regime -that has supported separatism in Spain- and his hatred for Israel, something that makes him very popular among the antisemitic extreme right.

In recent weeks, Juan Manuel de Prada has dedicated himself to attacking the Constitution, on the 12th of November, calling it "nihilistic" and stating: "There is only salvation for Spain outside the Regime of '78". A few days after making this new anti-system harangue, the writer signed an article in Abc agreeing with the communist Yolanda Díaz and criticizing Santiago Abascal for calling Sánchez a "dictator", ordering the president of Vox to be silenced (without having the courage to expressly quote him) at the end of the article. And the anti-system extreme right, the useful fool of socialism, continues to applaud him.

An attempt to send the conservative right to the margins

It is significant, of course, to see that the same media that try to silence Vox offer platforms to Juan Manuel de Prada and his anti-system speeches. Those who consider this as a favor to ideological pluralism only have to clarify to me what space they give to supporters of Vox, which is the third most voted party in Spain.

At this point, it is evident why the left and centrism are interested in promoting these anti-system extreme right discourses. A serious conservative, democratic, constitutionalist, Atlanticist and defender of Israel right was able to obtain 52 seats in 2019 and maintains 33 seats today despite all the campaigns against it. On the contrary, the extreme right has not raised its head for more than 40 years and has been unable to enter Congress, since the seat won by Blas Piñar in 1979.

Those who want to liquidate Vox would be delighted to ensure that the anti-system extreme right is capable of wearing down that party, entangling its voters in absurd debates about the Constitution and the Monarchy while the socialists deal a blow to the rule of law and to national unityat the hands of the separatists. The more Vox voters there are chasing political unicorns, the more satisfied they will be on the left and in the Popular Party. Perhaps that is why Juan Manuel de Prada enjoys such friendly tribunes in the media related to the PSOE and the PP: because they believe that it helps them weaken Vox.

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Photo: Granger. Artistic recreation made in 1935 in the USSR of Lenin's arrival by train to Petrograd in April 1917.