'Don't judicialise politics': does Spanish socialism believe itself above the law?

On Monday, a minister in Sánchez's government made a statement that should cause a huge scandal in Spain and abroad.

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The socialist Óscar López Águeda, who was director of the Cabinet of the Presidency of the Government until September 6 (the day he was appointed Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service), stated on Spanish Television that "politics is being judicialized" and that "the Judiciary must respect the rest of the powers", in reference to the socialist corruption scandals that are being investigated by the Justice. Here you can see the video of that statement:

Óscar López, sobre las causas judiciales que afectan al Gobierno y al PSOE: "Se está judicializando la política (...) El Poder Judicial debe respetar al resto de poderes" https://t.co/fINk5aZXfZ#LaHoraÓscarLópez pic.twitter.com/8gki0wod2k

— La Hora de La 1 (@LaHoraTVE) December 9, 2024

It's curious how things have changed. When the corruption scandals of the Popular Party were being investigated by the courts, we did not see any socialist make such allegations. Then the judges did their job and the PSOE had nothing to object to. Things have changed when the socialists are being investigated. It is now that the claim of "not judicializing politics" is used.

It is certainly astonishing to see a minister complaining that the courts are investigating alleged crimes simply because their perpetrators are from his political circle. What this type of statement conveys to Spanish society is obvious: if any citizen violates the law, he must face the consequences, but if the socialist government violates the law, then we should not "judicialize politics."

It seems, and I do not believe I am exaggerating, that Spanish socialism believes itself to be above the law, as if the rules of coexistence that our legislators approve in Parliament - with the support of those same socialists - were applicable to everyone except them.

One of the pillars of democracy is that we are all equal before the law, and no one can be discriminated against or privileged because of their ideology or political activism. Every time a politician asks to "not judicialize politics," what he is suggesting is that politicians enjoy more privileges, in addition to those already granted to them by the Constitution in the form of parliamentary immunity (Article 71).

As I pointed out at the beginning, these statements should cause a great scandal in Spain and abroad, because what this minister seems to suggest is that the socialist government believes itself to be above the law, as if the government had the right to commit crimes with total impunity. Such an attitude is radically anti-democratic and should lead us to be suspicious of any politician who makes such a claim. The alarming thing is that such a statement hardly causes a scandal any more. Have we perhaps become accustomed to our leaders openly displaying such an anti-democratic attitude?

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Photo: Efe.