The minimum program sent by Mayor Oreja to the PP and Vox and its chances of success

One of the problems Spain will face when Pedro Sánchez is ousted from power is the need to repair the damage he has done.

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To that end, the NEOS Foundation, chaired by former Interior Minister Jaime Mayor Oreja, has sent the Popular Party and Vox a "minimum program" to promote "unity of action" between the two parties and other organizations in the social opposition to Sánchez's government. The program can be read here. It has many things that I find positive and necessary and that should certainly be part of the project of any government that wants to make real change.

The things I miss about that program

All in all, I can't help but miss issues that should be basic in any democratic society, starting with something as basic as the defense of the right to life (there is no mention of the abortion and euthanasia laws promoted by the Socialists), freedom of education, as well as linguistic freedom (the text speaks of a "law on the use of Spanish", without providing further details), and the defense of the family, which is the basic core of our society. It is sad that we have reached a point where these issues are no longer even included in the minimum program of the center-right in Spain.

On the other hand, it's very good that Mayor Oreja's program proposes restoring alliance ties with Iberian America, but personally, I miss a defense of the West against three of its greatest current threats, namely Russian expansionism, the enormous influence of the Chinese communist dictatorship, and Islamist terrorism. There is also no reference to defense policy, at a time when Europe's security is threatened.

Its chances of success

Otherwise, I fear that the chances of success for this minimum program are slim. NEOS released it this morning and the publication has had more responses than retweets, many of them from people close to Vox who are skeptical that the PP could sign up to it, or even criticizing NEOS for proposing it. Certainly, the main obstacle to this program is the PP itself, since some of the measures it contemplates would clash with the policies that Feijóo's party implements wherever it governs.

Let us also remember that the PP and the Socialists are allies in the European institutions, and they are because, today, their ideological approaches largely coincide. The PP has been embracing social democratic theses on economic matters for years, even though it calls itself a liberal party. The PP has adopted the ideological dogmas of the left on various issues, such as abortion, gender ideology, the criminal inequality between men and women (remember that the PP supported the so-called "gender violence law" in 2004), environmental catastrophism, etc. For the rest, we must remember that only two years ago, Feijóo did not contemplate making a pact with Vox but did consider making a pact with the PSOE, when the socialists had already begun their offensive to dismantle the rule of law in Spain. I find it difficult for that same PP to accept a plan like Mayor Oreja's, despite having omitted very important things.

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Photo: Europa Press. Jaime Mayor Oreja, former Minister of the Interior.