I often point out the importance of Hayek's conquest of the climate of opinion, Gramscian philosophy of the non-philosophers or Laclau's floating signifiers in matters such as the feminismsexuality or the environmentThe Spanish centre-right in the cultural battle. And I do so by recalling, above all, the importance of not arguing with the adversary using his language because it implies buying into his framework for defining society and, therefore, contributing to the victory of the left in this battle.
It is important for the centre-right to create its own narrative frameworks from which to present its perspective on various issues. As Friedrich Hayek explained in his essay Intellectuals and SocialismThrough the conquest of the climate of opinion, the average person can discover philosophical theories without studying them, without being explicitly aware of what they are, and replace the misconceptions of socialism.
For this reason, it is important to open up the discourse and fight the battle in various fields without forgetting that our goal is a political order that recognises the individual as a subject of rights. and not the promotion of forms of social organisation where nature, race, gender or sexual orientation are the corrections to which society must submit.
But not all the work remains to be done. There is an oasis in the middle of Spain which, in matters such as taxation, freedom of educational choice or town planning, promotes the free pursuit by individuals of their individual goals and life projects. In the Community of Madrid, the philosophy of the non-philosophers or the floating signifiers has been conquered by the moderate right in these matters through their own mental frameworks and discourse.. In matters of taxation, urban planning or freedom of educational choice, the centre-right has managed to ensure that the average person can discover the philosophical theories of freedom without studying them and establish the paradigm by which he or she will be governed in the coming decades.
It was surely the unabashed discourse on tax matters of the centre-right in Madrid and above all the experience accumulated since 2005, when the first budgets of Esperanza Aguirre's government began the path of tax cuts in taxes such as donations, estate and inheritance (where in 2007-2008 the second was completely eliminated and the 99% was reduced to 99% for the closest relatives), In 2007-2008, the latter was completely eliminated and the latter was reduced to 99% for the closest relatives), culminating in 2018 with a half-point reduction in the minimum personal income tax rate to 9%, the lowest rate in Spain, which led the spectrum of the right, despite its division and the fact that Gabilondo's socialism came first in the regional elections for the first time in several decades, to add up.
A large part of Gabilondo's programme, and that of his possible partners, focused on an increase in personal income tax from 'a certain amount' onwards, or that Madrileños should, once again, 'make an effort' on Inheritance and Gift Tax from 'certain amounts' onwards. All this in a region where successive governments have maintained their own narrative framework from which to present their moral perspective on tax matters, and where citizens have experienced how tax cuts have not led to any reduction in the quality of public services, or how they have raised 1.2 billion euros more than in Catalonia and twice as much as in socialist Andalusia.
The same is true in Madrid when it comes to freedom of educational choice. Only Ciudadanos, at the beginning of the last legislature, had a lukewarm flirtation by renouncing to lead this battle horse to join the left. That is why it is not surprising that the people of Madrid did not buy Isabel Serra's model in the last regional elections, where one of its fundamental pillars was the elimination of 18 schools with differentiated educational models. In the Community of Madrid, 46% of the students in General Education were enrolled in private or subsidised schools.
Finally, and regarding the cultural victories of the centre-right in Madrid, it is very interesting to read an article published in El Confidencial by Fernando Caballero Mendizabal titled Why is Madrid right-wing?, where he states that "for more than two decades a social and economic model has been planned and constructed that generates liberal-conservative logics of behaviour" [...] "a lifestyle from which not even those who set themselves up as progressive leaders escape, who also enjoy themselves in neighbourhoods where the community spirit is dissolved in a social model of housing estates with swimming pools and parking spaces".
But the rest of Spain is not the Community of Madrid, and the voter, even in those regions where the centre-right is still hegemonic or has been, is not like the one in the Community of Madrid.. In Andalusia, the centre-right has a lot of work to do to ensure that its policies on tax cuts and the discourse that accompanies them win the cultural battle against a left that has been hegemonic for almost forty years until the last regional elections. There are also those who, like the political scientist José Egea, claim that the success of the centre-right in the Valencian Community since 1996 is due to the fact that "it appropriated all the signs of identity of Valencianism". Moreover, we could ask ourselves why voters in Castile-La Mancha or Extremadura, after brief experiences outside socialism, have preferred to return to it.
If we go back to the heritage of Thatcherism" and its influence on Tony Blair's "Third Way". Culturally defeating the left is not only important because it allows for good electoral results by sharing the climate of majority public opinion. It is important because you impose the way of doing politics on the adversary and ensure that minimum principles are maintained that allow the individual to develop in freedom.
But back to the future of the Spanish centre-right, and to short-termism. Exporting the cultural model of Madrid to regions such as Andalusia or Murcia, or having done so in Valencia, Castilla - La Mancha or Extremadura, allows us to have an electorate that believes in paradigms of low taxation or freedom of choice because they have lived them and understood them. For them, it is not an entelechy that has been spouted in an electoral debate.
Madrid is not the only example to follow, as Aznar tells us in his memoirs, about his time as president of Castilla y León, the following: "...the Spanish government is not the only one to follow.the change of approach and political discourse that our arrival at the Junta implied: that we spoke of fiscal discipline, of cutting superfluous expenditure, of rigour and seriousness in the administration of public money [...] It was a discourse that contrasted radically with the socialist attitude".
His example of management in a Spain governed by socialism since 1982 was fundamental to his successor to the Moncloa in 1996. If the centre-right is to emulate the reunification of the centre-right once again and regain the confidence of the Spanish people, those regions where it has been successful must be the cultural example and a counterpoint to the Spanish government..
Once again Madrid, and especially its mayor, has been so in this recent coronavirus crisis. Almeida or Isabel Díaz Ayuso had been given the auctoritas to preside over the City Council's Governing Board or the Madrid Regional Government Council, but these days they have earned the potestas in the face of their opposition from left and right.
Alejandro Ruiz Paris
Strategic and public policy evaluation consultant. Political scientist and lawyer by the Carlos III University of Madrid and Master's degree in International Relations from the Comillas Pontifical University (ICADE).