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Continuing the History of Spain

Conferencia en la Universidad de Oviedo

18-02-2010

"These people we have now supposedly leading Spain, have folded the country. They have no authority to tell us, the next majority, how to pick up the debris they have left"


"The person who is now at the front of the Government did not and does not have the necessary conditions to be president, and least of all to be a good president, he did not have a good team and does not have it now, he did not have a successful policy and does not have it now"


"The regression since 2004 is very serious indeed. Now we have to explain problems. Having the keys of a historical success they have made us leave them aside."


"In general, in the three last decades of Spanish life, of Spanish historical life, from the start of the democratic Transition in 1976, to set that point of reference, there have been more lights than shades, more positive than negative things, we've had more successes than defeats"


"In those years Spain's things and also Spain's politics worked reasonably well. And we Spaniards were capable of collectively accomplishing some very high political operations. In those decades from the Transition we Spaniards were capable to change from an authoritarian regime, from a dictatorship, to a democratic system. And that political transition became an example for many countries of the world"


"That success was based on some essential pillars that should not be forgotten:


One was the commitment of us all to look to the future. We Spaniards decided to look to the future, not to the past, we decided to build a future together, we decided not to repeat again the mistakes of the past. We had spent too much time and too much energy on the errors of the past, and to avoid making the same mistakes again, we decided to look to the future.


The second pillar was establishing two clear constituent subjects, two major social and political forces, upon which the essential meaning of the political, economic, and social life of Spain would rest. It can be interpreted as the centre-right and the centre-left. The centre-right and the centre-left leaving radicalisms aside, leaving extremisms aside. Those forces came to an agreement. The agreement they reached was that the centre-right and the centre-left, which had historically confronted very strongly in Spain, would renounce their top aims and accept common rules that would enable us all to live jointly. And that is very important. Keeping two constituent subjects has guaranteed the good running of Spanish society during these three decades.


The third essential pillar was the transformation of a centralised country into a decentralised country. The constituent plurality of Spain was accepted.  That Spain was a plural country was accepted as long as those who we wanted to integrate into the national organisation, into the constitutional system, accepted to be loyal to Spain. The country's constituent plurality had the balance of constitutional loyalty, which was loyalty to the unity and cohesion of Spain.


"These three pillars are the essential pillars which have determined what can be qualified as a historical success of Spain for thirty years."


"The question we Spaniards must pose to ourselves today and as of 2004 is: if these pillars and ideas justify a historical success for Spain and establish a period of historical and democratic stability unknown for a long time in the history of our country, why has it been endangered?


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José María Aznar, durante el acto inaugural de la XIIICátedra Europa d José María Aznar, durante el acto inaugural de la XIIICátedra Europa d Encuentro con el alcalde de Caracas, Antonio Ledezma. Encuentro con Sebastián Piñera José María Aznar y Sebastián Piñera, durante su encuentro.
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15 Marzo, 2010 - Barranquilla

José María Aznar, at the opening celebration of the 13th Edition of the Forum on Europe of the Universidad del Norte. Picture by Henry Figueroa.
15 Marzo, 2010 - Barranquilla

José María Aznar, at the opening celebration of the 13th Edition of the Forum on Europe of the Universidad del Norte. Picture by Henry Figueroa.
12 Marzo, 2010 - Santiago de Chile

Encuentro con el alcalde de Caracas, Antonio Ledezma.
11 Marzo, 2010 - Santiago de Chile

Encuentro con Sebastián Piñera
10 Marzo, 2010 - Santiago de Chile

José María Aznar y Sebastián Piñera, durante su encuentro.

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