Don't be alarmed

The end of the state of alarm is already causing some staggering political reversals, most notably within the directionless ranks of the Popular Party

Mark Nayler

Wednesday, 19 May 2021, 18:15

The only obstacle to Spain having a decent summer, and to pumping fuel into an economy running near empty, is power-addled politicians. Many of them, especially at the regional level, appear desperate to retain powers they possessed under the state of alarm, which finally expired last weekend. They're searching for new foundations for the toppling edifice of Covid rules, rather than asking whether such foundations are even necessary anymore.

Leaving it to regional courts to sort out Covid-related matters, as is already happening, is likely to produce a debilitating backlog of cases very quickly. It also further undermines the already-shaky legality of the restrictions on liberties introduced last March. Frustrating as the now-expiring rules have been, they were at least underpinned by the Constitution-backed state of alarm, which guaranteed a certain level of consistency in their application.

If Covid-related restrictions are now enacted by some courts yet rejected by others, their legitimacy will be even more questionable than previously, and the "crimes" citizens commit in breaking them will be even more hazily defined than they were under the state of alarm - a fourteen-month period in which the most innocuous of actions or non-actions were punishable by fines.

The end of the state of alarm is already causing some staggering political reversals, most notably within the directionless ranks of the Popular Party. Just as you wouldn't have expected, it was the Conservatives who claimed to be outraged by photos of Madrileños celebrating on Saturday evening, without - hold your gasp - maintaining an arbitrarily-defined distance from each other!

Is this the party that was frequently critical of extensions to the state of alarm throughout 2020? Is it the same party that defined Pedro Sánchez's attempts to prolong it as a "legal abuse" of power? Apparently not, because the Conservatives have recently proposed an even more repressive setup: the establishment of a judicial framework for the curtailment of liberties that doesn't depend on a state of alarm.

Refusing to relinquish the more severe Covid regulations - like a toddler clinging to a favourite toy, bawling at its removal - is especially unjustified given the (albeit leisurely) vaccine roll out. What's the point of the jabs if not to render the bloated Covid rulebook unnecessary?

It's time to discard this stultifying tome, rather than update it on each occasion that a judge decides where people can hang out, with how many other people, where and for how long, etc, etc. For this summer to be a success, the crazy Covid manual - How To Leave Your House (And Who You Can See When In It) - should be used as fuel for your BBQ and nothing else. The toy should be snatched from the sulking toddler.

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