A grand coalition in Spain?

Germany has not been the driving force of Europe for years - it has been in recession for two years - nor is football the sport in which eleven against eleven play and Germany always wins, as Gary Lineker defined. Even so, Germany is leading the way, and its elections leave numerous lessons. The extreme right is a problem for everyone: AfD is growing with votes from all over the political spectrum; social democracy is at its lowest level ever due to its inability to respond to internal political problems: immigration and housing, mainly, and the grand coalition is not only a German tradition, it is the possible way to close the way to the extreme right.

The formula that is common in Germany is unthinkable in Spain. In 2016, Pedro Sánchez resigned as secretary general of the PSOE when his party, after a repeat election, decided, absolutely divided, to abstain in order to facilitate the government of Mariano Rajoy and avoid institutional collapse. The Sánchez of “no is no” fell and… was reborn, he arrived at Moncloa with a motion of censure and there he continues juggling to add the votes that give him the parliamentary majority against a PP isolated by its dependence on Vox.

In Germany, the Socialists have obtained their worst results ever, and Olaf Scholz, “the short one”, leaves the party in crisis. On the other hand, the left of Die Linke is making a comeback, triumphing on social networks among young people with Heidi Reichinnek, the “red influencer”, and, in a campaign marked by the question of immigration, demonstrating against deportations.

The dull Scholz is not Sánchez, who specialises in living on the edge: he embraces Volodymyr Zelensky, María Jesús Montero vindicates the socialism of “Lola Flores” and in Barcelona all their problems are resolved in one morning. Junts refuses to punish the president by demanding in Congress that he submit to a vote of confidence, Oriol Junqueras is proud to have achieved the forgiveness of 17 billion euros of Catalonia's debt and Salvador Illa's Government exhibits normality in the bilateral commissions between the State and the Generalitat with promises of more mossos and more judges.

The German grand coalition – the one from the street – is also successful on the football pitch. On election day, Schalke 04 took to the pitch with a T-shirt reading “Vote for democracy! Against racism and exclusion”; Borussia Dortmund put a cross “for democracy” in the middle of the centre circle of the pitch calling for a vote against the far right, and Wolfsburg posted a video on their social networks with the message “Democracy needs us all: go and vote on Sunday for diversity, for cohesion, for the future!”

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso took part in the demonstration: “We live in an open society. Everyone has the right to come here, just like I did.” Come to Germany, Pepe. “We must defend democracy and not give in to them.”

Meanwhile, in Spain, the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, is a satisfied voter of the far right and celebrates that the party of Santiago “Obiscal” (sic) - Donald Trump's word - has not let him down in what he considers most important: the unity of Spain, the protection of the traditional family and the rejection of the State of the autonomies. Goal for Vox.