In 1814, a group of 69 deputies wrote the so-called Manifesto of the Persians. In that document, Fernando VII was invited to repeal the Constitution of Cádiz and return to absolute monarchy.
In the first paragraph of the manifesto, the deputies recounted the ancient Persian custom of spending five days (yes, five) in anarchy after the death of their king, so that the onslaught of murder, robbery, and other misfortunes would force the population to be faithful to his successor. The absolutists compared this period of chaos to the experience of living under the Constitution of Cádiz. They wanted to return to the old regime and to concentrate power in the hands of an absolute monarch. The king gladly accepted the proposal.
The Manifesto of the Persians was the basis of the Decree of Valencia and the May coup that ended the constitution and restored absolutism. Ferdinand VII was able to accumulate power by contrasting the stability of his reign with the chaos and fear of constitutional rule.
This brief history lesson has become relevant in light of Pedro Sánchez’s recent letter, in which he announced his intention to spend five days considering whether he should continue as prime minister. Just as in the Persian story, he has emerged after five days of chaos to restore normality and start a new era. This era might be ushered in by him or someone else—he is still eyeing some of the EU’s highest offices and his plan, detailed in my previous article, remains intact—but it will nevertheless transform Spain.
The first thing to point out about the PM’s five days of ‘anarchy’ is that his strategy was not aimed at the entire citizenry or at the opposition. Sánchez’s letter was intended to identify party defectors, threaten separatist parties, prepare an assault on media outlets and the judiciary. He was also aiming to gain momentum for the upcoming Catalan and EU elections. He sought the king’s blessing in order to legitimize his decision, thus integrating the king into the charade right before informing the nation that he was going to engage in profound soul searching.
Indeed, those who did not clap loudly enough within the Socialist Party over the weekend find themselves in huge trouble now that Sánchez has decided to stay. However, the PM’s performance elicited some shameful and sycophantic behavior such as minister of transportation, Óscar Puente, who defended the prime minister by calling him “the f***ing boss” and praised his amazing attributes, including the fact that he “speaks English.”
The separatist parties—particularly in Catalonia—understood that if Sánchez were to step down, nobody would deliver on his promises. During the five-day reflection, these parties panicked, and ERC (Republican Catalan Left) even filed a lawsuit against him for his bold move. All in all, by stirring things up, Sánchez gained momentum as his supporters took to the streets this past weekend. His opponents, on the other hand, failed to seize the opportunity.
Yesterday, after the Persian-style intermundos, Sánchez emerged even stronger than before, all without addressing the allegations of corruption against his wife. On the contrary, with such a masterful move, he has established a narrative of victimhood and of a stained democracy that needs to be cleansed. He announced an “offensive” to clean up Spanish politics. His call was echoed by various officials, including the minister of the interior, who spoke yesterday about the need for a “clean democracy.”
Sánchez holds power and also controls the narrative. Now that he has public backing and an excuse, he can attack the judiciary by reforming the election of the members of the CGPJ—highest governing body of the judges—through the back door, as well as to reform the judiciary so that nobody can repeat the ‘unfortunate’ attempt to bring the prime minister’s wife to court without ‘sufficient proof.’
Besides fortifying his power by capturing the judiciary, Sánchez will mercilessly suffocate critical media—which has already been separated between loyalist or traitorous—with various free speech bans and other Bolivarian-style regulation. He will also dehumanize political opposition. There are already rumors of criminalizing certain parties.
Yesterday, Sánchez announced the advent of a new era, one with a cleaner democracy. What we all witnessed, however, is the beginning of a new regime: the reign of Peter I, The Persian.
Pedro the Persian
Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP
In 1814, a group of 69 deputies wrote the so-called Manifesto of the Persians. In that document, Fernando VII was invited to repeal the Constitution of Cádiz and return to absolute monarchy.
In the first paragraph of the manifesto, the deputies recounted the ancient Persian custom of spending five days (yes, five) in anarchy after the death of their king, so that the onslaught of murder, robbery, and other misfortunes would force the population to be faithful to his successor. The absolutists compared this period of chaos to the experience of living under the Constitution of Cádiz. They wanted to return to the old regime and to concentrate power in the hands of an absolute monarch. The king gladly accepted the proposal.
The Manifesto of the Persians was the basis of the Decree of Valencia and the May coup that ended the constitution and restored absolutism. Ferdinand VII was able to accumulate power by contrasting the stability of his reign with the chaos and fear of constitutional rule.
This brief history lesson has become relevant in light of Pedro Sánchez’s recent letter, in which he announced his intention to spend five days considering whether he should continue as prime minister. Just as in the Persian story, he has emerged after five days of chaos to restore normality and start a new era. This era might be ushered in by him or someone else—he is still eyeing some of the EU’s highest offices and his plan, detailed in my previous article, remains intact—but it will nevertheless transform Spain.
The first thing to point out about the PM’s five days of ‘anarchy’ is that his strategy was not aimed at the entire citizenry or at the opposition. Sánchez’s letter was intended to identify party defectors, threaten separatist parties, prepare an assault on media outlets and the judiciary. He was also aiming to gain momentum for the upcoming Catalan and EU elections. He sought the king’s blessing in order to legitimize his decision, thus integrating the king into the charade right before informing the nation that he was going to engage in profound soul searching.
Indeed, those who did not clap loudly enough within the Socialist Party over the weekend find themselves in huge trouble now that Sánchez has decided to stay. However, the PM’s performance elicited some shameful and sycophantic behavior such as minister of transportation, Óscar Puente, who defended the prime minister by calling him “the f***ing boss” and praised his amazing attributes, including the fact that he “speaks English.”
The separatist parties—particularly in Catalonia—understood that if Sánchez were to step down, nobody would deliver on his promises. During the five-day reflection, these parties panicked, and ERC (Republican Catalan Left) even filed a lawsuit against him for his bold move. All in all, by stirring things up, Sánchez gained momentum as his supporters took to the streets this past weekend. His opponents, on the other hand, failed to seize the opportunity.
Yesterday, after the Persian-style intermundos, Sánchez emerged even stronger than before, all without addressing the allegations of corruption against his wife. On the contrary, with such a masterful move, he has established a narrative of victimhood and of a stained democracy that needs to be cleansed. He announced an “offensive” to clean up Spanish politics. His call was echoed by various officials, including the minister of the interior, who spoke yesterday about the need for a “clean democracy.”
Sánchez holds power and also controls the narrative. Now that he has public backing and an excuse, he can attack the judiciary by reforming the election of the members of the CGPJ—highest governing body of the judges—through the back door, as well as to reform the judiciary so that nobody can repeat the ‘unfortunate’ attempt to bring the prime minister’s wife to court without ‘sufficient proof.’
Besides fortifying his power by capturing the judiciary, Sánchez will mercilessly suffocate critical media—which has already been separated between loyalist or traitorous—with various free speech bans and other Bolivarian-style regulation. He will also dehumanize political opposition. There are already rumors of criminalizing certain parties.
Yesterday, Sánchez announced the advent of a new era, one with a cleaner democracy. What we all witnessed, however, is the beginning of a new regime: the reign of Peter I, The Persian.
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