Armesilla (40+ and no heirs): Spain's right should thank the PSOE

Santiago Armesilla argues that Spain's right-wing parties should thank the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) because, in his view, it is what stops riots like those in France, Romania or Albania from spreading to Spain. This is an opinion attributed to a commentator, not a verified fact.

## What the comment actually says

The economist and communicator **Santiago Armesilla** posted a short message on X: "Spain's right-wing parties should thank the PSOE for existing in Spain, because that is what stops the riots of France, Romania, Albania, etc. from happening here." The sentence has two parts. One is a political thesis: the PSOE would act as a dam holding back a wave of street unrest that the author places in other European countries. The other is an ironic piece of advice to the right: they should value the adversary they claim to fight.

The message offers no data, no figures, no dates. It does not specify which riots it refers to in **France**, **Romania** or **Albania**, nor does it explain the mechanism by which the PSOE would prevent them. It is an attributed opinion, not a proven fact.

## The context of the European riots

The reference to France fits with episodes of urban violence that have made headlines in recent years, with mass arrests and barricades in cities such as Paris. Romania and Albania have also seen protests and street disturbances over the past decade. What the message does is group these cases under a single label and present them as a risk that Spain has supposedly avoided.

That leap — from scattered, specific cases to a single explanation — is the weak point of the argument. The message offers no indicator linking Spain's stability to the PSOE being in government. The claim stands as an opinion, not as empirical analysis.

## Why this phrase matters

The comment is circulating at a time of high polarisation and works as a calculated provocation: it flatters the adversary to unsettle one's own side. It is an old rhetorical device. It also shifts the focus: instead of debating concrete policies, the debate becomes about who guarantees order.

It should be read for what it is: an intervention by a commentator with a public profile, with no documentary backing. Any conclusion about the relationship between the PSOE and street unrest in Spain would require data the message does not provide.