Politicians' loyalty: to country or to party?

The party as homeland: when politicians belong to their party, not their country

Who should a leader be loyal to: their nation or their party? The question has echoed in Spain in recent months over the Ceuta crisis and Italy's migration shift. But some also take it into metaphorical territory: just as bullfighters are accused of being 'of their party' before they are Spanish, the reproach extends to those who put party discipline or European interests above the defence of the national border.

Some argue that leaders like Giorgia Meloni or Pedro Sánchez answer first to their party or to Brussels rather than to their voters. It is argued that the expulsion of nationals from other Schengen Area countries is provided for in the treaties, and that the failure to apply it reflects a political decision, not a legal gap. The harshest critics go further, sketching a supposed pact between powers to destabilise Europe — a theory without evidence which, however, fuels distrust of common institutions.

On the other side, it is argued that hard-right parties such as VOX or Fratelli d'Italia are the only ones to have pushed for tighter borders, and that accusations of treason are unfounded. It is pointed out that the Italian right, led by Meloni, has aligned the country with Ukraine's position against Russia, something that cannot be said of other European parties. The debate ends up revolving around who truly defends the homeland, but neither the data nor European law settles the question.

Meanwhile, the quote from ABC — 'the PSOE's homeland is the party, and its saint is Saint Pedro Sánchez' — becomes a rhetorical weapon to show that distrust of politicians' loyalty is not the preserve of one side alone. In the end, the only thing that is clear is that the border between party and country remains a minefield, and that the only loyalty some people examine is everyone else's.