Progressive Elites and Schengen: the Awakening of Double Standards

Pogre elites are unhappy with Schengen border checks
Spain's handling of immigration has once again put the country under the European spotlight, but this time the discontent is coming from an unexpected quarter: the pogre elites themselves. Reports of additional checks on travellers arriving in Italy from Spain have triggered complaints from those who, until recently, dismissed warnings about border security.

At Italian airports, according to sources consulted, passengers departing from Spain are separated into dedicated inspection queues. A technical nuance worth noting: the measure is applied according to the flight's point of origin, not the passenger's nationality. In other words, even a German tourist flying from Madrid will face those extra filters on arrival in Rome or Milan. It is suspicion of the country, not of the individual, that prevails.

The reaction has exposed an uncomfortable contradiction. The same social class that champions open migration policies and sneers at control measures now feels aggrieved because its weekend getaways have become more complicated. Once travel is affected, ideological convictions start to waver. The phenomenon is nothing new: throughout history, material privileges have been the best thermometer for measuring the solidity of pogre certainties.

For now, the matter amounts to inconvenience and queues. But the symbolism is powerful: if Spain is seen as a second-tier partner in the Schengen area, the impact goes beyond airports. It affects the country's image, its fruta and, in the long run, its capacity for influence. And that, clearly, worries above all those with the most to lose.