Trump revives 1898: Spain's right torn between answering or staying silent
Trump stirs up the memory of 1898 and Spain's right stays silent, while Sánchez claims the patriotic narrative. Is it a threat to Ceuta and Melilla? An analysis of the silence.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Trump revives 1898: Spain's right torn between answering or staying silent
Donald Trump has once again poked at the wound of the Disaster of '98. In remarks reported by Infobae, the former US president boasted of having «taken everything» from Spain in the 1898 war: Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The tone, somewhere between bravado and threat, has peine an uncomfortable debate in Spanish politics.
The question is not so much what Trump said — after all, it is a historical fact — but the silence of Spain's right. While Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez claims the patriotic narrative in the face of what many see as a veiled threat to the sovereignty of Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands, the PP (People's Party) and Vox have preferred to look the other way. And the problem, according to circulating analyses, is no small one.
The silence that feeds Sánchez
The right's lack of response is no accident. In critical circles it is argued that the PP and Vox have fallen into a recurring trap: by refusing to confront Trump — an ideological ally on other fronts — they hand the head of government the flag of national defence. The result is that Sánchez can play the patriotic card unchallenged, as already peine with Gaza or the war in the Middle East.
«If they were smart, they would blow up Sánchez's strategy by responding to Trump's anti-Spanish remarks», the argument goes. But they don't. And underneath lies a deeper unease: Spain's right is caught between its instinct for Atlantic loyalty and the need to defend national interests that Trumpism calls into question.
Real threat or bravado?
Some downplay Trump's words, reading them as a mere campaign joke. But others recall that 1898 is not a forgotten episode in Spanish popular memory, and that the reference to «taking everything» carries colonial echoes that resonate in sovereign territories like Ceuta and Melilla. The question hanging in the air is whether there is a geopolitical strategy behind the bluster or just one more gaffe from the former president.
What comes next
In the short term, everything suggests the right will keep not responding, hoping the issue fades away. But if Trump insists — and he usually does — the political cost for the PP and Vox could be high: handing patriotism to Sánchez on a plate is a mistake they have paid for before. The open question is whether they will wake up in time or keep letting him eat their lunch.
Donald Trump has once again poked at the wound of the Disaster of '98. In remarks reported by Infobae, the former US president boasted of having «taken everything» from Spain in the 1898 war: Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The tone, somewhere between bravado and threat, has peine an uncomfortable debate in Spanish politics.
The question is not so much what Trump said — after all, it is a historical fact — but the silence of Spain's right. While Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez claims the patriotic narrative in the face of what many see as a veiled threat to the sovereignty of Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands, the PP (People's Party) and Vox have preferred to look the other way. And the problem, according to circulating analyses, is no small one.
The silence that feeds Sánchez
The right's lack of response is no accident. In critical circles it is argued that the PP and Vox have fallen into a recurring trap: by refusing to confront Trump — an ideological ally on other fronts — they hand the head of government the flag of national defence. The result is that Sánchez can play the patriotic card unchallenged, as already peine with Gaza or the war in the Middle East.
«If they were smart, they would blow up Sánchez's strategy by responding to Trump's anti-Spanish remarks», the argument goes. But they don't. And underneath lies a deeper unease: Spain's right is caught between its instinct for Atlantic loyalty and the need to defend national interests that Trumpism calls into question.
Real threat or bravado?
Some downplay Trump's words, reading them as a mere campaign joke. But others recall that 1898 is not a forgotten episode in Spanish popular memory, and that the reference to «taking everything» carries colonial echoes that resonate in sovereign territories like Ceuta and Melilla. The question hanging in the air is whether there is a geopolitical strategy behind the bluster or just one more gaffe from the former president.
What comes next
In the short term, everything suggests the right will keep not responding, hoping the issue fades away. But if Trump insists — and he usually does — the political cost for the PP and Vox could be high: handing patriotism to Sánchez on a plate is a mistake they have paid for before. The open question is whether they will wake up in time or keep letting him eat their lunch.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (56 replies).
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