EL PAÍS hosts the first of its series of debates España 40-40

Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday that Spaniards need to have a conversation about their identity if they are to strengthen their joint project as a nation. Like other countries, he said, Spain is suffering from an identity crisis. The country now needs to ask itself "what it is to be Spanish," argued the French politician during the first event in the series of debates 'España 40-40' organized by El País. "Spain has not yet answered that question," he said. "Spain lacks a story", he concluded. "Spain needs to forge a new kind of patriotism. In France there is a superiority complex. In Spain, there’s one of inferiority ".

"Every country is suffering from a crisis of cultural identity, prompted by globalization, by the political crisis, social media, the problem of refugees. Problems arise. For example in French society the problem of Islam, Muslims. All this raises questions about who and what we are, and I don’t think Spain has answered that question: what is it to be Spanish today?," asked Valls, who believes that this reluctance to ask questions comes from 40 years of Franco.

"I think that the crisis of Basque terrorism, and I hope, the Catalan crisis, may offer Spain the chance do a better sort of politics, at a certain level. All countries, even Germany, question what is to be German, or French, say, or Spanish, and there are different ways to answer this question," said Valls. And he ventured to suggest a possible answer. “There’s the nationalist, populist way, ie always blame someone, blame Madrid, blame capitalism, blame Brussels, blame Washington or blame others, foreigners and Muslims," ​​said Valls . But "there is another way of responding, a more open way, which doesn’t lose sight of being proud of what we are, and I think that the Spanish can be rightly proud of these past forty years of democracy, their history, their men and women of arts and culture, their system, even if everything has room for improvement, of course."

The former French Prime Minister believes that it crucial for Spaniards to answer that question if they are to resolve the territorial crisis in Catalonia and thereby contribute to the stability of the European Union project. It is imperative, he said, to build a narrative that reconciles the need for an open world with membership of a country, group or family.

"Spain lacks a role in Europe," suggested Valls when it came to the political, social and economic tensions we are witnessing across the continent. "We need Spain during this crisis in Europe," he continued. And he pointed out that the starting point of this new narrative of Spain in the world and in politics should be built around the 1978 Constitution and the example of those leading the transition such as Adolfo Suárez, Felipe González and even Jose Maria Aznar, despite the mistake of the Iraq war. Valls reiterated that Spain is far too humble in the face of "the superiority complexes" of France or the United States, "which are alike and lead to the same results."

Valls himself recalled how in the Sixties, when he went to school in France as the son of immigrants, whenever he would say that his father was a painter, as in artist, people reproached him for not accepting that he was a house painter. It was only later that he could boast of being descended from Spaniards who were behind the Madrid movida scene, the Olympic games and numerous artistic and sporting success. So Valls called for a little more balance.

Also participating in the debate  were Moisés Naim, the EL PAÍS writer and columnist; Alan D. Solomont, former US ambassador to Spain and president of the Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce; Beatriz Dominguez-Gil, director of the National Transplant Organization; Rodrigo Cortés, film director; and Rafael Moneo, architect. The journalist Marta Fernández moderated the debate, which was presented by Antonio Caño, editor-in-chief of El País.

The current idea of ​​Spain and the pessimistic concept that the Spanish themselves have of their country and its leaders was a recurrent theme throughout the day and was addressed by the speakers.

"Today our problem doesn’t come from outside the country", said the prestigious architect Rafael Moneo, fresh from picking up his most recent international award in Japan. He called on regional governments, which have flourished in Spain over the last four decades to "enjoy Madrid a bit more”. "Our problem now is that we don’t know how to live together," he added. And he stressed: "If Spain has grown in strength its has been through getting the likes of Extremadura to believe that they can achieve anything they set themselves."

Reforming political parties

How does one go about solving this problem? "We must encourage people to get into politics," proposed Moisés Naim, a political analyst. "Parties are seen as the habitat of the opportunists and the corrupt," he said. "We must reverse that," he asked. "Parties have to go back to being the place for those who want to change the world. Democracy is not possible without strengthening our political parties". The analyst also said that part of the problem in Spain today is the weakness of political power and its governments: "The Spanish have weak governments, that are divided, we have fragmented politics and governments lacking in real power. Spain is an inhibited power, with no important role to play. "

"Spain needs to build a narrative in accordance with its merits,” said Alan D. Solomont, who first visited Spain and Portugal as a young man in 1971  – before returning 40 years later as ambassador. Solomont believed that despite the impressive transformation of Spain over that period, the country still lacks what many criticize about the United States, self belief in oneself as the greatest nation on earth.

The speakers agreed that Spaniards tend to undervalue their shared successes and achievements during the 40 years of democracy. No one is harder on Spaniards than the Spaniards themselves, they argued.

"Outside Spain, we are seen as extremely well prepared, as a country full of ideas, and we’re admired for our flexibility, our knack for troubleshooting," said Rodrigo Cortés, a filmmaker who has carved out a successful career in Hollywood. It’s an image that is at odds with the idea Spaniards have of themselves, according to Cortés: "More than anything else, the Spanish are a bundle of complexes whose biggest skill is to undervalue everything". The filmmaker went on to note wryly: "In Spain we throw about the term Third World until we go abroad and we go to a hospital in England or the subway arrives just three minutes late." The director said that we need to put aside the great political and intellectual debates and take responsibility as individuals and each do what we can as well as possible.

"The transplant system has helped Spanish society to believe that it can truly shine," said Beatriz Dominguez-Gil, director of the National Transplant Organization. "It shows what kind of society we are," said Dominguez-Gil, who singled out her own organization as an "example of trust and good management to export". She highlighted the excellent cooperation between autonomous regions, explaining, by way of example, that 50% of heart transplants are performed with donor organs from a different region than the recipient.

Manuel Valls concluded the discussion by insisting that the future Europe needs to commit itself to  prioritizing “investment in education and culture."

This was the first EL PAÍS debate in the series España 40-40, sponsored by BBVA, Iberdrola, Iberia, Repsol, Santander and Telefonica, and which analyze the past four decades of democracy in Spain and the challenges facing the country. The next event in the series is being held in Brussels (December 18), followed by London (January).

These past 40 years of democracy have enabled Spain to reach its highest ever levels of development and prosperity. EL PAÍS has been both a witness to and participant in this transformation and seeks to commemorate this anniversary by facilitating a conversation, not only on these 40 years of democracy, but also to address likely challenges ahead over the next four decades. Joining us in this conversation are leading Spanish and international figures from the worlds of culture, economics and politics, who’ll be discussing the role of Spain in Europe and in the world.

Source: El País