Jaime Mayor Oreja (1951) is from San Sebastian and it shows in his answers. The former Minister of the Interior in the Government of José María Aznar answers forcefully, now far from the focus of active politics. A convinced supporter of a strong civil society, the year Mariano Rajoy obtained the absolute majority Mayor Oreja founded the Values and Society Foundation, to defend life and the family. A couple of years ago he joined NEOS as the main promoter and spoke to La Gaceta a few days before the demonstration in Colón called by DENAES: “We will be there,” he says.
Why is it important to go to Colón this Sunday?
We have supported all the demonstrations, all the mobilizations, since we have undoubtedly confirmed the seriousness of the moment that Spain is experiencing. We support the mobilization carried out by the Popular Party; We also supported the mobilization carried out by the Catalan Civil Society organization in Barcelona; and We obviously support this DENAES demonstration. This moment that Spain is experiencing demands that we mobilize: the situation is extremely serious. Because the entire meaning of this Popular Front, of the Government, is dramatic for the future of Spain. That is why we have to mobilize.
How can we convince young people of the need to take to the streets to demonstrate?
Young people are the ones who will suffer the most from this situation. Others of us are already withdrawing, but those who are really going to suffer from this situation are the young Spaniards. If they are not aware that they have a very powerful adversary in front of them, a lethal sum of the left—with nationalism, communism, and socialism—, this Front is going to be lethal for its future. They are the ones who have to raise awareness. That’s why I encourage you to be aware that you won’t be able to stay still.
The DENAES call censures the “Sanchez coup.” What does this blow consist of?
It is not exactly a blow but a logical process that It has been taking place since ETA and Zapatero reached an agreement. And this process then had the Catalan episode as an intermediate point. But it is evident that the coup is essentially the meaning of the Front. The Front that governs us strikes a blow through the Catalans, but basically the blow is being struck by Sánchez. The amnesty, pardons and self-determination are part of a logical process of this Front but one that is lethal for Spain.
This Front that threatens Spain: Where has it set its objective? Unit? The Constitution? The monarchy?
An entire social order is threatened. A social order that has different manifestations. It is without a doubt, Spain, the nation, the family, life, truth and freedom. It is about destroying this social order. And essentially, the most striking thing is that they also want to bury the spirit of the Transition of the year 78, that is, a spirit of reconciliation, of looking to the future and not looking to the past. But they want to bury all that and return to both Spains.
VOX has confirmed its support for the demonstration but the PP has not yet made a statement…
What we like is for the demonstrations to be as unified as possible. At NEOS we would have liked the Popular Party to have carried out a more unitary mobilization, with more presence. And in the DENAES demonstration we would like more political groups to participate this time. What we want is not only to mobilize, but to take advantage of each of these mobilizations to strengthen the cohesion of the parties and the cohesion of all the associations. Because we need to establish a criterion of unity. So Of course we would like the leaders of the PP to join this demonstration. It is a moment of sum and generosity, it is not a moment of meanness; It is time to realize the seriousness of the adversary before us.
He recently suggested the idea of configuring a single electoral program for the right. Isn’t this a utopia?
Probably, but In the Basque Country, ETA is going to win next year’s elections. The Government of the Basque Country is going to be formed by ETA with the PSOE and with Sumar. So it is not time for acronyms, but for a project: it is time to understand that a cultural-historical leap is taking place in the Basque Country: We have gone from traditionalism to nationalism for decades; and now we go from nationalism to ETA. That is a cultural change, a historical cycle that is opening. Where then is the Spanish right at a time like this? With your acronyms? Or looking for a meeting platform so that it is somehow clear, for once, that the right anticipates the left in a project that has deep cultural significance?
A united right that needs clear leadership. Is Feijoo up to the task of leading the alternative to the Front?
Well, in this matter what we do is always respect the parties, without entering their territory. We do not criticize the parties. But we do tell them to be aware of the difficulty of the historical moment that Spain is experiencing.
Another way to attack Spain is to attack Spanish. What did you think of Borja Sémper’s intervention in Basque on the Congress platform?
I believe that we must reinforce everything that we Spaniards have in common. It is a time to put the emphasis on the common and on the Spanish language, which is our common language. It is also a language that is very powerful in the world, which is growing a lot. then simply The use of the earpiece in the Congress of Deputies is grotesque. It is a shame. It is an attempt to humiliate a language like Spanish. We must reinforce what unites us with the Spanish. And language, without a doubt, is a great instrument of unity.
