REALIGNMENT

Contrary to what I had been believing, the realignment of our political forces may well take place before, and not after, the tsunami hits us. The perfect storm is being postponed somewhat thanks to the movements of our present Economy Minister Sergio Massa but, there not existing behind the smoke a real plan for the future, we can be sure that it will not go away on its own.

Meanwhile what we are seeing, especially in the opposition, is that the leading politicians are visualising two very different approaches to the issue of ending our permanent decadence, one searching for a gradualist system including arrangements which would satisfy the majority of the political leaders, the other making a radical break with the populism which has reigned in Argentina since nearly eight decades. In other words, the issue is republicanism, with a deep respect for our Constitution, versus populism, which has reduced our education and our work culture to tatters.

Studying the composition of the various political leaderships, it is easy to visualise how these two positions coexist throughout the different parties, again, as mentioned above, particularly in the opposition. This means that, inevitably, there will be splits inside them which will bring about the replacement of present coalitions by other, more homogeneous ones in the (near) future. Hopefully voters will in the course of the pending debate see where the light at the end of the tunnel can come from, because “It´s the Republic, dammit”!

Harry Ingham, City