Has Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera come to a screeching halt in his attack on Pedro Sánchez for his doctoral thesis? Has he done this to protect himself, since the Curriculum Vitae which Rivera has published in recent years had many obscure areas? Did the Cs leader find himself throwing stones in a glasshouse thanks to his CV, modified several times in recent days, with doctorates, masters and even a claim to be a doctoral student in constitutional law appearing and disappearing? "Doctoral student", which perhaps could be confused with having a completed "doctorate", although in the case of Rivera, neither is correct. The rector of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ensured that this bubble was popped: Rivera had not done a thesis and, therefore, he could not be considered a doctor; and neither was he enrolled to do one, and so wasn't a doctoral student either. End of story.
It seems clear that the Cs president has now become the target for the boomerang which he himself launched in mid-week against Pedro Sánchez, whom he accused of plagiarizing his doctoral thesis, putting the socialist leader on the ropes and forcing him to publish the thesis against his wishes. The thesis in question, entitled "Innovations in Spanish economic diplomacy: analysis of the public sector 2000-2012", passed the test after withstanding several checks using anti-plagiarism software. Another question altogether is the level of the doctoral thesis and whether it deserved the cum laude distinction which the Universidad Camilo José Cela bestowed on it. But this was not the debate that Rivera and certain Madrid press has opened against Sánchez. The issue was: plagiarism or not? And, for now, Sanchez has got through the technical battle, although at an enormous political cost.
But let's go back to Rivera: what happened with the CV he had when he started politics in 2006, so heavily adorned with university degrees, compared to his present resume, which is much more austere? The Ciudadanos leader has ended the week as the hunter, hunted, despite his tendency to never let anything embarrass him and his party colleagues' efforts to defend him. What he has done with his CV is so chaotic and irregular that that if he were not who he is, his party could easily apply the so-called Commitments for democratic regeneration which it presented. It is very clear what the Cs code of ethics demands in such cases: to remove from public or party office any party representative who has falsified or cheated in relation to their Curriculum Vitae or professional or academic qualifications.
Anything to say, Albert Rivera?