What would have happened if, say, the acting German chancellor, Angela Merkel, of the political centre-right, had attended a mass in honour of Adolf Hitler? That is the question that was asked this Monday by several groups on the left in Spain's Congress of Deputies, after it was discovered yesterday, thanks to the news website Newtral, that the country's leader of the opposition, Pablo Casado, had attended a mass in Granada in honour of the dictator Francisco Franco on the anniversary of his death, this last Saturday, 20th November. One of the eleven such masses that were held around Spain. According to sources close to the Popular Party (PP) leader, he did not know what it was until he was already inside the Granada church. Today, the conservative party leader dodged questions he was asked on the matter.
At a press conference in Congress on Monday morning, other political groups demanded answers from the opposition leader. Starting with the PSOE spokesperson in Congress, Héctor Gómez, who described it as an "aggression" and "absolute irresponsibility". For that reason, the Socialist leader demanded an explanation for the leader's attendance, whether he was really "endorsing" the dictatorship or not, whether it was a "coincidence" or whether there is a "political strategy" behind it.
So did the Unidas Podemos spokesperson in the lower house, Pablo Echenique, who joked that Pablo Casado "said he didn't know, and once he did know, he stayed." He also denied that it was a matter of chance when there were a total of ten masses for the dictator throughout Spain and 23,000 churches: the probability was 0.05%, he stressed. The alternative left party spokesperson described the incident as "extremely serious", expressed his disgust about the media silence on the matter and demanded an explanation from the leader of the opposition.
In the same vein, Íñigo Errejón, from Més País, criticized that "if this had happened in another country, if Angela Merkel was walking in a German city and accidentally entered a church where they were paying homage to Adolf Hitler, the next day she would come out and say she made a mistake, and that she's sorry she has offended her country's democrats. " And the deputy said: "It is possible that Mr Casado was wrong and entered the mass by mistake. But if that’s the case, you have to come out and explain it. He must make it clear that the leader of the opposition in our country does not pay tribute to dictators and that he is unequivocally in favor of democracy." Joan Baldoví, from Compromís, spoke in similar terms, warning that "these things do no good to our democracy or to Mr Casado".
The Franco Foundation says thank you
The Francisco Franco Foundation, the body which devotes itself to the positive promotion of Spain's murderous 20th century dictator, has also stepped in to the controversy after "being aware of the attendance." In a statement, the association wanted to make it clear that it did not "expressly" invite the PP leader. However, "it thanks both Mr Casado and his family and the rest of those attending the mass to pray for the soul of an exemplary Christian like Francisco Franco Bahamonde." Finally, the foundation also "hopes that this kind of news will serve to normalize all its activities, events and demands."
Silence from Casado
Pablo Casado, on the other hand, turned a deaf ear. He did not speak on his own initiative nor was he asked about it, despite the fact that today he took part in a PP public event in the Basque Country, in homage to the victims of ETA. He simply took advantage of this circumstance to fire at other targets and denounce the parties that allegedly "pay tribute to their murderers." During his public appearance, he went so far as to say that to make agreements with abertzale party EH Bildu is "to lose one's democratic soul". But no word on going to a mass to honour Franco.