Eduardo Madina (PSOE): "The political parties are not a sewer that everything drains into"

Yesterday at ESADE Madrid, Eduardo Madina, Secretary General of the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, declared that the political parties “are not a sewer that everything drains into”. Mr. Madina, a 38-year-old Socialist member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, stressed the value of citizenship and the need for a new “shock of modernity” to reverse Spanish society’s widespread disengagement from the political parties and the current system. “Democracy must examine itself day after day. The political parties don’t have a monopoly on politics,” he declared, before confessing that he identifies “as a citizen” rather than as a politician. Mr. Madina’s talk took place at ESADE Madrid as part of a lecture series called “Democratic Regeneration in Public Life”, organised by the ESADE Alumni Public Management Club.

Mr. Madina was introduced by Javier Solana, former Socialist minister and current president of the Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics (ESADEgeo). Mr. Solana declared: “One cannot achieve individual happiness without aiming for collective satisfaction” – a statement that seems to define his understanding of political compromise. Introductory remarks were delivered by Oscar Cortés, President of the ESADE Alumni Public Management Club.

Turning his attention to current-affairs topics, Mr. Madina declared his support for electoral reforms, open lists and a ban on pardons for corruption. He stressed the importance of fighting corruption as a matter of civic culture. He noted that in certain autonomous communities, such as Valencia, “corrupt policies have been treated as legitimate for 20 years”. Mr. Madina advocated for a diverse, non-exclusive form of socialism capable of integrating nationalist viewpoints. Mr. Madina mentioned a recent dilemma that arose in Navarre “between corruption, which is illegal, and Bildu, which is a legal party”, alluding to his party’s position on the recent crisis in the region’s government.