They do not fit into our future
Victor Angelo
I
recognise the concerns that many thinkers express about what the world will be
like in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. A large proportion say that
this crisis pulverizes our societies and disrupts democracy and the alliances
that bind us to other peoples, promotes a tendency towards isolation,
nationalistic selfishness and the loss of the points of reference that gave
meaning to international relations. Thus, the world would emerge fragmented from
the crisis, with each country more self-centred, more autocratic, and with the
institutions of the multilateral system rather weakened.
I
propose a different reading of the route we are now taking. I believe that the
crisis gives us the opportunity to strengthen the humanist dimension that has
been lacking, both in domestic politics and on the international stage. We will
certainly be poorer economically, but we can become much richer politically. It
is a question of good leadership and strong citizenship movements. The pandemic
has reminded us that people are the essential end of politics. Not people in a
general and abstract sense, but each of us, simultaneously in our individuality
and as members of the social space to which we belong. Politics must place a
stronger emphasis on protecting and respecting our fundamental rights, starting
with the right to dignity, health, security and diversity, as well as creating
the conditions for everyone to develop their potential as best they know
how.
I
believe that the pandemic drama has prepared a good part of the citizens for a
new kind of awareness as regards their relationship with others and nature. I
think it has made us more measured in our ambitions. We are faced with the
possibility of renewing political practice. That is the main conclusion I draw
from the present situation. It is also the line that guides my vision of the
future. Politics tomorrow must mean a continuous struggle for human rights, for
democratisation, for smoothness in public management and for more solidarity.
We must build on the maturity we have acquired during this period of shock. If
this happens, the credibility of politics will be enhanced, multilateral
cooperation will be cemented and we will be in a better position to tackle what
I consider to be the three biggest global challenges of the decade: the fight
against poverty, the defence of freedom and the regeneration of the
environment, starting with the mitigation of climate change.
Indeed,
none of this should be new to us Europeans. Article 2 of the Treaty on European
Union clearly defines - and happily worded, which is not always the case when
it comes to legal commitments between states - the values that constitute the
fundamental foundations of our common project, including the centrality of the
human dimension of politics. But politicians, who are generally very skilful in
the games of opportunism and in the ambiguity of consensus designed to please
Greeks and Trojans, do not always support themselves as they should in that
article of the Treaty.
In
these circumstances, it is essential that the European Commission's budget for
the period 2021-2027 and the exceptional plan for economic recovery, which must
respond to the challenges created by the pandemic, recognise the essential need
for each Member State to respect the letter and spirit of the aforementioned
Article 2. Budgets and democracy are the two sides of the same Europe. Here
there can be no tricks or juggling of words and misunderstandings. The
Hungarian vetoes of Viktor Orbán and the Polish vetoes of Jaroslaw Kaczynski,
now also supported by Janez Janša, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, are
unacceptable. Let us speak clearly. Orbán is a despot at the head of a clique
that many accuse of kleptocracy. Kaczynski is a backward man who exploits feelings
from other times. Janša is a small brain man: he was the only European leader
to congratulate Donald Trump on his electoral "victory". They all
manipulate public opinion in their countries and will not change as long as
they retain control of power. We cannot let these gentlemen think that the EU
is just a source of money, unrelated to a policy of democratic values and
rights. Any compromise on this issue would mean that we would not have learned
anything from the cultural revolution that the pandemic crisis is offering
us.
(Automatic translation of the opinion piece I published today in the
Diário de Notícias, the old and prestigious Lisbon newspaper)
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