A Spanish political columnist has argued that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez fits the tongue-in-cheek label gafe, a term for a person who attracts bad luck, though the author considers the label a generous one.
Jorge Fernández Díaz, writing in an opinion column, listed disasters coinciding with Sánchez’s time in office: the Covid pandemic, during which Spain ranked among the countries with the highest mortality rates; the Filomena snowstorm, described as the worst in living memory for Madrid; a nationwide blackout that left much of the Spanish population without power or communications for many hours; the La Palma volcanic eruption; and the deadly DANA floods in Valencia.
To that list Fernández Díaz added the current heatwaves, with extreme temperatures across much of Spain, and a succession of wildfires burning more land than has been recorded in many years.
The author drew a distinction between natural events and those he attributed to human negligence or political failure, citing the Adamuz rail accident and the blackout. He argued the gafe label was lenient precisely because some of the disasters were not natural and therefore could not escape political responsibility.
The article also addressed the situation in Ceuta, which Fernández Díaz said almost all national and foreign media, domestic and international, had characterized as a virtual invasion, peaceful but an invasion, and one with no precedent in Spain.
He closed by citing Roosevelt, paraphrasing the former president as having said that when an unexpected human event occurs, it has doubtless been properly organized.
