This Tuesday, Ana Rosa Quintana has returned to the set of the program TardeAR after covering first-hand the devastating effects of the last Isolated High Level Depression (DANA) in Valencia. In a speech full of vehemence, the journalist has not hesitated to question the management of this catastrophe, blaming both organizations and different political parties.
In her plea, Quintana directed her criticisms especially against Pedro Sánchez, resorting to a phrase that has been widely circulated in right-wing circlesIf they need help, let them ask for it”. However, the leader’s exact words were: “If they need resources, let them ask for them and the government will be there”.
Thus, the presenter has rescued the sentence: “There is a phrase that will always haunt SánchezIf they need help, let them ask for it”. Recalling the famous reflection of Lord Byron, who said that “it takes a thousand years to form a State; but an hour may suffice to reduce it to dust”, Quintana has launched a harsh sentence: “In this case, to mud or, rather, in his own words (of Pedro Sánchez): ‘to pure mud”.
In addition, Quintana has expressed concern about the lack of clear and forceful responses by the institutions, pointing out the absence of an efficient reaction in the first days after the hurricane: “Today marks the first week of the most destructive hurricane of the century. Seven days later, Spaniards still do not receive answers on how everything has been managed, or rather, how everything has not been managed. Everyone has done it frankly badly, from all sides”.
The communicator has emphasized what she considers to be a disintegration of the very concept of the State at a time of emergency.echoing Sánchez’s statements that “we are all State” and responding that “this is precisely what has failed”.
In his message, Mr. Quintana has openly called for the resignation of several key figurespointing the finger at both the central government and the regional administration. Among his criticisms, he has accused the Government of the Valencian Community of not activating the relevant warnings sufficiently in advance, the central government of omitting to declare a state of emergency, and the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) of providing erroneous estimates of the volume of rainfall. Likewise, it has mentioned the Hydrographic Confederation of the Júcar for not clearly warning about the dimensions of the floods that hit the Valencian population.
The tertuliano has not missed the opportunity to question the response of the Government to the tragedy, denouncing the delay in acting in the affected area. “Why did it take five days to go to the site of the tragedy? Why do we have to wait for a community to ask for help to act? Why has the population been abandoned?” he asked, stressing that the delays in intervention have caused “irreparable damage to the credibility of the institutions and the political classes”.
In closing, Quintana has launched a question that points to the political background of the crisisWould the same thing have happened if the Government and the Valencian Community had belonged to the same party? It is also worth noting that he has suggested that the institutions, far from assuming responsibility, have launched a “propaganda machine” to defend their actions.