One of the things most lacking at this time of so much concern for the public are the explanations. Leaders and politicians have confused making statements, with or without questions, or holding press conferences, with providing explanations. It's true that they appear more than ever on radio, television and newspapers. But they talk. They do not explain themselves. And when they do so, they do it late. Always on the defensive and when there is a degree of irritation.
In less than 24 hours, we have had two cases in which the public has reacted with irritation. The first occurred on Saturday, with the illegal rave in Llinars del Vallès that lasted for almost 40 hours and was attended by several hundred people. While the general public were in confinement and complying with the recommendations of the authorities, a group of idiots ignored all the protocols, and the Catalan interior ministry and the Mossos d'Esquadra police apparently just looked on from a distance. The public appearance of police chief Trapero did not diminish the anger, but it did serve to provide the counterpoint of why the police responded as they did. But he arrived late and the idea had already taken root in people's minds that there were too few officers and too little haste in taking action.
On Sunday we had another instance, even more grave: the delay in the vaccination of health workers and elderly residents of care homes, a sector that has all its hopes resting on the vaccine, because it has been the most affected in terms of mortality. How is it possible that only 7,774 people - 0.1% of the population - were vaccinated when 60,000 doses were received? How long will vaccination take at this rate? Is it normal that only 13% of the doses received were administered in a week? Why were there no vaccinations on public holidays?
The Catalan health ministry acknowledged on Sunday that it had been very optimistic in the timings it had set, that it needed a week of preparation before picking up the pace to 60,000 doses a week and that there was a delay in the arrival of ultra-low-temperature freezers, blocked by the closure of the Channel tunnel which occurred last week. Also, that there was a lack of medical staff since we had to avoid the risk of leaving primary care unprotected. I obviously don’t know the details and whether or not the planning was well carried out. But wouldn't it be better to explain the fire risk before the blaze breaks out? Is it really any help to the public to know that in other autonomous communities or in some EU states the pace is also very slow at the moment?
The 21st century is the age of communication, no matter how tightly governments may cling to the idea that it is the age of declarations. The public won't have the wool pulled over their eyes and will see through any politician who attempts to do so. It shouldn’t be hard to learn this lesson because, in the end, it’s pretty basic.