The toxicity of Spanish politics arrives at Benidorm Fest

Like any irrelevant matter susceptible to stimulates the polarization of public opinion and to inoculate a sense of insult in a sector of the population that needs to be restored, the controversial election of the representative of Spain in Eurovision 2022 made the leap into politics and became a new battlefield in the war between parties.

With the decision of Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) in Galicia in Común to ask in the Congress of Deputies that those responsible for RTVE be committed to explanations about the alleged “irregularities & rdquor; in the process that Chanel and her song ‘SloMo’ gave as the winner to other candidates who have greater support among the enjoyed by the public (Tanxugueiras and ‘Terra’, and Rigoberta Bandini and ‘Ay, madre’), the controversial outcome of the Benidorm Fest has taken a quantum leap to the institutional level. The news, which should seem grotesque, was almost predictable, as the maneuvers to make the song competition a front for political action had already come from before.

Mobilization factors

As it was known that Tanxugueiras would participate in the Benidorm Fest with a subject in Galician (a language that, on the other hand, the trio usually use both in their artistic work and in their daily lives), the linguistic question, with its political derivative, has become an important mobilizing factor, both for and against (TVE has never sent a song to Eurovision that was sung in an official language in the Spanish state other than Castilian). Something similar happened to ‘Ay, mama’ by Rigoberta Bandini, whose unequivocal state of feminist national anthem it fostered a stream of adhesions and a surge of hostility that had little to do with the purely musical aspect of the song. And there the representatives of the parties came to try to get a cut.

While the main leaders of Galician nationalism waved the Tanxugueiras flag with legitimate but somewhat shocking zeal, outside Galicia the political forces in Podemos’ orbit were openly in favor of a victory for Rigoberta Bandini (With a few exceptions, such as the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, who publicly supported the ‘pandeireteiras’). The Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, came to paraphrase the verses of ‘Ay, mama’ at an election campaign event in Castilla y León.

“feminist statements”

As expected, the right wing entered the rag. The leader of the PP, Pablo Casado, called for “less feminist insults & rdquor; to “those Podemos ministers who made statements about a song & rdquor; and the popular deputy Edurne Uriarte, in a much more poignant tweet, tries to “the flabby feminism of Bandini’s tits & rdquor; that slipped the idea that the Barcelona singer is pro-independence (a rather vain accusation, on the other hand).

Rigoberta Bandini and that flabby feminism of “the tits & rdquor ;, a new reference for Irene Montero and the far left

And it is that Bandini is a Catalan who “feels trouble Spanish & rdquor;

– Edurne Uriarte (@EdurneUriarte) 29 January 2022

In this climate of ‘racketeering’ and toxicity, the final of the Benidorm Fest was reached on Saturday, in which the weight of the opinions of the so-called professional jury tipped the scales in favor of Chanel despite the fact that public voices downgraded Cuban singer, dancer and actress Olesa de Montserrat to third place, behind Tanxugueiras and Rigoberta Bandini. A disputable and highly controversial result that led to RTVE acknowledging that the process would need to be reviewed for future calls and which unleashed the accusations of tongo.

Transparency

Well, the parties came to that turbulent river to throw their corners. Galicia in Common, coalition formed by Podemos and Esquerda Unida, registered in Congress several questions addressed to the Board of RTVE so that it makes public “the evaluation criteria for the composition of the jury [del Benidorm Fest], the detailed score of each [de los miembros del jurado] and the assessment criteria set out in the competition development rules for the final score & rdquor ;. “The public entity must guarantee a match with total transparency & rdquor;, claims the Deputy of Galicia in Common Antón Gómez Reino.

The BNG has also registered several questions in this regard, which is also a request for the appearance of the President of RTVE, José Manuel Pérez Tornero, to explain to Congress how the jurors were elected and why many viewers struggled to vote. “There are many Galicians who have the legal perception that they acted with prejudice to prevent a song in ‘Galician’ from going to Eurovision,” said Block Néstor Rego.

Related news

While this was happening, both Rigoberta Bandini (stage name under which Barcelona’s Paula Ribó works) and the members of Tanxugueiras defended the legitimacy of Chanel’s victory on social networks and wished her all the best in Eurovision. And, intelligently, they turned the page.