The leader of Democracia21 and candidate for President of the Government, Míriam González Durántez, has turned to an original staging to convey her political message ahead of the general elections on 29 November next. In a video published on her X account, the lawyer appears in a playground next to a rope structure for climbing, which she uses as a metaphor for the difficulties involved in driving change in Spain. Her message is brief, but direct: "Everything is possible".
"They say that the country's politics is like climbing a mountain," González begins, pointing to the structure behind her. Next, she poses a question to the camera: "And how do you get up?", before responding that, as with any other challenge, the way to move forward is "step by step". Immediately after, she walks over to the rope net and starts climbing while continuing to develop her message.
The candidate ends up perched at the top of the structure and launches a new reflection: "Of course you can. How could it not be possible? Everything is possible". The video, which lasts just 14 seconds, thus combines an everyday scene with a message of optimism that fits the speech on political renewal she has been advocating since the presentation of her party.
The post comes when there are two weeks left until the general elections of 29N, an appointment in which Democracia21 aims to secure its first representatives in Congress. González has focused much of her campaign on criticizing polarization between the major parties and defending the need to introduce new formations into the Spanish political system, with a proposal that seeks to position itself outside the usual left-versus-right confrontation.
Democracia21 seeks to make its way among PSOE, PP and Vox
The metaphor used by González matches the difficulties faced by her own party in carving out a place for itself on the electoral stage. Democracia21 was officially presented last 10 October, after its founder announced during the summer her intention to create a political project focused on institutional renewal and the modernization of the country.
The early call for elections has forced the party to speed up its organization and limit its participation to the constituencies of Madrid and Barcelona, where it will run in a coalition with Ciudadanos and Unión de Ciudadanos Independientes (UCIN), under the name Democracia para el Siglo 21.
The agreement with Ciudadanos involves the incorporation of a political formation that did not field candidates in the general elections of July 2023 and that now seeks to return to Congress through its alliance with González. The candidate publicly thanked her new partners for their support and defended that her project is open to anyone who wants to work for a different way of doing politics.
The leader has also insisted that Democracia21 does not intend to become a mere parliamentary support for the major parties. In an interview she gave to RNE on the past 6 November, she said that her formation would continue working after the elections, regardless of the result, and she recalled that in a fragmented Parliament a candidacy with few deputies can play a relevant role in negotiations.
As for possible post-election agreements, González has stated that he does not want to facilitate Pedro Sánchez’s continuity in government or contribute to Vox’s entry into the Executive. His approach consists of conditioning any parliamentary negotiations on the acceptance of specific measures for institutional renewal.
Political renewal, housing and reducing advisers: González’s proposals
Beyond the motivational message of the video, Democracia21 has placed the fight against corruption and the reform of institutions among its main electoral priorities. The formation proposes reducing by 90% the number of political advisers, eliminating certain types of special status for officeholders, and changing the system for electing the members of the General Council of the Judiciary in order to reduce the parties’ involvement.
It also proposes limiting to two full terms or eight years the maximum time of staying in the same public office, in addition to introducing mechanisms that would allow citizens to participate more directly in certain political decisions.
On economic matters, González has defended measures aimed at facilitating the activity of self-employed workers and small businesses, simplifying administrative procedures and increasing productivity. Housing is another of his priorities, with a proposal to promote a national plan for building neighborhoods through agreements between administrations and companies that offer legal stability for a decade.
The candidate has also claimed that the major parties reach agreements on strategic issues, especially those related to the functioning of the State, housing, and economic modernization. In her public statements, she has argued that Spain needs to overcome permanent political confrontation and recover the ability to reach consensus.
In this context, the rock-climbing network video adds to a campaign in which González bets on direct messages and brief audiovisual formats to make her candidacy known. The recording contains no specific proposals or explicit references to other political leaders, but instead uses the image of a gradual ascent to convey the idea that difficulties can be overcome through small advances.
With the general elections of November 29 drawing ever closer, Democracia21 is trying to gain visibility in a scenario dominated by the dispute between Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal. González seeks to present herself as an alternative to that confrontation and is now using a visual metaphor to summarize the message with which she wants to face her first electoral campaign: to move forward "step by step" until reaching her political goals.