"I didn't have time". This week marked the centenary of the birth of Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo (1926-2008), who was President of the Government between 1981 and 1982. 645 days in Moncloa that earned him the record for the shortest-serving president in democracy.
In his Memoria viva de la Transición, a work in which he discovers his most ironic (and unknown) facet, he reviews the presidency of the Executive and concludes that whoever holds the position can get bored, but he "did not have time".
He began his political career as a procurator in the Francoist Cortes for the trade union bloc and collaborated on the Development plans. He was a member of all governments between 1975 and 1982, except for a parenthesis in which he dedicated his efforts to presiding over the UCD parliamentary group, when the knives were already starting to be sharpened.
He presided over the Council of Ministers for 22 months, the same meeting in which, during his time as Minister of Relations with the European Communities (1979), he enlivened "the aviary" exchanging festive couplets with Joaquín Garrigues, "to which the letterhead of the Council of Ministers gave greater comic force".
During his term, the map of autonomies was configured, fundamental aspects of the Constitution were developed, social milestones such as divorce were achieved, and progress was made in Spain's integration into the new world, which was proving to be Atlantist and Europeanist.
Calvo-Sotelo picked up the baton from Adolfo Suárez and continued the program that had won the elections. In parallel, he laid the groundwork so that, after the socialists came to power, Spain would not be recognized "even by the mother who gave birth to it".
Land as you can
With Calvo-Sotelo, the paradox occurs that his arrival was the most talked-about event of his entire presidency. His departure and defeat were so assumed that before saying goodbye, he was already carrying out the "transfer of power." The afternoon of his investiture went down in history as the coup attempt by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero. And although the true vote in which he was elected president, two days later, was a prime example of harmony and sense of state among the parliamentary groups, all of Spain remained shocked by the shots.
After his accident-prone arrival, the second president of the democracy, and the only one not directly appointed by the ballot box, had to face a complex economic and social situation. "UCD had the privilege of governing in Spain during the deepest and longest economic crisis of the century", he acknowledges in his memoirs. A conjuncture, which added to the enthusiasm aroused by the PSOE campaign, led the centrist party to a very humble result in the general elections of 1982. UCD went on to occupy fewer seats than the blue bench, which had been occupied by its members for the last five years.
The autonomies to come
Calvo-Sotelo was always aware that they had two transitions in hand, the internal and the external. In the domestic sphere, during the almost two years he was president, the autonomous map was configured. Galicia, Andalusia, Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Murcia, the Valencian Community, the Community of Madrid, Aragon, Castilla la Mancha, and the Canary Islands saw their Statutes of Autonomy published in the BOE.
Furthermore, on the territorial level, the Basque Country's Concert was finalized, the Foral Regime of Navarre was established, and the first tax assignments to Catalonia were materialized: wealth tax, inheritance tax, property transfer tax...
The Constitution of 1978 was approaching its first five years, and as it was set out in it, it was up to the different governments to develop its articles. Between 1981 and 1982, the "Law of the Ombudsman", "of Honor and Intimacy" or "of the Court of Auditors" were approved.
On the social level, the Divorce Law is the main milestone for which the Calvo-Sotelo Executive is remembered. It also had to deal with the 23-F trial.
Small victories
Before reaching the presidency, he accumulated great experience among ministries. As he himself acknowledged, none as intense as the endeavor of bringing Spain closer to the EU and to NATO. Under Suárez's orders, he was in charge of the Ministry of Relations with the European Communities. Between 1978 and 1980, he laid the groundwork and initiated the talks that in 1986 would crystallize with our country's accession to the community club.
Calvo-Sotelo spoke French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and English, and had to make great efforts to convince Suárez to abandon the Francoist coordinates: Arab and American. Suárez felt much more comfortable on his expeditions through Latin America than in Brussels, where he felt out of place and not just because of the language barrier. On the other hand, Calvo-Sotelo moved like a fish in water in those environments.
Although the entry into the EU was the result of the work of both the UCD and the PSOE, the accession to NATO bears its signature. A milestone that placed Spain as a reliable international partner after 40 years of dictatorship and that he always remembered with pride: "It was one of the few battles I won against Felipe González".
Last April 14th marked the 100th anniversary of Calvo-Sotelo's birth. The gray man who reached Moncloa despite everything and against no one, and who, already away from power, lived accordingly: "I am neither so serious, nor has it gone so badly for me in public and private life".