Necessary sacrifices in the face of Russian blackmail

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned yesterday in

that "we must prepare for the worst with the cut in Russian gas."

It is known that, after the atrocious invasion of Ukraine, the Putin regime is using energy flows as a destabilizing tool and a true weapon of war.

But the support for Ukraine in the legitimate defense of its independence and sovereignty is

ignoring liberal democracy

and the values ​​of European humanism.

As much as this in the current circumstances, as we are suffering, entails certain sacrifices.

In this sense, the Government of the nation could not abdicate the responsibility of approving a

just as they are doing in the rest of the countries of the community club, out of necessity and solidarity.

Of course, the decree approved yesterday in the Council of Ministers is guilty of an evident improvisation and leaves doubts that it will be effective in meeting the objectives.

Let us remember that the Twenty-seven have agreed to reduce gas consumption by 15% from this same month of August and until next March 31.

At the moment it is a voluntary decision, although Brussels has designed various scenarios and everything could change if Moscow ends up completely closing the gas tap.

Spain,

of Russian hydrocarbons and because it currently has an advantageous reserve position, it has managed to lower this voluntary reduction, between 7 and 8%.

A lot of pedagogy is needed on the part of our authorities for the essential raising of citizen awareness.

And this forces the Government, first of all, to transmit the maximum rigor, something

that end up discouraging the population about the urgent need to face the energy crisis.

Moncloa had advanced since

.

The latter seems fundamental given that it suffered the largest contraction since the pandemic in July.

And, as the manufacturers warn, the collapse in sales anticipates the industrial recession.

The regulation known yesterday extends the

that were already being applied in the Administration agencies to public transport, workplaces, shops and businesses facing the public.

The need for a collective effort is undeniable.

What needs to be calmly examined is whether these impositions and the encroachment on freedoms that they entail

and if the complexity of the casuistry is well attended.

Because, saving the distances, the expansive vocation in the exercise of power that this Government demonstrated to face the pandemic has already led to abuses and serious errors such as the alarm decrees that were unconstitutional.

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