More on the PAN-PRI Unfriendly Fire

From José A. Crespo:

The PAN wants voters to identify the old hegemonic party as the primary responsible party for the present catatrophe in [security]. It seems that it's a campaign strategy --probably suggested by the Spanish publicist Antonio Sola--: pick at the PRI so that it loses its temper, in which case it would presumably scare off many voters. The PRI has avoided the fight as much as possible and defends its cause with reasonable serenity. If the PRI manages to keep calm, the PAN's strategy could be counterproductive, because such a scenario would leave its national leader looking like a barroom loudmouth who irresponsibly uses a grave and complex issue for petty electoral purposes.

That all seems pretty logical, and I imagine the result for the PAN will be somewhere in between stunning success and catastrophic failure. I'm of two minds about this dust-up. One the one hand, beyond the near-term electoral calculus, Germán Martínez has tarnished his image, and the PAN's strategy has sought to play on the electorate's fear in a way that reminds me a bit of George W. Bush and Iraq. Every time a politician accuses another of being linked to drug trafficking for electoral gain, it cheapens the charge and makes it a) easier for another politician to sling the same mud, and b) easier for the electorate to ignore, including in cases where the charge has merit.

At the same time, panistas have a point when they say that PRI politicians allowed multinational drug gangs to grab a toe-hold, and the PRI has been less than 100 percent cooperative with the PAN in terms of security. Here's Krauze (third time in Gancho in one day, he must be thrilled) from today's Times piece:

We could use more political cooperation as well: Mr. Calderón (and his National Action Party) are now fighting this battle without significant support from the opposition parties, the P.R.I. and the Party of the Democratic Revolution.

Much of the present PAN criticism has centered on the PRI's delaying the passage of the asset seizure law now before Congress, which is fair; Calderón has been hammered for not attacking the money-laundering networks that are a vital support for gangs, and here's a law that would allow Mexico to undercut their the financial supports, yet the PRI has dallied and, dare I say, sought to use the issue for political gain. After much stalling, they presented their own competing package as an earnest attempt to provide safeguards to protect Mexicans against the law's overly stringent application, effectively an instantaneous and no doubt temporary refashioning of the formerly all-powerful PRI as the libertarian party of the little guy.