The Next Round

Germán Martínez continues tossing verbal volleys at the PRI, saying in his Sunday message that "although it hurts them to admit it, a PRI president never dared to unleash [a struggle against drug traffickers] like Felipe Calderón is doing."

In today's column, Ricardo Rafael worries that the PRI-PAN sniping is going to doom the chances for any legislative accomplishments in the next legislature, and says that the arguing reminds him of Calderón's multiple political personalities:

The mandate at the voting booths was very clear: a government divided and forced, at the same time, to cooperate with its adversary.

It was with this premise that Felipe Calderón approached his job during the first two years. And he has obtained --according to the polls-- a more than acceptable margin of popular approval. The Calderón that knows how to cook consensus has deserved the applause from the majority of citizens.

Despite that, before an electoral process that approaches, the other Calderón --the politician that likes to open up space with elbows and shoves-- would seem to have taken the forefront now. Overnight, the opposition party with which he had established his most important alliance is presented as a traitor.