“It Was 40 Years Ago! We Are in Another Country!”: Neme Erupts at Senator Walker Over Matthei‘s political positioning
A heated exchange on the television program Mucho Gusto saw journalist José Antonio Neme sharply criticize Senator Matías Walker’s defense of presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei’s appeal to both the center-right and center-left. Neme questioned the relevance of Matthei’s attempts to draw support from ancient political alignments, arguing that the Chilean political landscape has fundamentally shifted.
The debate centered on Walker’s assertion that Matthei represents the political center, citing her potential to attract figures from the former Concertación coalition and ministers from the administration of President Patricio Aylwin. Neme vehemently disagreed, dismissing Aylwin’s era as distant history. “But Aylwin was 40 years ago! For God’s sake! We are in another country!” he exclaimed, further questioning the current viability of the Democratic party and its representation within Chilean society.
“Matthei is like those supermarket cars that a wheel is leaving. You don’t know if it goes there or here,” Neme stated, illustrating his skepticism about her political direction.Walker countered by pointing to Germany‘s accomplished governance as a model of stability, but Neme remained unconvinced.
“Citizenship demands answers that do not come from the political center,” Neme asserted, while continuing to defend his position. He concluded wiht a pointed question: “Don’t you realize that, for some reason, the political center in the world is pisfed?”
