The International Day of Democracy was declared by the UN General Assembly in 2007 in order to remember that democracy is not only an electoral system, but a living process of participation, rights and shared responsibilities. In most European countries, the democratic system was consolidated after World War II (1950); countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece saw it coming after the fall of dictatorships in the mid-1970s, and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Eastern European countries joined democracy. However, I believe I am not mistaken if I reflect the feelings of the majority of citizens about democracy today: disenchantment. 

The discontent in Spain, after almost 50 years of democracy, is due to the lack of political leaders who are concerned about the common good, about the general interest, about making services work; about public administrations that lack control over the use and destination of money that does not belong to them, but to the citizens; by political speeches full of insults and disqualifications, and lacking in proposals; by public appearances where the microphones are silenced for fear of being questioned; by a citizenry and rulers who hide in anonymity and emotionally defend causes whose origin and raison d'être they do not know. But above all, I am referring to media and journalists harassed by the pressure of political power and threatened by lack of resources. When in the Public discourse the word "readjustment" appears more times than reduction, "de-judicialization of the conflict" instead of amnesty, "penal relief" instead of condoning crimes for free, "negative growth" instead of economic recession, the temperature for the weakness of democracy is very high and therefore, it is very sick.

And how can citizens react and overcome this disenchantment? With a strong and resilient journalism. 

The average Freedom Act has just come into force in Europe. This law aims to protect the integrity and independence of journalists from political and economic powers. It is a necessary step, although insufficient, since the best guarantee of freedom is not in the rule, but in a citizenry that defends courageous and professional media capable of monitoring power.

From the research project ReMeD (Resilient average For Democracy), funded by the European Commission, we encourage to demand free, independent and courageous media; to support untainted news services; to applaud journalistic actions committed to the good of society and not to partisan interests; to vote and support those politicians who respond with honesty and who do not excuse themselves with unfounded pretexts.

In the context of the ReMeD project , we interviewed more than ninety stakeholders in the media ecosystem, including journalists, content creators, citizens, fact checkers and media executives from eight European countries. When asked about the legislation, it is curious to note a common sentiment among countries as disparate as the UK, Norway, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Ireland. Although they consider the measures to be right and to respond to professional good practice, in general, those interviewed think that the best press law is the one that does not exist. I agree with this opinion, since national governments have to implement these measures in their countries and develop mechanisms to control and sanction. This opens the door to the arbitrariness of governments and the temptation of control that threatens public administration. If the longed-for democracy existed and the media fulfilled their function freely and professionally, there would be no need for media registries or press laws. 

When information is no longer at the service of the citizenry, it becomes a dangerous weapon that threatens the freedoms that have been won and erodes the basis of any democracy. Citizens have a decisive task: to demand and support a free, independent and committed journalism for the common good. Let us remember it on this Democracy Day: without free media, democracy is sick.

Still savoring Alcaraz's victory in the last US Open, I make these words of Gregorio Marañón my own and I urge public authorities and those responsible for the media to meditate on them frequently: "People can only progress under freedom, but for that freedom to exist, it is necessary to administer it with the same severe discipline, with the same rigor every day and every hour, with which athletes buy their strength and health".