The End of Podemos
So, farewell then Podemos. Its five deputies today abandoned Sumar, the left coalition that forms part of the government of Spain and will now join a Gallego secessionist, a Navarran conservative and a populist from the Canaries in the so-called Mixed Group, the freak show of Congress. From five million votes and 69 deputies in 2015 and ambition to overtake the PSOE as the country’s main left party to this, a sorry end for what was once the most promising new left project in Europe for decades.
It’s all down to the monstrous egos of two people; Pablo Iglesias and his wife Irene Montero. Over the years since the apogee of the party’s support, they purged everyone who dissented even slightly from their line; “What Pablo says is Socialism and what Irene says is Feminism. If you disagree you can fuck off and join Vox.”. The party must today have far more ex-members and comrades expelled as traitors than current activists. The five surviving deputies are living corpses, hanging on every word from the Great Leaders
The irony of all this is that Podemos, the party of the PhDs in Political Science, rose to replace Izquierda Unida, the Communist Party’s electoral vehicle, accusing it of ideological rigidity. The Communists have proved smarter and more adaptable to the times that are in it, are now the predominant force in Sumar and hence are in government with the power to affect people’s lives.
Another irony is that the party’s original vision of the way to do politics - street action at the limit of legality hand in hand with working in parliament - has to some degree been adopted by the PP and to a large one by Vox.
They’ll now huff and puff in Congress about how the government has caved into Zionism and big business. I doubt they’ll vote against it, at least for now. They know they’d be wiped out at the polls.