The squares in front of scores of town halls across the Spanish state were jam-packed with enthusiastic crowds on June 13. Tens of thousands had gathered to celebrate the inauguration of progressive administrations elected in a leftward swing in the May 24 local government elections for Spain鈥檚 8144 councils.
Podemos
It was clear early on that something special was happening in the May鈥 鈥24鈥 鈥琹ocal government and regional elections across the Spanish state.鈥 In Spanish elections,鈥 鈥瑃he voter participation rate gets announced at鈥 鈥1pm and鈥 鈥6pm鈥 鈥 鈥瑆hile voting is still taking place.鈥 鈥琖ell before the polling stations closed,鈥 鈥瑃he news was that participation was up about鈥 鈥5%鈥 鈥琲n Catalonia and about鈥 鈥8%鈥 鈥琲n the working-class districts of Barcelona.鈥
Popular left-wing activist activist Ada Colau has won Barcelona's May 24 mayoral elections. Running on the ticket of Barcelona Together, which united several left groups and grassroots activists, Colau came first with 25% of the vote.
A commentator for the mainstream Barcelona daily La Vanguardia reported on May 9 on a conversation he overheard in a lift between two 鈥渆xecutives of a certain age鈥.
They were talking about an opinion poll giving the radical, movement-based ticket Barcelona Together the lead in the March 24 election for Barcelona City Council.
Executive A: 鈥淗ave you seen that [incumbent Barcelona mayor Xavier] Trias is losing?鈥
Executive B: 鈥淵es, [lead candidate for Barcelona Together Ada] Colau is winning.鈥
A central pillar of the Spanish economic and political establishment came crashing down on Paril 16.
Rodrigo Rato, former deputy prime minister in the 1996-2004 People鈥檚 Party (PP) government of Jose Maria Aznar and head of the International Monetary Fund from 2004 to 2007, was detained on suspicion of tax evasion, concealment of assets and fraud.
Spain's left-wing Podemos party would win a general election if it were held today, a Metroscopa poll released on April 12 found. General elections are scheduled for December.
Podemos, which was founded in January last year, came first with the support of 22.1% of those questioned. The opposition Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) regained lost ground to come second with 21.9% of the vote. The ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) would come third with 20.8% of the vote.
Experience proves that left-wing movements can win government, but nevertheless not hold power. Democracy, in other words the exercise of power by the people and for the people, requires much more.
The problem is now being faced in Greece with with radical left party SYRIZA, which won elections in January. It will have to be faced in Spain if the new anti-austerity party Podemos wins November elections.
What does the victory of radical left party SYRIZA in Greece's January 25 elections mean for politics in Europe, at Europe-wide and national levels? Both levels are closely intertwined, and since SYRIZA鈥檚 win have been having rapid feedback effects on each another.
Across Europe, the reverberations of SYRIZA鈥檚 win are being felt with rising force, both in 鈥減eripheral鈥 Europe, but also in the German-led European Union 鈥渃ore鈥.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid on January 31 in a huge 鈥淢arch for Change鈥 to support Spain's new anti-austerity party Podemos.
The party has grown in support after the left-wing, anti-austerity SYRIZA party in Greece won last week's elections. This has brought hope that change could be in the air for other European countries whose debt is being used to justify austerity.
On the demonstration, people chanted 鈥測es we can鈥 and 鈥渢ic tac tic tac鈥 鈥 suggesting the clock was ticking and time was running out for the political elite.
An old truism says that in periods of crisis, politics speeds up.
That is being strikingly confirmed in the Spanish state after the June 2 abdication of King Juan Carlos. So too is its corollary 鈥 that institutions that seemed solid and long-lasting suddenly look out-of-date and fragile.
- Previous page
- Page 3