Syriza’s shocking acceptance of the harsh austerity regime in Greece has not 
only sent its own support plummeting, but also that of its close Spanish ally, 
Podemos, once touted as the next left-wing government in Europe. Only 15% 
surveyed this week said they would vote for the party, about half as many who 
favoured it earlier this year. “The example of Greece has been very damaging to 
Podemos,” notes one discouraged former militant in the article linked to below. 

The Podemos leadership has contributed to the party’s decline by embracing the 
Tsipras faction in Syrize and mimicking its  evolution. The development has 
predictably cheered the political, academic, and media elites who feared the 
party’s rise and who now welcome its “normalization” and “shift from idealism 
to pragmatism”.

Should Podemos not follow Syriza in forming a government, it will be no bad 
thing. If left-wing parties and governments are unwilling or unable to mobilize 
their supporters against the formidable forces of international capitalism 
arrayed against them, better they remain in opposition rather than crossing 
over and imposing austerity on their working class base. The record of social 
democratic governments shows this to have mostly been the case. They have 
sapped rather than strengthened the movements for reform which lifted them into 
office, prompting disillusionment and a retreat from politics rather than 
increased confidence, consciousness, and involvement by the great numbers of 
people who voted for them.

http://www.ibtimes.com/european-anti-austerity-2015-podemos-spains-protest-party-looks-uncertain-future-2079500
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l

Reply via email to