Workers? What Workers?
Politics has always been a strange animal. Now, it's changed into an alien life form. In the U.S. the Democrats, traditionally left of center and more interested in social justice than in lining millionaires' pockets, has turned hard right. The Republicans, which used to be more interested in adhering strictly to the Constitution, have gone into cuckoo-land. In Europe, Nicolas Sarkozy has declared an admiration of Vladimir Putin. Once upon a time, European conservatives had no love for totalitarian Russia. And the Spanish Socialist Party has gone so far to the right, it has lost most of its votes and has now imploded upon itself.
The Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) was founded in 1879 and described itself as a socialist and marxist party of the working class. From its beginning, its highest ideals were to better the conditions of all workers. The founder of the party, Pablo Iglesias, also founded a union, Union General de Trabajadores. At that time, anarchism was widespread among industrial workers, especially in Barcelona, with its own unions, and the Socialists stuck their foot in the door with this union. The Socialist party believed in a state, but in a lay republic with social justice.
They collaborated with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, in the 1920's, and helped push through social legislation. And then, in the Second Republic, they played an important part in the government during the first two years. In the following two years, though, it broke up into a centrist minority, and a majority that wanted to radicalize the republic further, to make it resemble more closely the Soviet model. That led to revolts in 1934 in the mining country in Asturias and industrial Catalunya. Eventually, the highly fragmented elections of 1936 led to Franco's revolt in July and the Civil War.
During Franco's years, the Socialist party went underground. It emerged after Franco's death and went on to a landslide victory in 1982. After that, as it was obliged to sell off the state monopolies to fully join the European Union, was caught up in a dirty war on Basque terrorism, and eventually, political scandals, it gradually lost the power to convince the public. What might have killed it, though, were the last four years it governed in coalition, when President Zapatero was practically forced by the European Union to instill austerity measures under threat of intervention like had been done in Italy, or financial strangulation, like what has been done to Greece.
Leftist voters have never forgiven the Socialists for that. The advent of Podemos as a grass roots movement took away many votes in the elections last December and again this June. Other leftist votes went to smaller left-wing parties, such as the Catalan and Basque parties that have always fought for independence. There is now no clear majority in the leftist camp. This was the straw that broke the rose, the Socialist symbol. All the conservative party needs to form a government, is for the Socialists to abstain from voting. The PP will win by a simple majority, and be free to form a government. The leader of the Socialists until now, Pedro Sánchez, has been against Rajoy from the beginning, and has said, "no is no." The more centrist leader, Susana Díaz, governor of Andalucía, wants the PSOE to abstain and let the PP form a government. Otherwise, with the abstention, the deadlock would continue and we would have to vote again at Christmas.
This past Saturday, Pedro Sánchez was defenestrated at a meeting at national headquarters in Madrid. The Socialists now are divided into two camps, those that do not want to let the PP govern, out of principle, and those that want a stable government now, even if that means the PP remain in power. Most people in the street who voted for the Socialists feel betrayed by the turn this has taken. From being a left-of-center party whose main interest was social justice, it has become a follow-the-leader, don't-make-waves party that seems scared of its own history. It's gone too far to the right, and is losing its supporters.
One of the protestors against the defenestration in Madrid last Saturday, said, "The Socialist Party is the workers' party and has to help the workers, not the millionaires." It seems the "obrero" in "Partido Socialista Obrero Español" is the most ignored. So much so, the party should just drop the word out of its title. It no longer represents them.
The Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) was founded in 1879 and described itself as a socialist and marxist party of the working class. From its beginning, its highest ideals were to better the conditions of all workers. The founder of the party, Pablo Iglesias, also founded a union, Union General de Trabajadores. At that time, anarchism was widespread among industrial workers, especially in Barcelona, with its own unions, and the Socialists stuck their foot in the door with this union. The Socialist party believed in a state, but in a lay republic with social justice.
They collaborated with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, in the 1920's, and helped push through social legislation. And then, in the Second Republic, they played an important part in the government during the first two years. In the following two years, though, it broke up into a centrist minority, and a majority that wanted to radicalize the republic further, to make it resemble more closely the Soviet model. That led to revolts in 1934 in the mining country in Asturias and industrial Catalunya. Eventually, the highly fragmented elections of 1936 led to Franco's revolt in July and the Civil War.
During Franco's years, the Socialist party went underground. It emerged after Franco's death and went on to a landslide victory in 1982. After that, as it was obliged to sell off the state monopolies to fully join the European Union, was caught up in a dirty war on Basque terrorism, and eventually, political scandals, it gradually lost the power to convince the public. What might have killed it, though, were the last four years it governed in coalition, when President Zapatero was practically forced by the European Union to instill austerity measures under threat of intervention like had been done in Italy, or financial strangulation, like what has been done to Greece.
Leftist voters have never forgiven the Socialists for that. The advent of Podemos as a grass roots movement took away many votes in the elections last December and again this June. Other leftist votes went to smaller left-wing parties, such as the Catalan and Basque parties that have always fought for independence. There is now no clear majority in the leftist camp. This was the straw that broke the rose, the Socialist symbol. All the conservative party needs to form a government, is for the Socialists to abstain from voting. The PP will win by a simple majority, and be free to form a government. The leader of the Socialists until now, Pedro Sánchez, has been against Rajoy from the beginning, and has said, "no is no." The more centrist leader, Susana Díaz, governor of Andalucía, wants the PSOE to abstain and let the PP form a government. Otherwise, with the abstention, the deadlock would continue and we would have to vote again at Christmas.
This past Saturday, Pedro Sánchez was defenestrated at a meeting at national headquarters in Madrid. The Socialists now are divided into two camps, those that do not want to let the PP govern, out of principle, and those that want a stable government now, even if that means the PP remain in power. Most people in the street who voted for the Socialists feel betrayed by the turn this has taken. From being a left-of-center party whose main interest was social justice, it has become a follow-the-leader, don't-make-waves party that seems scared of its own history. It's gone too far to the right, and is losing its supporters.
One of the protestors against the defenestration in Madrid last Saturday, said, "The Socialist Party is the workers' party and has to help the workers, not the millionaires." It seems the "obrero" in "Partido Socialista Obrero Español" is the most ignored. So much so, the party should just drop the word out of its title. It no longer represents them.
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