Spain's Ruling Socialists Crushed in Polls

[sufrommich]

Source: ABC News

Spain's ruling Socialists suffered a crushing defeat to conservatives in municipal and regional elections Sunday, losing even historic strongholds against a backdrop of economic crisis and unprecedented street sit-ins by Spaniards furious with what they see as selfish and corrupt politicians.

With more than 90 percent of the municipal votes counted, the opposition Popular Party had an advantage of 10 percentage points and more than two million votes — compared to less than a point and 150,000 votes in the last such vote in 2007.

A sea of jubilant supporters waving blue and white Popular Party flags gathered outside party headquarters as the final votes were counted. Partial or complete results showed that the party also won virtually all of the 13 regional government that were up for grabs.

The results put the Popular Party in an even stronger position to win general elections due in about a year.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=13658304

[joshcryer]

1. Wonder if they'll try to void the results since the protestors could be seen as "messing...

...with the vote."

[FLAprogressive]

2. Let me bet, their "Socialist Party" is a Third Way Operation now.....and then they wonder why people

would rather just elect the "real thing".

Like Harry Truman said.....people would rather vote for a Repub than a Dem that acts like one.

[ClarkUSA]

5. Just curious. What facts are your "bet" based on?

[FLAprogressive]

9. A lot of parties formerly on the left have lost by switching to a Third Way ideology.

[Warpy]

17. The horrible austerity measures they've cursed the public with

for one thing. I think having them perverted into another Third Way party seems likely.

I doubt the conservatives will be any better and they'll probably be a lot worse.

Just like it happens here, eh?

[girl gone mad]

19. Yes, they have sold out entirely to neoliberalism.

The politicians have acted as puppets of the banks and oligarchs. Sound familiar?

[Mosaic]

24. And always remember

neoliberlism is really free market conservatism in disguise!

[FLAprogressive]

32. +1

[No Elephants]

37. I must have missed the disguise part. Neoliberalism looks exactly like conservatism to me.

[Ken Burch]

27. Economically, they have been fairly Third Way

Basically, they got screwed by the banks. That's what this is about. The same economic situation would still exist in Spain if a totally "market values" party was in power.

The other factor in this result was that there wasn't a credible left alternative in place for people to vote for...the United Left(IQ)is still tainted by past(and actuall irrelevant in present-day terms)association with Stalinism, and the Greens didn't have a worthwhile economic platform.

The right won by default.

[JackRiddler]

44. You say, "Basically, they got screwed by the banks."

Why didn't they screw back? Who's to blame for that?

[pnwmom]

30. Why not back up this idea rather than just speculate?

Maybe because you wouldn't like the answer that you found.

[FLAprogressive]

31. Apparently my speculation is correct.

[girl gone mad]

36. It isn't speculation.

The PSOE was founded with the purpose of representing the interests of the working class born from the Industrial Revolution with the declared objective of achieving socialism, and inspired by the revolutionary principles of Marxism.

After the 1979 extraordinary congress, the PSOE renounced Marxism as its main ideology, becoming a social-democratic party. Currently, the party has moved away from left-wing politics, adopting a Third Way approach and supporting free-market policies, including reforms to curtail the Spanish welfare state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Socialist_Workers%27_Party

[sufrommich]

41. So voters who wanted a more liberal government voted for

the most conservative party in Spain? Right.

[JackRiddler]

45. No. Voters who were sick of being betrayed switched betrayers...

nothing will change through voting alone.

Now watch the protests against austerity and banksterism by the unaffiliated grow.

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[ClarkUSA]

4. Hope things get better there. The Socialists have really f*cked up Spain's economy.

Not sure if the "conservatives" can improve things, but they can't do much worse. Winning the World Cup has been the only bright spot for the nation in years.

[Zynx]

6. The Socialists became a bunch of deregulators and free marketeers in the New Labour and DLC mold.

[Modern_Matthew]

10. That explains it. Thank you. nt

[joshcryer]

14. Here's a report on it:

http://faculty.fordham.edu/aleman/PoliticalStudies.pdf

I believe "free marketeers" is a bit of a misnomer if not an outright mischaracterization.

[Zynx]

15. In terms of financial deregulation, it isn't. Look at their banking system for a moment.

[girl gone mad]

21. The Spanish "socialists" = neoliberals..

Just like our own home version DLC/centrist/corporatists.. deregulation, globalization, free trade, rent-seeking financialization, privatization, squeezing labor and providing unlimited public support for the banking sector have been their hallmarks. Glad to see that the global insurrection against this bullshit is gaining ground. Neoliberals everywhere will get crushed in the coming years. Our own politicians are not immune because the young people here have also woken up to the fact that their futures will be bleak if they allow the pillaging to continue. Countries who can cast off the parasite class will thrive, while those who allow themselves to remain oppressed by these unproductive oligarchs will suffer.

[Ghost Dog]

23. The 'real' left, Izquierda Unida and allies (which usually include Greens)

has increased its votes in many parts (but they have lost the one major city, Córdoba, they previously governed in coalition).

But they are still a minority, especially in terms of seats in regional parliaments and municipalities (and in the National Government), because the electoral system disproportionately favors the largest parties.

[JackRiddler]

46. "Because the electoral system disproportionately favors the largets parties"

and that's what the huge protests sweeping Spain are about.

And that's the same problem we have hear, and in Canada, and the UK.

In Germany, where there is proportional representation, the Greens are entering governments.

[Ken Burch]

28. They've fucked up by doing what the financial system wanted on economics

And then STILL having the financial system for being not quite right-wing enough.

Oh, and the "conservatives" can do a lot worse in Spain...

[No Elephants]

38. You mean Third Way philosophy really f*cked up Spain's economy. See Reply 36.

[geek tragedy]

7. Is Aznar coming back? Blech. nt

[Ghost Dog]

16. His disciples, yes.

And he's still very much there as a sort of guru.

:puke:


Watch out for the general elections next spring.

[SoapBox]

8. So are their "conservatives" like our conservaturds/T.HATERbaggers?

...I hope not or Spain is in for a rougher ride back about 200 years!

[Ghost Dog]

11. Largely, yes.

I was expecting this. But such a large shift to the right makes me feel sick to the stomach.

[No Elephants]

40. If the Socialists had really gone Third Way, maybe the shift is not really all that huge.

[bluestateguy]

12. Correct me if I am wrong on this

But isn't the European center-right much more moderate than our own American right wing?

I'd take the British Conservatives to the US Republican Party ANY day.

[Ghost Dog]

13. Spain is different. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. As Ghost Dog says, Spain is different - they have the inheritance of Franco

The Popular Party was founded by a man who served in Franco's government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Party_%28Spain%29

[Ghost Dog]

22. Yes. The PP ranges from slightly right of center

all the way out to the woo-woo extremely far right.

Also, wherever PP politicians in power have been busted for corruption (and they are not the only ones), they have won even more votes. 'Gaming' the system thus, politicians filling their own pockets (and those of their business partners) with illicit cash) is, apparently, admired (rather like Berlusconi & Co. in Italy) in this country.

Now, think: we are looking at a combination of electoral success for Franco's heirs, plus endemic corruption in politics, plus a general disillusionment with so-called 'democracy' itself...




...The general population has little participatory experience, little political culture. Many people are still afraid, dammit, of political power. The younger generations will probably spend the four years 2012-2016 under the PP learning some hard political lessons very fast. But by then it may already be too late.

[RandySF]

25. Franco's ghost still haunts the Spanish Right.

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. Spain's right wing are literally fascists

Not like, oh, that dude's a fascist. Really fascists. Franco was in power until the mid-70's. Do the math.

[Davis_X_Machina]

20. Merkel's getting clocked in German local elections, meanwhile....

....and she's no Socialist. It's another throw-the-bums-out election.

The Tories just took power -- with a little help from Nick Clegg's ego, the only man-made structure in Britain visible from the International Space Station -- by promising, up front, to take steps known in advance to make the effects of the recession worse.

[nradisic]

29. Partido Popular....

I lived in Spain for 5 years a while ago. Partido Popular which seems to be the winner here are nationalists...most Americans cannot identify with nationalism, as we are not a nation state. European countries are comprised mostly of rather homogenous and ethnically identical populations that throughout history turn inward and nationalistic when economical conditions deteriorate. Let us not forget that Spain still has an old fashioned (Falangists-Franco) nationalist right wing and always has had. I am not sure how this will pan out...

[izquierdista]

51. Pictures of American "nationalists" for you.

And all as dumb as a sack of bricks.

[KamaAina]

33. Look how well voting the fringe right into power has worked for us.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

:scared: :scared: :scared:

[Yo_Mama]

34. Over 21% unemployment

What does anyone expect?

[alp227]

35. Get ready to see "socialism screwed Spain" in Republican campaign ads

yet others have pointed out that the Spanish Socialists are becoming more neoliberal/libertarian...and even straight up advocated austerity! And they have the gall to still proclaim themselves the opposite of austerity?

In the meantime, other than a 15-second summary on NBC on Saturday and a story on Univision today, American TV news pretty much ignored the protests in Spain. I'll post my findings on the Media board.

[w4rma]

39. A perfect examply of why we need to purge our DLCers from the Democratic Party. (nt)

[No Elephants]

42. How? Look around D.C. The DLCers now ARE the Democratic Party.

DLC, New Democrat, Third Way and No Labels, all basically the same, except for the alias.

The Party's Presidential nominees since 1992 have either been DLC (Clinton, Gore), New Democrat (Obama), or the pick of the DLC (Kerry). Most or all of the Democratic so-called think tanks are also DLC, New Democrat or Third Way in philosophy. Hell, the founder and current head of the Progressive Policy Institute is a DLC co-founder, as well as a signer of the 2003 PNAC memo.

The current head of our Party is New Democrat, as is the current head of the DNC. I don't know if the other DNCE head Obama appointed is formally part of the DLC, New Democrat or Third Way, but Kaine is no liberal or moderate Democrat (Unless you use the term "moderate Democrat" the way that Republicans use it, as in "Lieberman and Ndelson are moderate Democrats."


The House has a Progressive Caucus, but many of its members are older and, in any event, comprise a minority of House Democrats. The Senate has no counterpart of the House Progressive Caucus. If it did, the meeting might consist nowadays of Sanders looking into a mirror.

DLC, New Democrat, Third Way and No Labels--the philosophy has taken over the DNC, the House, the Senate and most of the rest of the Party. Hell, the Governor of true blue Massachusetts is a DLCer (and Obama's campaign co-chair) whose dealings upon behalf of banksters were used against him when he first ran here.

So, none of those labels are really very necessary anymore. "Democrat" will about cover it in most cases. I guess a Robert Kennedy type (if any there be in Washington) could be accurately be classified as a Classic Democrat, IMO. Sanders is a Democratic Socialist. And that's about it, as far as I can tell.

[w4rma]

47. How? Make them afraid to do anything neo-liberal. Some will stop voting neo-liberal the others will

get primaried. Marginalize the hold-outs until they too can be purged.

[iwishiwas]

43. Are Spain's conservatives as bad to the middle class as ours are?

[w4rma]

48. Yes. And they lie about it just as well. (nt)

[iwishiwas]

49. Then Spain has a lot of idiots who elected them (like us in the US of A)!!

[w4rma]

50. There are no shortage of dupes anywhere in the world. (nt)