Izquierda Española – Breakthrough or bust?
SPAIN is awash with upcoming elections. Whether it be in the Basque Country in April, the never ending soap opera of Catalonia in May or European elections (remember those) in June, throw a stone and you are bound to hit a politician campaigning over the next three months. Spanish politics does feel like a never-ending election where governing is somewhat of an afterthought. But with new elections, it’s time for yet another political party to emerge.
So it was a warm Sunday morning when I trudged to Casa de Reloj, in the shadow of the old abattoir, which seems appropriate given how many new political parties in Spain have been put down in recent years. This time, it was the turn of Izquierda Española who are seeking to carve out their own niche in the crowded space of Spanish politics.
Yet another liberal party in Spain… who cares, you may ask. But Izquierda Española’s position on the ongoing drama of amnesty to Catalan Nationalists granted by the “official left” (their words) is what sets them apart. While almost every left wing political party in Spain has either campaigned for or, in the case of PSOE, changed their tune (being against an amnesty before the general election and binning that position the second leader Pedro Sanchez had kept his job), Izquierda Española are firmly against this compromise.
It’s this anti-regionalist (confusingly called “nationalist" in Spanish coverage) and unashamedly Spain First approach (if you will) that has become their USP and generated much interest among the Spanish press. It certainly made for an interesting event with a full hall.
Of more interest however was an optimistic sign declaring that the liberal consensus which has come to hijack what it is to be ‘left wing' may have some cracks within it. As an example, I was stunned to hear the phrase “demographic winter” used at a left wing event as Laura Montecino decried the fact Spanish people can no longer afford to have children. Likewise when Guillermo del Valle attacked the fetishisation of identity politics and stated that it is not identity politics but universalism which defines left with politics.
When this was met with applause, I wondered whether I had entered a parallel universe. Not because these aren’t traditional left wing concerns but because they have been so thoroughly eradicated in almost all left wing institutions that these people would be excommunicated for heresy were they in another space.
Still, I remember when Blue Labour might have actually been a thing rather than a talking shop and this is still early days. But as an opening, Izquierda Española certainly showed that they may bring some chinks of light to politics in Spain, which has reached stunning new lows over recent months.
The Party has set its sights on getting just enough votes to gain a seat in the European elections by wagering that there are voters out there who don’t want a deal made with the Catalan Nationalists but have no intention of voting for Vox or PP. So will they break through or will they be joining the growing list of parties in the Spanish political abattoir? Under the Casa de Reloj, it seemed possible. But time, as they say, will tell.
