1. NUISANCE. Podemos is a nuisance. This appears to be the reaction of the pro-independence element to the emergence of Pablo Iglesias in Catalonia. Ten candidates are a nightmare when trying to distribute seats in Parliament. Achieving an absolute majority becomes more complicated. Nevertheless, it seems that Podemos should be the least of the sovereignty movement’s worries. For starters, they have one thing -- and not a small thing-- in common: the strategic objective of both movements is a substantial redistribution of power in Spain. From there, the projects differ. Podemos wants to take power away from "the caste" and redistribute it; the Catalan sovereignty movement wants to absorb the share of State power that corresponds to Catalonia and leave.
Why is Podemos an inconvenience? Because the conservative sector of the sovereignty movement, which is at low risk of losing votes to them, is afraid of what they call the radical and populist discourse of Podemos. The leftist sector of the sovereignty movement, on the other hand, which shares many points in common with Podemos --such as criticism of austerity and the need to break the shackles of the two-party system-- fears that they could lose votes, especially among people who, although not strongly pro-independence, could jump on the bandwagon as a means of protest. But lets come to the point: the main source of votes for Podemos is not the pro-independence voter. And a good showing by Podemos would ignite a crisis in the Spanish regime and could open a window of opportunity, unthinkable with the traditional two-party power structure.
Journalist Ana Basualdo, who attended the Pablo Iglesias rally, described the atmosphere to me in this way: "I would say that 90 per cent of the attendees were Spanish speakers, and I calculated that 60 percent of them were older people and proletarians, a marriage of old militants abandoned by the old left, with fists raised. I also saw groups of young suburbanites, from Cornellà, l’Hospitalet, and Badalona. Of university students, if I still recognize them, there were few. It seemed normal to everyone that Galdon and Ubasart spoke in Catalan, because they were Spanish speakers but not Spanish nationalists. The nationalist question was not a main issue. I was reminded of the walks along the Verneda, on the eve of 11 September. Blocks and blocks with some senyeres (Catalan flags), a few estelades (Catalan independence flags), and not a single Spanish flag." These were the people that were with Pablo Iglesias in a search for lost representation. And they had probably voted mostly for PSC and ICV. Podemos could attract a few anti-independence votes, which would take away support from markedly unionist parties like Ciudadanos, and increase the division within the "no" bloc. It is the competition (or joining forces) with Guanyem and CUP that could end up defining their position. As elsewhere, it is mainly the discrediting of social democracy and the aging of the leftists with communist roots that feeds Podemos.
This does not mean that a disruptive discourse-- at a State level-- could feel pressured by another--politically and socially-- disruptive discourse. For a significant part of the pro-independence sector, a break with Spain is not incompatible with the defense of orthodox economic and social policies. The fear of Podemos is not substantially different in Catalonia and in Spain.
2. KITSCH. The first Christmas speech by King Felipe left me with the image of the cozy living room that he spoke from. Whoever chose that setting either had bad taste or a terrible opinion of the citizenry. It’s not difficult to realize that the focal point was the red sofa, which was supposed to transmit a sensation of momentum, youth, optimism, and generational change. But everything together was a cheesy styling that the set designer must have thought was like a middle class living room. A substantial improvement in the reading and diction of the text, and a perfectly kitschy decor were two of the main novelties brought by the change of king. As Milan Kundera used to say, kitsch is the absolute denial of shit.
