Rob HorganPrime Minister Rajoy insists that corruption is not a widespread problem in Spain.
Merely a case of a ‘few bad apples’.
This, just 24 hours before the arrest of dozens of politicians – including several high-flyers from his own party.
Thank goodness for the arrival of Podemos.
Set up by academics, teachers and economists, the party is a welcome change to the career politicians that everyone is, quite frankly, sick of.
Whether they find success or not, their astonishing rise on the back of austerity and discontent has got to be a wake-up call for those in power.
For with an extra 10% of votes they will sweep away the group of self-serving thieves and criminals who have run this country (and regions) for far too long.
For more on Podemos read the OPs in depth feature – Podemos: Can they or can’t they?
Podemos would not be what it is without the deep seated discontent with the rottenness of Spanish politics. But Podemos is more than an angry vote, more than the recipient of disillusionment with 35 years of low-intensity democracy. Podemos represents an illusion that things can be better, that democracy can be of a much better quality; it represents a belief that we cannot afford to leave things tin the hands of”professional” politicians. It is the illusion part of it that explains why Podemos is growing. The expectations are high, the stakes are even higher.