27 May, 2016 @ 13:15
1 min read

Promises made: How Pablo Iglesias and Bernie Sanders have a lot in common

Pablo Iglesias
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PABLO Iglesias and Bernie Sanders have a lot in common in their public discourse.

It is astonishing that two political figures on different sides of the Atlantic have been able to woo the masses with promises they know — or maybe don’t realize — they will never be able to keep.

The Podemos leader has offered an array of goodies if he is elected prime minister.

He hopes to make drastic changes to banking, business, and other powerful sectors in order to favour the unfortunate in Spain.

Iglesias also promises to hold that long exhaustible talked-about Catalan referendum against everyone’s wishes.

If it were his choice, everyone in Spain would be entitled to a roof over their heads, which isn’t a bad idea except for the fact he hasn’t been clear how he intends to keep that campaign pledge.

On the other side, Sanders, the US Democratic presidential hopeful, has also pledge free health care and free university education if he is elected.

He intends to uphold a recently passed law ordering the nation’s biggest banks to break up into smaller holdings.

Sanders also wants to extend welfare benefits and provide more jobless benefits.

His problem, like Iglesias, is that he has not explained how he plans on changing the minds of the powerful institutions and lobbyists which have run the country for more than a century.

In Spain, Iglesias has an uphill battle to try to convince the well established business and industry sectors and other powerful figures who play a behind-the-scenes role in running this country that his radical changes will be good for Spain’s future.

Two emerging populists with no ingredients for their recipes.

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