Podemos And The Syriza Effect

When Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, was photographed in triumphant pose with Alexis Tspiras in Athens last week, I wondered if he might regret it. Following Syriza's astonishing electoral performance, it is possible to view those photos in alternative ways. Does Iglesias's association with and support for a supposedly hard-left party put the frighteners up Spanish voters or does it embolden these voters?

There are similarities but there are differences between Syriza and Podemos. One difference lies with the nature of the two entities. Syriza has a longer history, one that can be traced back to the start of the century but which really only became formalised at the time of the 2004 elections in Greece. A coalition of the left, it has gone through processes by which it has become a definable political party that has lost some of its more extreme propositions along the way but which remains very much to the left. Podemos, on the other hand, is very much newer, a case of almost spontaneous political combustion that is still not clearly definable as a party in the sense that its policies and make-up are fluid because of the way in which democratic participation helps to define and mould them. Ostensibly, it is of the left and operates within the parameters of left-wing politics, but watering-down can occur and has occurred, as with adopting a less dogmatic view on nationalisation. And because the Podemos philosophy is one of disassociation from the established party system, it sees itself not in terms of the clash between left and right but as aspiring towards centrality (to paraphrase what Iglesias has said).

Syriza's win can be attributed to three key elements - the austerity driven by the troika and the consequent "humiliation" of Greece, corruption and a desire to overthrow the elite, be it political or business, and to establish greater meritocracy. Spain, while its pride has taken a considerable knock, has not been subjected to the humiliation of Greece - there was no sovereign bailout after all, just one for the banking system - and the effects of austerity have not been as severe as in Greece (though they have been severe enough). Consequently, the Germans and the EU are not the hated figures in Spain to the same degree as they are in Greece. For Podemos, the enemy lies more within than without, which is where there are very strong similarities with Syriza. Corruption, elitism, the systems of amiguismo, of favouritism, of nepotism that inhibit meritocracy; for Greece, read also Spain.

With Europe not the same prime target for the ire of the Spanish people, does this lessen the likelihood of Podemos reproducing an electoral performance similar to that of Syriza? It may do, but the Greek election could also act as a springboard for even greater support for Podemos. There are differences in circumstances but only some. What Syriza has proved is that an electorate can overthrow the established system and it has done so by tapping into what contemporary society offers - the social networking of a different way of thinking and of experimentation: the post-capitalist society, if you like.

At the same time as Syriza was turning Greek politics upside down, Spain's Partido Popular was gathering in Madrid for a national convention. The pomposity of such conventions seems cringeworthy in this new society, as are the banalities of statements surrounding corruption. Rajoy was speaking only hours after Bárcenas announced that Rajoy has always known about the B accounts. Away from Madrid, PSOE's Susana Díaz in Andalusia was calling a snap election, having broken the pact of regional government with the Esquerra Unida. There's more to it than that: power politics and a possible challenge to Pedro Sánchez.

The public, in the climate of the rise of Podemos and of Syriza's victory, will look upon these events with contempt and with the knowledge that they confirm the essential proposition of Podemos, that now is the time to change these games and political charades. The main parties are being exposed as antediluvian, and commentators who persist in believing that the status quo will naturally be restored are failing to grasp the significance of what is occurring: that styling politics in Spain according to the two-party system of left and right is becoming outmoded and that is being superseded by new ways of thinking largely inspired by a younger generation hooked on social networking democracy and on technology. It should, incidentally, not be overlooked that Syriza, Podemos and also the forgotten alternative in Spain, Partido X, are all heavily in favour of investment in innovation and development.

Nevertheless, for Podemos, perhaps its greatest worry is what lies ahead over the next few months. The what's-next question has yet to be answered in Greece. The answer might just alarm Spanish voters. Or it might not.