For Monday read the article & answer the questions
you will need to post your answers in the comments box
you will need to post your answers in the comments box
A2 Viva Podemos: the left has shown it can adapt & survive in a crisis#
- Where did Podemos come from?
- Who are its audience & why do you think this is?
- Why do you think that it is successful & can a similar party emerge here?
AS The West must be tough on Putin
- Do we genuinely have something to fear from Putin's Russia? If so, why?
- Do you agree with the author that the West should do something?
- If so, what?
1) Podemos came from Spain, but stemmed from the indignados movement hat promoted bottom-up democratic participation. Podemos bases itself on the politics of hope, and states that ordinary Spaniards do not have to pay for a crisis that they had nothing to do with.
ReplyDelete2) Its audience is the younger, educated section of society as Podemos looks to secure these younger people's future by not only helping the economy but also to break the two-party regime in Spain, which in Podemos' view is in crisis
3) In my view Podemos has been successful as the economic conditions in Spain are incredibly poor, with unemployment at almost 25% and many young people not in work. This in turn makes people more inclined to listen to new ideas as they may help provide a solution, and this is what Podemos is doing - it is adapting the older left-wing ideas and making them more suitable for the modern day. Also it is very democratic, with people being able to vote on policies online, thus making participation easier and also more meaningful.
In regard to whether a similar party could emerge in Britain, currently it is unlikely as Britain is facing problems that are not of the same severity as in Spain. That said, there is evidence to suggest that discontent with Britain's political system is rising, and therefore there is the potential for a movement like Podemos to emerge if the conditions were correct.
Very well thought through and argued Oliver. Totally agree with your points.
Delete1) Podemos came from the indignados movement in Spain, which previously took to the streets to protest against the political elite prior to the general election in 2011. However Podemos is now more organised and more popular, with 1.2 million votes and 5 seats gained in the last year alone. They are largely funded by their supporters (e.g- for the European election). They believe in bottom up democracy, where government doesn't just look out for the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
ReplyDelete2) Their audience does not come from one specific political side, instead coming from those who have no political identity yet. A great deal of their audience comes from the younger generations who are struggling with unemployment, no matter their education. This is in part the “graduate without a future" (Paul Mason’s) support for a movement which seeks to increase employment and fix an economic disaster which is not the Spanish people's fault.
3) It is successful because it has a new angle on how to fix the problem. Rather than focussing on who to blame (e. g immingration), Podemos preaches public control and accountability, seeking to adapt and thrive so that they can stay relevant to their audience. They are successful because they are tackling a very serious problem for the next generations in Spain. With 25% unemployment and a severe economic situation, the Spanish people are looking for a party that they can trust to get them out of their current mess and Podemos has, through allowing their audience to vote on policies, given the people hope that they could do the job. They have shown their audience that they are willing to listen and take direction from the people, which must undoubtedly seem refreshing compared to the current government and political parties.
I do not think the same thing could happen here as the political situation is more complex, with a knee jerk reaction being to blame immigration and the current flow of anger leading people to become more radical, rather than understanding and unified, the country is splitting in different directions.
You make a good point Rebecca. Ultimately there seem to be 2 missing factors (1) the crisis is not as deep here & (2) Podemos emerged out of a mass movement - Indignados - that we have not seen here in the same size & significance
DeleteJohn Kempfner's exposition on the impotence of western foreign policy is pitch-perfect; 'Western policy is driven by a combination of economic self-interest and increasing timidity'. The West is standing idle to what is surely the renewed proliferation of 'soviet-era' rhetoric now dominating Russian politics. The EU and the US must therefore abandon this prevaricating policy of mild sanctions and unsupported vehemence against Russia and instead adopt a concrete means of countering Putin's expansive ambitions, even if that means impolitic compromise on a national level. The current style of western politics appears to be predicated on short-term gain and satiating the rudimentary demands of the electorate yet governments should be instead clearly stipulating ways of retrojecting Russian mediatisation of Eastern Europe. Western politics has forgotten the salience of anti-Russian foreign policy and needs to assume a more astringent stance. Russia hedges its hawkish bets on Western indolence towards a second rise of the allegedly 'defeated' Soviet union yet they do not anticipate nor will they retaliate to a united alliance of greater western states that would prevent Russian annexation via firm economic sanctions and direct political confrontation. Putin may have affirmed his desire for a second rise of Russian pre-eminence in Europe with his encroachment in the Ukraine but that ambition can and must be quashed by a united European front in which Britain should be at the fore.
ReplyDeleteInteresting points Will. What sanctions do you imagine would work? If that escalates the tension are we willing (or NATO) to deploy forces on the scale of the 1980's to militarily block Russia expansion, & what if anti-western/NATO/American forces realign themselves alongside Russia, what long term consequences does that mean for the West?
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