Evening All

[Samurai Socialist]

Just a quick post to say hi to everyone. I'm originally from the UK but based in Spain so among other things I'll try to contribute to discussions about Podemos and the left in southern Europe.
Looking forward to getting involved here!

[Q]

Welcome :)

If you have political questions, you can ask them in the Learning forum. That's why it's there after all!

If you have questions about your account, don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask here.

What are your political ideas, if anything in particular? Also, what is your opinion of Podemos?

[Samurai Socialist]

Thanks for the welcome :)

Politically, I am not a big fan of labels as they can narrow debate. Broadly speaking though I suppose I'd say I have things in common with some of the Neo-Marxist groups, particularly the critical theorists.

A few years ago I probably would have thought of myself as more of an orthodox Marxist but these days I am more interesting in seeing how the radical left can gain a popular platform by meeting the demands of the new politics that has emerged through social networking etc. This has been the real strength of Podemos and I don't think there is any doubt about how effective they have been on bringing their leftwing agenda to the masses. Personally I have high hopes for this party and I am impressed by the way Pablo Iglesias has brought this together. There is certainly an argument for saying that he is beginning to compromise on his earlier promises in order to win votes from the centre, but to me this is the kind of pragmatism that is necessary to win an election. We on the (radical) left have to decide whether we want to be a minority voice on the sidelines or whether we want to listen to the working class to deliver a new era of socialist politics. If it is the latter then we need to flexible in how our ideas are presented. And there is no doubt that Iglesias has done this - it is superb professional politics but it is also leftwing politics and an opportunity for socialism to assert a dominant position in the mainstream. It will be a serious disappointment if I am wrong about this, and Iglesias and Podemos 'sell out' to win and hold onto power. But I was on the Podemos march this morning in Madrid and I have the feeling that this is a real, broadbased popular movement which is bigger than the party that started it.

[The Idler]

Welcome, I'd like to hear about podemos too

[Samurai Socialist]

I'll try to throw in a few thoughts on Podemos whenever possible. I made a few points already in the 'Thoughts on Podemos' thread.