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Spain goes to the polls this month in a general election. Faced with an global economic downturn and a local climate of tension, the campaign has been a truly dispiriting exercise.

Politicians have opted to use bribes, FUD and insults rather than policy proposals in a race to the bottom that is threatening to leave voters alienated and angry at the lack of a viable alternative to the 2 main parties, too busy playing their little games to bother with the opportunity to effect real, positive change.

The FT says it best:

Spain’s general election campaign, now reaching its climax, has been a dispiriting spectacle. Against the background of an economy weakened by the end of cheap credit and a sharp property market correction, the contenders seem to be trying to bribe or frighten Spanish voters.

What are the options? In the short term, not many. This election will be won by the lesser of two very bad choices and the victor will have their hands full dealing with an impending crisis.

Over the longer term, the Popular Party (PP) must to undergo radical change:

• remove all ideas (and people) left over from the Franco years, undoing the recent reversal culminating in Gallardón’s sidelining
• create ample distance from Spain’s wavering, irrelevant Catholic church
• clean up the party from special interest influence (at the top) and corruption (at the local level)
• become a credible centre-right party along the lines of Europe’s best
• embrace today’s richly diverse Spain - migration is good news, celebrate it and make the most of it

The Socialists (PSOE) need to:

• invest in substance, avoiding short-term populist jerks
• accumulate a solid base of capable, experienced people from credible backgrounds, better able to compete with the PP’s traditionally better educated, connected and more experienced base
• take a decidedly business-friendly approach to socialism (take Blair and Brown’s example)
• resist the urge to deploy old glories to do the party’s dirty bidding

Finally, both parties must look themselves in the mirror of their European peers. Learning and applying what left and right mean in the 21st century will be greatly beneficial for Spain, and is long overdue. Letting go of petty personal rivalries and old civil-war feuds and allowing the country to stop staring back in time and instead look forward together with hope and a common purpose would be the real prize.

For the sake of the country where I was born and I plan to retire I hope both parties get on with it soon. For now, signs are they aren’t rushing.

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election campaign general election politics race to the bottom spain spanish voters

Posted on March 3rd, 2008 by Roberto Hortal
Filed under: Commentary

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