Elections on Sunday for the Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, in the South of Spain, provided a first reality check of the strength of the new political party Podemos. This party emerged out of the blue in the past European elections, in which it obtained five deputies (MEPs) – a result nobody had foreseen – after only a few months of campaigning and with financial resources well below the traditional political parties. Podemos´ political platform is challenging the political establishment as a whole, with a still undefined left-wing programme and by proposing a thorough renewal of the political class it has famously defined as “la casta” (the caste). It has close ties with Greece´s Syriza.
In the Andalusian Parliament, Podemos will start its journey as the third force, with 15 deputies out of 109. The Socialist Party (PSOE) has won the elections with 47 deputies, but fell short of an absolute majority to form the regional government alone. The conservative Popular Party (PP) is the second force with 33 deputies. Ciudadanos, a centrist political party contending for the first time in Andalusia, starts with nine deputies, contributing further to the erosion of the traditional two-party system. The Socialist Party will have to forge a coalition if it is to govern the region, a difficult option given the animosity among potential partners and its own statements against coalition-building during the campaign.
Though 15 deputies may not seem such a good result for Podemos, it is to be noted that Andalusia is a traditional feud of the Socialist Party, which has benefited from a hegemonic position since the dawn of the Spanish democracy in 1978. Opinion polls have put support for Podemos in this region well bellow the national average.
The question remains what will happen in Spain´s general election due at the end of 2015. Some opinion polls have put Podemos in the lead. If confirmed, this would constitute a historic earthquake in Spanish politics. The Andalusian elections, while not confirming this scenario, have clearly indicated that the new political force will take a considerable share of the pie.
