“Syriza, Podemos – venceremos,” chanted Podemos’s Pablo Iglesias into the microphone on Sunday, his voice rising as he hit the last word: we will win. In the packed bleachers of this rally of the party faithful in Valencia, a Greek flag waved as thousands joined in his chant.
Few followed the elections in Greece as closely as Spaniards, many of whom saw in the electoral race a preview of looming elections in their country. As news broke on Sunday that Syriza had ousted the establishment to become the first anti-austerity party to gain power in the eurozone the leader of the far-left Podemos party, Pablo Iglesias, revelled in the news.
“I think that the victory of Syriza will provoke something that’s new in the political panorama of Greece – they’re going to have a real Greek president, not a delegate of Angela Merkel whose interests will rank above those of the country and its people,” he told La Sexta news channel on Sunday night.
Austerity had been dealt a blow by democracy, he said, giving his nascent movement in Spain a foothold that could prove crucial in the coming year as municipal, regional and general elections pit Podemos against the bipartisan political system that has ruled Spain since the death of Franco.
Since its creation one year ago, Podemos has emerged as a top contender, with polls consistently showing it, the People’s party and the Socialists earning 20 – 30% of the vote each.
The link between Syriza and Podemos has been fuelled by Iglesias himself, who took every opportunity to brand Syriza’s win as the first plank of an anti-austerity movement sweeping across Europe. “2015 will be the year of change in Spain and Europe. We will start in Greece. Let’s go Alexis, let’s go!” Iglesias tweeted after the snap Greek election was called last month, flying to Athens last week to join Syriza’s leader, Alexis Tsipras, onstage for his final campaign rally.
That the two parties would find common political ground is not surprising; both of their countries have suffered debilitating economic crises, resulting in sky-high unemployment, just as austerity tore gaping holes in their social safety nets. Greeks and Spaniards both watched as their elected officials shrugged helplessly in the face of the deepening crisis, pointing at the EU for their inability to act.
But as Syriza celebrated its win on Sunday, many in Spain were quick to cast doubt as to the extent to which Syriza’s victory would bolster Podemos’s chances of being elected.
Speaking to La Sexta on Sunday night, People’s party spokesman Rafael Hernando downplayed any link between the two countries. “Spain isn’t Greece. I know a lot of people want to make comparisons. I insist you can’t extrapolate.” He brushed aside reminders that Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, had travelled to Athens weeks earlier to lend his support to his Greek counterpart, Antonis Samaras, in the campaign.
Analysts agreed. “There’s been a lot of exaggerated comparisons between the two countries,” said William Chislett of the Elcano Royal Institute. The economic crisis took a great toll on Greece, leading to a GDP decrease of around 25% compared with Spain’s 7%. While Greece was forced to accept a series of bailouts to the tune of €240bn (£180bn), Spain only drew on €41bn-worth of EU funds to rescue its banking sector and exited from the programme last year.
While Iglesias and Tsipras sought to play up the links between their parties, there are clear differences. Just barely one year old, Podemos is still in the process of defining itself, while Syriza has been represented in the Greek parliament since 2004. As journalist Vicente Lozano recently wrote in El Mundo: “Syriza is a reality. Podemos is still a possibility.”
Syriza’s victory is tantalising for many of the parties that see themselves on the fringe, said José Ignacio Torreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The idea that one of these new forces that’s cropping up across Europe can make it to government is very powerful.”
But now, for better or worse, Podemos is inextricably linked to Syriza. With months left until Spaniards head to the polls, Podemos’s growing popularity could be hindered if Syriza fails to make headway in Greece or is perceived to deepen the country’s woes with its policies, he said.
The rise of Syriza also risks hampering Podemos and other anti-austerity movements across Europe by creating tension between them and movements in the north, which have been mostly to the right of the spectrum, he said. “There’s going to be a polarisation also across Europe because in creditor countries they will see this as a revolt of the debtors.”
But for Podemos on Sunday, there was little question that Syriza’s strong win is a welcome start to a decisive year. Next Saturday, the party will kick off the months-long election campaign with a march by party supporters through the streets of Madrid. It’s hoped that tens of thousands will turn up in a show of strength for the party.
As he wrapped up Sunday’s rally in Valencia, Iglesias pointed to the Greeks who were casting their vote for Syriza and urged Spaniards to take up the torch. “In Greece tonight you can hear tick-tock, tick-tock,” said Iglesias, as the raucous 9,000-strong crowd repeated the sounds of his countdown to change. “Soon we want them to hear it in Spain as well.”