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| Centre party Ciudadanos throws Spanish election results into question | Centre party Ciudadanos throws Spanish election results into question |
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| For more than three decades, elections in Spain have been a question of left or right. But with less than two weeks left until Spaniards cast their ballots in one of the tightest races in recent history, a party hovering around the centre of the political spectrum is throwing the election results into question. | For more than three decades, elections in Spain have been a question of left or right. But with less than two weeks left until Spaniards cast their ballots in one of the tightest races in recent history, a party hovering around the centre of the political spectrum is throwing the election results into question. |
| “The rules have all been broken in Spain,” said Albert Rivera, the leader of Ciudadanos (Citizens), whose rise this year has come at the expense of parties on the left and right and has meant that the leftwing Podemos is no longer seen as the main threat to Spain’s establishment parties. | “The rules have all been broken in Spain,” said Albert Rivera, the leader of Ciudadanos (Citizens), whose rise this year has come at the expense of parties on the left and right and has meant that the leftwing Podemos is no longer seen as the main threat to Spain’s establishment parties. |
| “Rather than voting for the Socialists or PP (People’s party), voters are instead aligning on whether they want change or more of the same,” added Rivera in an interview with the Guardian. His party’s polling numbers have soared this year, from 3% to 19%, and Ciudadanos is now poised to become the kingmaker after the elections on 20 December. | “Rather than voting for the Socialists or PP (People’s party), voters are instead aligning on whether they want change or more of the same,” added Rivera in an interview with the Guardian. His party’s polling numbers have soared this year, from 3% to 19%, and Ciudadanos is now poised to become the kingmaker after the elections on 20 December. |
| Related: Spanish pollsters cautious as election campaign opens | Related: Spanish pollsters cautious as election campaign opens |
| Along with Podemos, Ciudadanos is part of the new insurgent politics transforming Spain. But Rivera insisted the comparison ended there. “Both parties share the same diagnosis,” said the 36-year-old, pointing to a political establishment rife with corruption and voters fed up with double-digit unemployment and austerity measures. “What we don’t share are the solutions.” | Along with Podemos, Ciudadanos is part of the new insurgent politics transforming Spain. But Rivera insisted the comparison ended there. “Both parties share the same diagnosis,” said the 36-year-old, pointing to a political establishment rife with corruption and voters fed up with double-digit unemployment and austerity measures. “What we don’t share are the solutions.” |
| His party has vowed to overhaul the country’s institutions, putting in place measures to tackle corruption and cronyism, revamping the education system and untangling politics from the country’s judiciary. As the country struggles with the lingering effects of the economic crisis, Ciudadanos has promised to introduce a single employment contract to level the playing field between the precarious situation of temporary workers – who represent more than a quarter of workers in Spain today – and permanent workers. | His party has vowed to overhaul the country’s institutions, putting in place measures to tackle corruption and cronyism, revamping the education system and untangling politics from the country’s judiciary. As the country struggles with the lingering effects of the economic crisis, Ciudadanos has promised to introduce a single employment contract to level the playing field between the precarious situation of temporary workers – who represent more than a quarter of workers in Spain today – and permanent workers. |
| Launched in Barcelona 2006 as a regional platform to counter Catalan separatism, Ciudadanos began testing the waters for a national expansion in 2012, said Iñaki Ellakuria Bastida, one of the authors of Alternativa naranja (Orange alternative), which explores the rise of Ciudadanos. | Launched in Barcelona 2006 as a regional platform to counter Catalan separatism, Ciudadanos began testing the waters for a national expansion in 2012, said Iñaki Ellakuria Bastida, one of the authors of Alternativa naranja (Orange alternative), which explores the rise of Ciudadanos. |
| At the time Rivera had begun appearing on televised debates in Madrid because he felt he wasn’t getting enough airtime in Catalonia. The idea was simply to try to do Catalan politics from Madrid, but it came with an added bonus, as it introduced Spaniards to Rivera, a lawyer and former competitive swimmer. “Many started to see him as a reference for national politics,” said Ellakuria Bastida. | |
| The party’s expansion brought with it the challenge of forging an identity beyond its fierce opposition to Catalan separatism. The fact that many of the party’s founding members were Socialists is reflected in the party’s defence of public education and public health. But economically speaking, the party opted to shift to the right, with policies aimed at lessening state intervention, said Ellakuria Bastida. | |
| The most recent poll from Spain’s Sociological Research Centre (CIS) put Ciudadanos in third place going into the elections, but within striking distance of the Socialists. Despite seeing through unpopular austerity measures, the prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s governing conservative People’s party is expected to emerge with the most votes, earning as many as 128 seats, but short of a majority in the 350-seat parliament. | The most recent poll from Spain’s Sociological Research Centre (CIS) put Ciudadanos in third place going into the elections, but within striking distance of the Socialists. Despite seeing through unpopular austerity measures, the prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s governing conservative People’s party is expected to emerge with the most votes, earning as many as 128 seats, but short of a majority in the 350-seat parliament. |
| The Socialists could earn up to 89 seats, followed by up to 66 seats for Ciudadanos, while Podemos and its associated regional parties are on course for up to 49 seats. | The Socialists could earn up to 89 seats, followed by up to 66 seats for Ciudadanos, while Podemos and its associated regional parties are on course for up to 49 seats. |
| The election promises to be the final blow to the two-party dominance that has characterised Spanish politics since the country’s transition to democracy. But unlike other countries across Europe, where emerging parties have come from the extremes of the political spectrum, Ciudadanos has surprised many by staking out territory in the centre, said Pablo Simón, a political science professor at Madrid’s Carlos III University. | The election promises to be the final blow to the two-party dominance that has characterised Spanish politics since the country’s transition to democracy. But unlike other countries across Europe, where emerging parties have come from the extremes of the political spectrum, Ciudadanos has surprised many by staking out territory in the centre, said Pablo Simón, a political science professor at Madrid’s Carlos III University. |
| Related: Spaniards new democracy Franco's long shadow | Related: Spaniards new democracy Franco's long shadow |
| “That’s the big paradox – it’s something unique in the world,” he said. “There was a wide open space in the centre and centre-right that didn’t have any representation. Ciudadanos was in the right place to take advantage of it.” | “That’s the big paradox – it’s something unique in the world,” he said. “There was a wide open space in the centre and centre-right that didn’t have any representation. Ciudadanos was in the right place to take advantage of it.” |
| As no party is expected to emerge from the election with a majority, Ciudadanos is likely to become invaluable in forming a government. Flexible enough in ideology to lend their support to the Socialists in Andalusia, or the People’s party in the region of Madrid, Rivera insists his party will not enter into any government in which he is not the leader. He pointed to the coalition forged in 2010 between David Cameron and Nick Clegg in Britain to back his stance. “In a very short time he managed to lose a lot of credibility,” said Rivera, of the former Liberal Democrat leader. “Our objective isn’t just to have a new legislature or a new government but, above all, to begin a new page in our story.” | As no party is expected to emerge from the election with a majority, Ciudadanos is likely to become invaluable in forming a government. Flexible enough in ideology to lend their support to the Socialists in Andalusia, or the People’s party in the region of Madrid, Rivera insists his party will not enter into any government in which he is not the leader. He pointed to the coalition forged in 2010 between David Cameron and Nick Clegg in Britain to back his stance. “In a very short time he managed to lose a lot of credibility,” said Rivera, of the former Liberal Democrat leader. “Our objective isn’t just to have a new legislature or a new government but, above all, to begin a new page in our story.” |
| As Ciudadanos and Podemos push for change, they have weathered attacks from the People’s party over their lack of experience. Running under the campaign slogan “España, en serio,” or “Spain, seriously”, Rajoy has warned that the Spanish economy is still too fragile to leave it in inexperienced hands. Touting the fact that unemployment has dropped from 27% to 21% in the past two years, Rajoy is promising to create another 2 million jobs over the next four years. | As Ciudadanos and Podemos push for change, they have weathered attacks from the People’s party over their lack of experience. Running under the campaign slogan “España, en serio,” or “Spain, seriously”, Rajoy has warned that the Spanish economy is still too fragile to leave it in inexperienced hands. Touting the fact that unemployment has dropped from 27% to 21% in the past two years, Rajoy is promising to create another 2 million jobs over the next four years. |
| “Governing is not about improvising,” Rajoy told supporters recently in Valencia. “You can’t just arrive from anywhere and insert yourself,” he added, before pointing out that his party “wasn’t invented 15 minutes ago”. | “Governing is not about improvising,” Rajoy told supporters recently in Valencia. “You can’t just arrive from anywhere and insert yourself,” he added, before pointing out that his party “wasn’t invented 15 minutes ago”. |
| Rivera dismissed the issue of experience, arguing that the election was more about responsibility. “That means not building airports that stand empty ... not having corrupt politicians in your party,” said Rivera. “If the socialists or PP hadn’t done anything wrong, neither Podemos nor us would exist.” | Rivera dismissed the issue of experience, arguing that the election was more about responsibility. “That means not building airports that stand empty ... not having corrupt politicians in your party,” said Rivera. “If the socialists or PP hadn’t done anything wrong, neither Podemos nor us would exist.” |
| Rajoy has also sought to exploit the push for independence in Catalonia, presenting his party as the safest bet for Spaniards who want to keep the country intact. His assertion is countered by Ciudadanos, now the second largest force in the Catalan parliament, suggesting many in the region see the upstart party as the best bet to grapple with the separatists. | Rajoy has also sought to exploit the push for independence in Catalonia, presenting his party as the safest bet for Spaniards who want to keep the country intact. His assertion is countered by Ciudadanos, now the second largest force in the Catalan parliament, suggesting many in the region see the upstart party as the best bet to grapple with the separatists. |
| The rise of Ciudadanos comes as polls suggest Podemos’s popularity has peaked, said José Pablo Ferrándiz, of the polling group Metroscopia. “When Podemos appeared, it was the fruit of indignation with respect to the political and economic situation.” | The rise of Ciudadanos comes as polls suggest Podemos’s popularity has peaked, said José Pablo Ferrándiz, of the polling group Metroscopia. “When Podemos appeared, it was the fruit of indignation with respect to the political and economic situation.” |
| The indignation has not subsided, he said, but rather given way to a broader process of what he called oxygenation, in which voters sought to rejuvenate the system rather than rebuild it from scratch. “People want to punish the PP and Socialists and are looking for alternatives,” he said. “A big part of the moderately indignant who see themselves in the centre of the ideological spectrum have found a home in Ciudadanos.” | The indignation has not subsided, he said, but rather given way to a broader process of what he called oxygenation, in which voters sought to rejuvenate the system rather than rebuild it from scratch. “People want to punish the PP and Socialists and are looking for alternatives,” he said. “A big part of the moderately indignant who see themselves in the centre of the ideological spectrum have found a home in Ciudadanos.” |
| The tide could change again, the Podemos leader, Pablo Iglesias, said in a recent interview. “Although we respect the polls, they’ve never been right with us,” he said, pointing to May’s municipal elections. “No poll was able to predict that Ada Colau would win in Barcelona or that Manuela Carmena would take Madrid.” | The tide could change again, the Podemos leader, Pablo Iglesias, said in a recent interview. “Although we respect the polls, they’ve never been right with us,” he said, pointing to May’s municipal elections. “No poll was able to predict that Ada Colau would win in Barcelona or that Manuela Carmena would take Madrid.” |
| Iglesias felt that Podemos was poised for a comeback. “We’ve gone through some difficult situations,” he said, citing the Catalan elections as an example. “But this is like a basketball game. In this last quarter, we’re arriving with strength and experience and our expectations of being able to win are intact.” | Iglesias felt that Podemos was poised for a comeback. “We’ve gone through some difficult situations,” he said, citing the Catalan elections as an example. “But this is like a basketball game. In this last quarter, we’re arriving with strength and experience and our expectations of being able to win are intact.” |
| For Ciudadanos the focus in the remaining days of the campaign is on convincing Spaniards to take a gamble on its proposals for reform. “We want people to be more excited about change than scared of it. That’s the big challenge,” said Rivera. “But if the fear and uncertainty that the old politics is trying to put on the table triumph, it will be a lost opportunity.” | For Ciudadanos the focus in the remaining days of the campaign is on convincing Spaniards to take a gamble on its proposals for reform. “We want people to be more excited about change than scared of it. That’s the big challenge,” said Rivera. “But if the fear and uncertainty that the old politics is trying to put on the table triumph, it will be a lost opportunity.” |