Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Thread update 1: New elections will take place in a couple of days, so here's the low-down.
Thread update 2: Results are in. It's still a damn fine mess.
Word of advice: Long post (I didn't think it was going to be this brutal, but politics are complicated).
This Sunday over 30 million of Spanish citizens were called to the polls so they could give continuation to almost 40 years of shit governance and cunty politicians. It was a momentous event --not just because the country is in a sorry state after being ravaged by the crisis, but because the current duocracy born after the dissolution of Franco's regime was meant to come to an abrupt halt as the old parties crumbled apart and new ones rose from the void. Recent news clippings talk about abject screams in the Senate's corridors and mysterious, desperate snorting noises emanating from the restrooms. Chants of "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Throne of Moncloa!" were reported by the janitors. The remains of a disembowelled goat were found at the steps of the lions outside the Spanish Congress.
A new political party would rise up to claim the presidency after more than three decades of bipartisan alternation.
Or not. Shit happens.
That's right, the conservatives won the elections again, but this time the political map is the fiercest dumpster fire since the fall of Havana. Conservatives managed to retain the biggest amount of MPs per party, but this pyrrhic victory came at a huge cost as the social democrats got crushed and two new parties came in with enough strength to prevent any group from forming a new government.
Each party hates the fuck out of the rest, and those who wouldn't like to see them drown, would absolutely adore to behead their respective leaders before shaking hands and picking a new president. To put it simply, while the two party rule has been finally crushed in the Congress (not the Senate, where the PP still savours a supermajority), no credible government can be born.
Both the PP and the PSOE know they'll be toast if they agree to a grand neoliberal-social democrat coalition, the new left will only sit at the table if they agree to some extremely (and potentially party-destroying) unpleasant reforms and the new right sneakily asks the social democrats to allow an incredibly fragile conservative government that could collapse in short time. A gigantic leftist coalition could oust the PP, but chances of that happening are slim to none.
While Italians may be familiar with this shit show and require no further explanation, Americans could think of the situation as a far fetched scenario in which Libertarians and Berners carried enough popular support to ruin the GOP and Democrat's plans for getting close to the presidency, yet not enough to reach the White House by themselves.
As of now, the future of Spain is set to auto pilot. We are not quite in Belgian territory yet, but we're trying. Fun times are ahead for both Spain and the EU.
So what's so important about the Spanish general elections?
Spain is the fourth biggest economy in the Eurozone and thus holds significant sway in the EU. Also, Germans and Cameron enjoy vacationing here. This means that the Prime Ministers of the 28 member states, plus Dijsselbloem and his wretched minions were paying extra attention to whatever fuckery just happened here. Because you know, the country is kind of in a bin after 8 years of galloping crisis and people in other member states could get ideas.
I'm not going to bother explaining how it came to this since that would be ponderous -and pissing- enterprise, so I'll just refer you to Aleix Saló's Apecracy and Spainistan animated short films, which are funny, easy to understand and don't indulge too much in the usual scapegoating.
The thing is, although the situation in Spain has stabilised, shit is Rough with a capital R. Unemployment rate is somewhat (nominally) improving but remains over 20%, with close to 50% of the young (>25 years old) population jobless, 1/3 of children living in poverty and salaries cut so thinly many people are barely making ends.
The current administration has managed to stop the bleeding by engaging in an oddly interpreted version of austerity consisting in trashing public services while increasing public borrowing up the wazoo, which coupled with the softening of the real estate crisis has allowed Spain not to crash and burn like Greece. Structural problems remain the same if not bigger, however, which means that a new financial downturn would send Spain to the pits. And you can bet your sweet butt cheeks there's not enough money in the EU to bail us out. If Greece was Hiroshima, Spain would be the Tsar Bomb.
A not so brief summary of the situation
Anyway, Spain's politics more or less dictate that two parties disputed the government: the conservative PP and the social democrat PSOE. Both of them are corrupt to the core and accumulate enough dirt to keep this low rent version of House of Cards going on for ages. For decades, the population has been kicking one out to enthrone the other in a wonderful exercise of cutting the nose to spite the face, as if that could fix things in any meaningful way. Then, the 15M happened.
Out of nowhere, people pissed off of corruption and political incompetence rushed to the biggest squares and organised massive protests that took the establishment by surprise. It kind of died out over the following months (and boy, its deflation was such a lame sight), but fresh political seeds were planted. The disenfranchised and the pissed off resolved that voting the same assholes every four years wasn't the solution. There was a problem, however: there were no credible alternatives at the time. To make things more difficult, the PSOE basically committed political suicide by embracing austerity and left the conservatives to run the country with a rolling supermajority which allowed them to do as they pleased. And turns out that what pleases the conservatives pisses off the commoners like you couldn't imagine. Tax amnesties for the rich and corrupt at the same time taxes were being increased across the board, regressive laws an horrifyingly poor management of the banking crisis, pro-big business labour reforms... the works.
But then something magical happened. Decades of political dirt nurtured the seeds planted by the disenfranchised a few years ago, which soiled by the pissing contest that is Spanish politics, blossomed into new political contenders. Where there were two now there are four, and thus the duopoly of Spanish politics comes to a fiery end. So the polls say.
The Parties
Right now there are four main political parties as opposed to the old two, plus a number of smaller ones which are expected to get only a tiny fraction of the votes.
PP (Partido Popular)
Factoids: Born from the ashes of AP, which was formed by the "liberal" wing of the late Franco regime itself. Neoconservative, adscribed to the European People's Party. Corporate friendly. Styled itself after the GOP when Aznar became president and realized that nationalcatholicism was no longer hip. Mostly concerned with the economy and keeping Spain together. Proclaim the gospel of trickle down economics and austerity. Currently in power.
They curbstomped the social democrats at the last elections, obtaining a supermajority that used to great effect. Alas, they have managed to piss off so many people in the process that their MP count has received a veritable trashing, going from 186 MPs to 123; their worst result since 1989.
The good: Spain didn't fully collapse under their administration and roving gangs of cannibals don't rule the streets. So there's that.
The bad: We could use a new thread for that. Their corporations/banks-first approach to the economy managed to avoid a complete collapse of the country, but further eroded the middle and lower classes. They've been involved in more political and financial scandals that you can count.
The stereotype: Love foetuses, hate homos. They care about the economy, just not your economy. Most of them have a seat lined up at a massive corporation (probably an energy-related one) by the time their political careers end. They may or may have not have a father who used to order executions after the Civil War. Real Madrid fans.
PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
Factoids: Former socialists turned social democrats turned third way social democrats, turned full time jackasses. Repped in Europe by the Party of European Socialists. Embroiled in as many political and financial scandals as the PP. Genetically predisposed to turncoating. Claim to be for the people, but tend to put business interest first when push comes to shove. They claim they will try to fix the Catalonian issue by moving Spain's regional organization towards a barely explained federalist model. Socially progressive (helps with branding!).
The PSOE got absolutely savaged during the 2012 elections but you can always trust them to make even a bigger mess at difficult times, so they managed to embarrass themselves even further by achieving their WORST RESULT EVER with a 110 to 90 MPs drop. And it could have been much, much worse had not been for the peculiar way in which votes are translated to MPs.
The good: Legalised same-sex marriage. Very strongly pro-choice. They were cool back when bell-bottoms were popular.
The bad: The crisis exploded right under their feet and didn't notice it until one year later, when they did a 180 turn and embraced austerity. Massively corrupt, unsurpassedly inept. Rife with internal disputes. They are still undecided on Catalonia after four decades of skull bashing.
The stereotype: That lazy high school principal that can't fund a new computer lab because he keeps siphoning money away so he can coke himself to high heaven when nobody is looking. Most of them have a seat lined up at a massive corporation (probably an energy-related one) by the time their political careers end. Used to love subsidies, but now they are down with austerity. Half of them are lazy andalusians, the other half are lazy extremeños. They really like to talk about the Civil War for some reason. Part of the Gay Agenda.
C's (Ciudadanos)
Factoids: C's is one of the new parties that has come to mess the whole picture by bringing a whole lot of new, younger faces to the political arena. It started as a plucky, somewhat progressive Catalonian party with both leftist and neoliberal tendencies staunchly opposed to Catalonian separatism until the neoliberal wing quickly purged the leftist one and turned the party into its current self. It stumbled around for a bit (actually, it predates the 15M) before going turbo and pillaging the PP's base. It's part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
C's is very much about the economy and the sacrosanct unity of Spain. It styles itself as some kind third way liberal party in the European fashion, whereas the PP is old, moldy and reeks of creepy Catholic priest. It is more or less liberal on social issues, although more recently it has had a number of high profile snafus in its quest to reach to the conservative voter, particularly when addressing domestic violence and reproductive rights. C's has excellent connections to the biggest Spanish corporations, which has led to be known among leftist circles as the IBEX 35 party. The media is in love with them, though. Some journalists claim that certain power players in the economy are propping them as the inevitable replacement of the PP.
The good: Strong focus on education and science. Fresh new faces. Secular-ish. Non hysterical brand of liberal-progressiveness, which is unheard of in Spain.
The bad: Their unambiguously neoliberal economic policies have been written with the help of a FAES fellow, which casts a lot of shadows over the party's real allegiances. Politically untested in the big leagues. Nobody knows where they really stand on social issues. Already involved in some minor scandals.
The stereotype: Ciudadanos' candidates are not born, but manufactured in bulk. They are all young, pretty, well dressed and identical, probably the result of a PP's secret experiment to create pod people and perpetuate their rule under different, more attractive bodies. They also know the best yayo dealers in town.
Podemos
Factoids: Oh boy, this is a fun one. Founded in 2014 by a bunch of academics of some note (as wild as it may sound, it's actually a party started by university teachers) Podemos is the youngest mainstream political faction and the New Left Sensation that seduces Europe™. It's kind of a meta-party in the sense that there's Spain-wide Podemos and a number of smaller affiliates with similar and inspiring names that are backing Podemos Proper along some local parties with overlapping aims. At some point IU was meant to join them (see bonus track) but they were laughed off/told each other to GTFO depending on who you ask.
Of all the aspiring parties, Podemos is the one who have managed to capitalize the current anti-establishment feeling the most. This has put them in a bit of a pickle. They began as a borderline neocommunist party with some REALLY funny friends (some of their higher ups worked as foreign consultants for Chavez and similar luminaries) with some wildly anti-NATO rhetoric, but quickly realised that they needed to temper their spiel if they really wanted to be other than another joke party. This path towards political moderation nearly turned into political disaster when the hardest, nuttiest leftist elements (buh-bye) accused them of being capitalist plants, but after a short period of upheaval and some totally moderate, absolutely democratic purges (I haven't heard anything against them, but maybe that's because dissenters were sent to the gulag, I mean UP), Podemos transitioned to its current form and began seducing more moderate politicians and voters, which evened their former revolutionary temper. They used to be BFF with Greece's Syriza, but they no longer want to talk about it. On the Catalonian issue, Podemos is the only mainstream party that supports a referendum -the official line is one of adhesion to Spain with increased levels of autonomy.
Podemos has managed to amass a surprising amount of votes and big names during the past few months. What started as the FU response to the PP and PSOE telling 15-M demonstrators "lol, get a party, you hippies" has taken conservatives by surprise and come scarily close to roll over the PSOE to become the second biggest party in Spain. They started as a bit of a post-modern joke. Now they are a force to be reckoned.
The good: Super strong focus on social issues and education, strong focus on science*, transparency and separation of powers. Strongly secular. As socially liberal as they come.
The bad: Terrible friends (seemingly forgotten, but you'd never know). Highly personalistic. Some certifiable members who cannot be purged (shout out to Monedero). *Silly positions on things such as GMO crops. Politically untested. Dear Owen Jones, shut the fuck up already.
The stereotype: That insufferable teacher you had at the uni who couldn't stop yapping about Engels and Chomsky but probably drove an Audi paid with the money he earned under the table working in secret for North Korea. Hate ties, love cheap button shirts. CUT YOUR HAIR, HIPPIES.
Bonus track
UP (Unidad Popular)
Factoids: Hard left party mostly composed of decrepit communists, career politicians and a few well meaning but ultimately lost left wingers coming from IU (Izquierda Unida) and other smaller, even more insignificant groups. They've been worthless for the past decades. The party became comfortable acting as third wheel in PSOE-ruled regions, so when Podemos came in, they got the Nacho Vidal-graded butt fuck they were aching for. They walked away from the elections with two miserious MPs (although in all fairness, they got fucked over in second instance by a highly politicised electoral system).
The good: Super strong focus on social issues and education and separation of powers. Strongly secular. As socially liberal as they come.
The bad: Inept. Massively disconnected from their target. Unwilling to compromise (unless they get their cut). Some significant political scandals. Ridden with career politicians who've been huffing and puffing about BRINGING THE REAL CHANGE since May 1968.
The stereotype: All the imaginable tropes from old timey eurocommunists. All of them.
---post will continue in #2---
Thread update 2: Results are in. It's still a damn fine mess.
Word of advice: Long post (I didn't think it was going to be this brutal, but politics are complicated).
This Sunday over 30 million of Spanish citizens were called to the polls so they could give continuation to almost 40 years of shit governance and cunty politicians. It was a momentous event --not just because the country is in a sorry state after being ravaged by the crisis, but because the current duocracy born after the dissolution of Franco's regime was meant to come to an abrupt halt as the old parties crumbled apart and new ones rose from the void. Recent news clippings talk about abject screams in the Senate's corridors and mysterious, desperate snorting noises emanating from the restrooms. Chants of "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Throne of Moncloa!" were reported by the janitors. The remains of a disembowelled goat were found at the steps of the lions outside the Spanish Congress.
A new political party would rise up to claim the presidency after more than three decades of bipartisan alternation.
Or not. Shit happens.
That's right, the conservatives won the elections again, but this time the political map is the fiercest dumpster fire since the fall of Havana. Conservatives managed to retain the biggest amount of MPs per party, but this pyrrhic victory came at a huge cost as the social democrats got crushed and two new parties came in with enough strength to prevent any group from forming a new government.
Each party hates the fuck out of the rest, and those who wouldn't like to see them drown, would absolutely adore to behead their respective leaders before shaking hands and picking a new president. To put it simply, while the two party rule has been finally crushed in the Congress (not the Senate, where the PP still savours a supermajority), no credible government can be born.
Both the PP and the PSOE know they'll be toast if they agree to a grand neoliberal-social democrat coalition, the new left will only sit at the table if they agree to some extremely (and potentially party-destroying) unpleasant reforms and the new right sneakily asks the social democrats to allow an incredibly fragile conservative government that could collapse in short time. A gigantic leftist coalition could oust the PP, but chances of that happening are slim to none.
While Italians may be familiar with this shit show and require no further explanation, Americans could think of the situation as a far fetched scenario in which Libertarians and Berners carried enough popular support to ruin the GOP and Democrat's plans for getting close to the presidency, yet not enough to reach the White House by themselves.
As of now, the future of Spain is set to auto pilot. We are not quite in Belgian territory yet, but we're trying. Fun times are ahead for both Spain and the EU.
So what's so important about the Spanish general elections?
Spain is the fourth biggest economy in the Eurozone and thus holds significant sway in the EU. Also, Germans and Cameron enjoy vacationing here. This means that the Prime Ministers of the 28 member states, plus Dijsselbloem and his wretched minions were paying extra attention to whatever fuckery just happened here. Because you know, the country is kind of in a bin after 8 years of galloping crisis and people in other member states could get ideas.
I'm not going to bother explaining how it came to this since that would be ponderous -and pissing- enterprise, so I'll just refer you to Aleix Saló's Apecracy and Spainistan animated short films, which are funny, easy to understand and don't indulge too much in the usual scapegoating.
The thing is, although the situation in Spain has stabilised, shit is Rough with a capital R. Unemployment rate is somewhat (nominally) improving but remains over 20%, with close to 50% of the young (>25 years old) population jobless, 1/3 of children living in poverty and salaries cut so thinly many people are barely making ends.
The current administration has managed to stop the bleeding by engaging in an oddly interpreted version of austerity consisting in trashing public services while increasing public borrowing up the wazoo, which coupled with the softening of the real estate crisis has allowed Spain not to crash and burn like Greece. Structural problems remain the same if not bigger, however, which means that a new financial downturn would send Spain to the pits. And you can bet your sweet butt cheeks there's not enough money in the EU to bail us out. If Greece was Hiroshima, Spain would be the Tsar Bomb.
A not so brief summary of the situation
Anyway, Spain's politics more or less dictate that two parties disputed the government: the conservative PP and the social democrat PSOE. Both of them are corrupt to the core and accumulate enough dirt to keep this low rent version of House of Cards going on for ages. For decades, the population has been kicking one out to enthrone the other in a wonderful exercise of cutting the nose to spite the face, as if that could fix things in any meaningful way. Then, the 15M happened.
Out of nowhere, people pissed off of corruption and political incompetence rushed to the biggest squares and organised massive protests that took the establishment by surprise. It kind of died out over the following months (and boy, its deflation was such a lame sight), but fresh political seeds were planted. The disenfranchised and the pissed off resolved that voting the same assholes every four years wasn't the solution. There was a problem, however: there were no credible alternatives at the time. To make things more difficult, the PSOE basically committed political suicide by embracing austerity and left the conservatives to run the country with a rolling supermajority which allowed them to do as they pleased. And turns out that what pleases the conservatives pisses off the commoners like you couldn't imagine. Tax amnesties for the rich and corrupt at the same time taxes were being increased across the board, regressive laws an horrifyingly poor management of the banking crisis, pro-big business labour reforms... the works.
But then something magical happened. Decades of political dirt nurtured the seeds planted by the disenfranchised a few years ago, which soiled by the pissing contest that is Spanish politics, blossomed into new political contenders. Where there were two now there are four, and thus the duopoly of Spanish politics comes to a fiery end. So the polls say.
The Parties
Right now there are four main political parties as opposed to the old two, plus a number of smaller ones which are expected to get only a tiny fraction of the votes.
PP (Partido Popular)
Factoids: Born from the ashes of AP, which was formed by the "liberal" wing of the late Franco regime itself. Neoconservative, adscribed to the European People's Party. Corporate friendly. Styled itself after the GOP when Aznar became president and realized that nationalcatholicism was no longer hip. Mostly concerned with the economy and keeping Spain together. Proclaim the gospel of trickle down economics and austerity. Currently in power.
They curbstomped the social democrats at the last elections, obtaining a supermajority that used to great effect. Alas, they have managed to piss off so many people in the process that their MP count has received a veritable trashing, going from 186 MPs to 123; their worst result since 1989.
The good: Spain didn't fully collapse under their administration and roving gangs of cannibals don't rule the streets. So there's that.
The bad: We could use a new thread for that. Their corporations/banks-first approach to the economy managed to avoid a complete collapse of the country, but further eroded the middle and lower classes. They've been involved in more political and financial scandals that you can count.
The stereotype: Love foetuses, hate homos. They care about the economy, just not your economy. Most of them have a seat lined up at a massive corporation (probably an energy-related one) by the time their political careers end. They may or may have not have a father who used to order executions after the Civil War. Real Madrid fans.
PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
Factoids: Former socialists turned social democrats turned third way social democrats, turned full time jackasses. Repped in Europe by the Party of European Socialists. Embroiled in as many political and financial scandals as the PP. Genetically predisposed to turncoating. Claim to be for the people, but tend to put business interest first when push comes to shove. They claim they will try to fix the Catalonian issue by moving Spain's regional organization towards a barely explained federalist model. Socially progressive (helps with branding!).
The PSOE got absolutely savaged during the 2012 elections but you can always trust them to make even a bigger mess at difficult times, so they managed to embarrass themselves even further by achieving their WORST RESULT EVER with a 110 to 90 MPs drop. And it could have been much, much worse had not been for the peculiar way in which votes are translated to MPs.
The good: Legalised same-sex marriage. Very strongly pro-choice. They were cool back when bell-bottoms were popular.
The bad: The crisis exploded right under their feet and didn't notice it until one year later, when they did a 180 turn and embraced austerity. Massively corrupt, unsurpassedly inept. Rife with internal disputes. They are still undecided on Catalonia after four decades of skull bashing.
The stereotype: That lazy high school principal that can't fund a new computer lab because he keeps siphoning money away so he can coke himself to high heaven when nobody is looking. Most of them have a seat lined up at a massive corporation (probably an energy-related one) by the time their political careers end. Used to love subsidies, but now they are down with austerity. Half of them are lazy andalusians, the other half are lazy extremeños. They really like to talk about the Civil War for some reason. Part of the Gay Agenda.
C's (Ciudadanos)
Factoids: C's is one of the new parties that has come to mess the whole picture by bringing a whole lot of new, younger faces to the political arena. It started as a plucky, somewhat progressive Catalonian party with both leftist and neoliberal tendencies staunchly opposed to Catalonian separatism until the neoliberal wing quickly purged the leftist one and turned the party into its current self. It stumbled around for a bit (actually, it predates the 15M) before going turbo and pillaging the PP's base. It's part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
C's is very much about the economy and the sacrosanct unity of Spain. It styles itself as some kind third way liberal party in the European fashion, whereas the PP is old, moldy and reeks of creepy Catholic priest. It is more or less liberal on social issues, although more recently it has had a number of high profile snafus in its quest to reach to the conservative voter, particularly when addressing domestic violence and reproductive rights. C's has excellent connections to the biggest Spanish corporations, which has led to be known among leftist circles as the IBEX 35 party. The media is in love with them, though. Some journalists claim that certain power players in the economy are propping them as the inevitable replacement of the PP.
The good: Strong focus on education and science. Fresh new faces. Secular-ish. Non hysterical brand of liberal-progressiveness, which is unheard of in Spain.
The bad: Their unambiguously neoliberal economic policies have been written with the help of a FAES fellow, which casts a lot of shadows over the party's real allegiances. Politically untested in the big leagues. Nobody knows where they really stand on social issues. Already involved in some minor scandals.
The stereotype: Ciudadanos' candidates are not born, but manufactured in bulk. They are all young, pretty, well dressed and identical, probably the result of a PP's secret experiment to create pod people and perpetuate their rule under different, more attractive bodies. They also know the best yayo dealers in town.
Podemos
Factoids: Oh boy, this is a fun one. Founded in 2014 by a bunch of academics of some note (as wild as it may sound, it's actually a party started by university teachers) Podemos is the youngest mainstream political faction and the New Left Sensation that seduces Europe™. It's kind of a meta-party in the sense that there's Spain-wide Podemos and a number of smaller affiliates with similar and inspiring names that are backing Podemos Proper along some local parties with overlapping aims. At some point IU was meant to join them (see bonus track) but they were laughed off/told each other to GTFO depending on who you ask.
Of all the aspiring parties, Podemos is the one who have managed to capitalize the current anti-establishment feeling the most. This has put them in a bit of a pickle. They began as a borderline neocommunist party with some REALLY funny friends (some of their higher ups worked as foreign consultants for Chavez and similar luminaries) with some wildly anti-NATO rhetoric, but quickly realised that they needed to temper their spiel if they really wanted to be other than another joke party. This path towards political moderation nearly turned into political disaster when the hardest, nuttiest leftist elements (buh-bye) accused them of being capitalist plants, but after a short period of upheaval and some totally moderate, absolutely democratic purges (I haven't heard anything against them, but maybe that's because dissenters were sent to the gulag, I mean UP), Podemos transitioned to its current form and began seducing more moderate politicians and voters, which evened their former revolutionary temper. They used to be BFF with Greece's Syriza, but they no longer want to talk about it. On the Catalonian issue, Podemos is the only mainstream party that supports a referendum -the official line is one of adhesion to Spain with increased levels of autonomy.
Podemos has managed to amass a surprising amount of votes and big names during the past few months. What started as the FU response to the PP and PSOE telling 15-M demonstrators "lol, get a party, you hippies" has taken conservatives by surprise and come scarily close to roll over the PSOE to become the second biggest party in Spain. They started as a bit of a post-modern joke. Now they are a force to be reckoned.
The good: Super strong focus on social issues and education, strong focus on science*, transparency and separation of powers. Strongly secular. As socially liberal as they come.
The bad: Terrible friends (seemingly forgotten, but you'd never know). Highly personalistic. Some certifiable members who cannot be purged (shout out to Monedero). *Silly positions on things such as GMO crops. Politically untested. Dear Owen Jones, shut the fuck up already.
The stereotype: That insufferable teacher you had at the uni who couldn't stop yapping about Engels and Chomsky but probably drove an Audi paid with the money he earned under the table working in secret for North Korea. Hate ties, love cheap button shirts. CUT YOUR HAIR, HIPPIES.
Bonus track
UP (Unidad Popular)
Factoids: Hard left party mostly composed of decrepit communists, career politicians and a few well meaning but ultimately lost left wingers coming from IU (Izquierda Unida) and other smaller, even more insignificant groups. They've been worthless for the past decades. The party became comfortable acting as third wheel in PSOE-ruled regions, so when Podemos came in, they got the Nacho Vidal-graded butt fuck they were aching for. They walked away from the elections with two miserious MPs (although in all fairness, they got fucked over in second instance by a highly politicised electoral system).
The good: Super strong focus on social issues and education and separation of powers. Strongly secular. As socially liberal as they come.
The bad: Inept. Massively disconnected from their target. Unwilling to compromise (unless they get their cut). Some significant political scandals. Ridden with career politicians who've been huffing and puffing about BRINGING THE REAL CHANGE since May 1968.
The stereotype: All the imaginable tropes from old timey eurocommunists. All of them.
---post will continue in #2---
