The last political conference of the PSOE coincided with the publication of Zapatero’s memoirs of his final period in government, along with those of his minister of economy. Unsurprisingly, no apologies for the economic and political disasters that took place under their government appear. Instead, they try to justify themselves, boost their egos, and cash in amidst a continuing economic crisis. But the fact that the PSOE has not condemned or demanded responsibility from the former party leaders shows precisely how comatosed the party actually is.
During his time in government, Zapatero refused to reveal the letter he received from the ECB in August 2011 which was closely followed by the reforming of the Spanish Constitution – which saw the subordination of the economy to the payment of the debt incurred by the financial markets. Instead, he has preferred to publish it along with his book to boost its sales, something that Spanish society must not ignore. The former president has behaved like a businessman rather than the governor of a sovereign nation.
Socialism means the construction of solidarity, and thousands of activists gave their lives in an attempt to build it. Moving away from solidarity is to slide onto the path of bureaucracy and armchair politics. The only enemy of the poor is capitalism, and the PSOE has embraced it, selling the poor out in the process. Today’s so-called ‘socialists’ stay on the simple path of speaking about rights because they no longer feel they have responsibilities. With their chauffeur-driven official cars and good salaries, the only rights they see worth fighting for are from the waist down. For them, the poor do not exist.
The PSOE is a mummy, and to believe in its regeneration is to believe in life on Jupiter. Every time they lose elections, they become an anti-right-wing parody, criticising what they themselves did whilst in government.
We must not let their clamour silence the voices of those who are truly building solidarity in Spanish politics.
Publishing house of Self-management magazine