Spain’s divided Podemos starts crucial congress

Shouting “yes we can” and “unity”, thousands of Podemos supporters gathered yesterday at a meeting in Madrid that could eventually unseat the charismatic leader of one of Europe’s leading far-left parties, now deeply divided.Born in 2014 out of the Indignados anti-austerity protest movement that swept Spain during a severe economic crisis, the party, an ally of Greece’s Syriza, has found itself riven by in-fighting after a meteoric rise to national-level politics.But yesterday as supporters urged them to unite, party leaders tried to put divisions behind them as they took to the stage in a congress centre bathed in purple, the colour of Podemos.“We have committed many mistakes,” Pablo Iglesias, the pony-tailed party chief and co-founder, said on stage behind huge white letters spelling out Podemos.To wild applause, the 38-year-old added that the weekend’s congress should be “an example of fraternity, unity and intelligence”.For months, Iglesias and his deputy and former close friend Inigo Errejon, 33, have been locked in a high-profile duel that has morphed into party-wide in-fighting over how to steer Podemos towards taking power now it has become Spain’s third political force.Supporters have looked on with unease at what many perceive to be a power struggle typical of any other political party.They are hoping the rift will be put to rest by today, when they elect a new leadership council and secretary general, with Iglesias presenting his candidacy again.While he is almost assured of being re-elected given the relative low-profile lawmaker he is up against, his list of candidates for the leadership council will meet stiff competition.Errejon has presented his own list, as have other popular leaders, such as Teresa Rodriguez, a regional Podemos lawmaker in southern Andalusia, and MEP Miguel Urban.Crucially, Iglesias has said that if his list is rejected, he will step aside, precipitating another crisis for a party that would be left without the public face of the Podemos success story.After a rise that saw it shatter Spain’s traditional two-party system, coming third in 2015 general elections and in a repeat 2016 vote, Podemos now finds itself at a crossroads.It wants to replace the Socialists as Spain’s main opposition party and eventually take power, but Iglesias, Errejon and their respective followers disagree on how to do this.Should the party, which harnessed the anger of millions stung by Spain’s economic woes, take to the streets again as an anti-establishment group, as wanted by Iglesias?Or should it shed an “enfant terrible” image that may be scaring away voters now that it has become a credible political force, and work from within parliament as Errejon proposes?For Rafa Burguillo, the choice is made.He will vote for Iglesias and his list of candidates for the leadership council.“He remains true to his ideas, to a hard, strong discourse,” said the 49-year-old, who travelled to Madrid from Barcelona with his wife Eva Campos, a Podemos councillor, and their eight-year-old son.But whatever the outcome today, he says the in-fighting between two close friends has left a “scar”.“When people get a taste of power, they really like it. And they forget that what they actually have to do is debate to change the system,” he said.Yesterday, though, Iglesias and Errejon tried to put on a common front, appearing on stage together along with other leaders from either side.“It’s a very young party that grew very quickly,” said Maria Garcia Martinez, a 60-year-old healthcare assistant and supporter of both Iglesias and Errejon.“Right now we’ve merely stopped to see what we want to do with the party,” she added, hoping that from tomorrow all would be sorted – a sentiment shared by Errejon.“From Monday, more Podemos, more together, stronger,” he told the crowd to huge applause.