Iglesias tells unions to 'go to hell' for advocating PSOE-PP budget pact

El exlíder de Podemos Pablo Iglesias has expressed this Friday that the left-wing party must return to government, as the proof of their necessity is that the socialists do not want them. Simultaneously, he harshly criticized the 'left-wing unions' that call for a bipartisan agreement to approve new General State Budgets (PGE). 'Go to hell, union delegates who defend that,' he declared during the fifth citizen assembly of the left-wing party in a veiled reference to previous statements by CCOO's general secretary, Unai Sordo.

Subsequently, he emphasized that Podemos is the only party daring to claim that 'liberal democracy is a lie,' that institutions 'are not neutral,' and that 'judicial elites are right-wing militants willing to use the law to pursue their political ends.' Meanwhile, he rebutted the left that claims judges are independent or journalists are neutral and 'does not feel ashamed.'

He conveyed this during the Podemos congress, attended by 650 supporters according to the organization, in a debate on the rise of the far-right alongside María José Pizarro, Colombian senator of the Historical Pact, and Clémence Guetté, vice-president of the French National Assembly and deputy of La France Insoumise.

Iglesias defended that Podemos always aimed to build a powerful left and therefore wanted to be in the Council of Ministers, a goal that remains despite being displaced by Sumar, reports Europa Press. 'Of course, we will be in the Council of Ministers with the PSOE, but the best proof is that they do not want us there; if they do not want us, it means we must be there. That is the best proof that we must be there,' he elaborated.

He then asserted that mobilization and organization in all areas are necessary for the left to be in 'all places of power,' a lesson from Latin America and 'Peronism,' which understood that politics is more than just elections but a cultural project and fighting in all areas of the state. 'Politics is not about liberal democracy; it is about power,' he added.

Comparison with Opus Dei

He then stated that there is a right-wing institution he admires, which is Opus Dei, considering it a movement based on organizing 'command cadres' for those 'destined to be company leaders and ministers when they govern.'

In contrast, he criticized that traditional left abandoned this task and questioned how unions, when they had millions of members, did not launch cooperatives to challenge economic power, foster media, or promote a State School to train and grant scholarships to left-wing militants to enter the judiciary, for example.

Furthermore, the former vice-president added that he has launched a media outlet (Canal Red) and now initiated a crowdfunding to expand the Garibaldi tavern, a hospitality venue he co-owns, not 'to make money' but to create spaces and instruments for cultural battle from the left.

'If we wanted to make money, we would have asked Pepe Blanco for a job, like others do,' he remarked, referring to former minister Alberto Garzón's plans to join the consultancy Acento, although he ultimately declined that option. Therefore, he promised that if he has the capacity, he will indeed set up state projects like schools and scholarships to train left-wing affiliates.

Reproaches to Sumar

He also opined that it was intolerable for Podemos to include 'military, police, and civil guards' in their ranks, as a part of the left, the same that 'says nothing now that they are in government' thanks to them, referring to Sumar, told them they could not count on former Chief of Defence Staff (Jemad) Julio Rodríguez and that they were 'radicals.'

'That same left-wing union that now says there should be a pact between the PP and PSOE to pass the general state budgets. Go to hell, union representatives who defend this,' he snapped. Iglesias also stated that in the face of the far-right's advance, it is 'stupid' to propose a 'grand agreement' around the 'lesser evil,' as he believes the way to confront it is to achieve a 'maximum' proposal.

Thus, he proclaimed that against the far-right, the response should be 'nationalization' of strategic companies and more public enterprises, reform of the media so it is not an 'exclusive privilege' of billionaires, Spain's exit from NATO, and the removal of US military bases from Europe.

'To confront the far-right, more state and more law, so that the full weight of the law falls on the rich and fascists,' Iglesias demanded. In his view, the far-right has programmatic, discursive, or ideological differences, but they share a unifying element: the belief that ideological struggle in politics occurs in the media.

Also their 'anti-communism' because, under his analysis, the far-right knows that the 'old ghost' is still present not because there are now large communist parties, but because it serves them to destroy unions, public services, or public participation in large strategic companies.