……..and the left, centre left and centre right will wail and gnash their teeth and blame everyone but themselves as to why there is this turn to ‘populist’ figures and parties.
And, they, dare to call the electorate ‘stupid’ and ‘bigoted’. How stupid and bigoted can somebody be !
James Joyce
2 years ago
Viva Espania!
Just because a party in 2022 is “right wing” does not mean it is a return to dictatorship. Dictatorships these days are often of the left.
New Zealand and Canada come to mind…..
spot on…I have given up (admittedly hardly a riveting argument) on Left and Right as meaning anything…I think Davod Goodhart’s *Anywhere’s and Somewhere’s* is a far better idea for understanding precisely what’s going on when self satisfied chattering class types of *the left* start persecuting workers because they’re not the correct sort of *left*
Graham Stull
2 years ago
Once again, I am astonished to see that the UnHerd’s national political journalists fail to appreciate the political moment of covidism.
Certainly concerns over immigration “play their part” in the Spanish political discourse, as elsewhere in Europe. And yes, the Catalonia issue is clearly on many people’s minds.
But it is at least worth noting that VOX was the only party to oppose Spain’s draconian lockdowns and vaccine passport requirements. I know if I were Spanish they would have my full support in this election.
Why no discussion of this?
I wonder how Fratelli d’Italia will fare as they share many of the traits you mention with Vox.
Last edited 2 years ago by Andrea X
Tom Gallagher
2 years ago
Refreshing to find that Peter Franklin is content to describe the newly second place Vox Party in Spain as ‘populist’ rather than extreme this or extreme that. It’s conservatism is much like that of centre-right parties of 20th century New Zealand & Canada, places now controlled by left-wing extremists.
The academic Miguel Quintana Paz writes sense about Vox, such as here.https://theobjective.com/elsubjetivo/opinion/2022-02-17/frenar-vox-pasos/
twitter @QuintanaPaz
MQP recently tweeted that the leader of the established conservative party Pablo Casado is now being hailed by the left press for his pragmatism in holding the line against robust conservatism. Luckily, the rank-and-file of the Popular Party want someone unwilling to make backroom deals with the Socialists who acts and speak like a conservative and is ready to match the Spanish left by working for unity on the democratically-minded Spanish right.
Keith Jefferson
2 years ago
This is the second article on Unherd in just over a week about Vox. The first described them as far right, which received some pushback in the comments. This article describes them as right wing populist, but still compares them with Le Pen et al, with the undertone that they are somehow problematic and pose a threat. We can get this sort of analysis from the mainstream media, but I would have expected something a little more from Unherd. If the surge in support for Vox really is problematic, then the reasons should be spelt out. And if the surge in support signifies a wider trend, then this needs some analysis. Otherwise, the article just comes across as “OMG! These people are challenging the accepted political establishment!”.
……..and the left, centre left and centre right will wail and gnash their teeth and blame everyone but themselves as to why there is this turn to ‘populist’ figures and parties.
And, they, dare to call the electorate ‘stupid’ and ‘bigoted’. How stupid and bigoted can somebody be !
Viva Espania!
Just because a party in 2022 is “right wing” does not mean it is a return to dictatorship. Dictatorships these days are often of the left.
New Zealand and Canada come to mind…..
spot on…I have given up (admittedly hardly a riveting argument) on Left and Right as meaning anything…I think Davod Goodhart’s *Anywhere’s and Somewhere’s* is a far better idea for understanding precisely what’s going on when self satisfied chattering class types of *the left* start persecuting workers because they’re not the correct sort of *left*
Once again, I am astonished to see that the UnHerd’s national political journalists fail to appreciate the political moment of covidism.
Certainly concerns over immigration “play their part” in the Spanish political discourse, as elsewhere in Europe. And yes, the Catalonia issue is clearly on many people’s minds.
But it is at least worth noting that VOX was the only party to oppose Spain’s draconian lockdowns and vaccine passport requirements. I know if I were Spanish they would have my full support in this election.
Why no discussion of this?
I wonder how Fratelli d’Italia will fare as they share many of the traits you mention with Vox.
Refreshing to find that Peter Franklin is content to describe the newly second place Vox Party in Spain as ‘populist’ rather than extreme this or extreme that. It’s conservatism is much like that of centre-right parties of 20th century New Zealand & Canada, places now controlled by left-wing extremists.
The academic Miguel Quintana Paz writes sense about Vox, such as here.https://theobjective.com/elsubjetivo/opinion/2022-02-17/frenar-vox-pasos/
twitter @QuintanaPaz
MQP recently tweeted that the leader of the established conservative party Pablo Casado is now being hailed by the left press for his pragmatism in holding the line against robust conservatism. Luckily, the rank-and-file of the Popular Party want someone unwilling to make backroom deals with the Socialists who acts and speak like a conservative and is ready to match the Spanish left by working for unity on the democratically-minded Spanish right.
This is the second article on Unherd in just over a week about Vox. The first described them as far right, which received some pushback in the comments. This article describes them as right wing populist, but still compares them with Le Pen et al, with the undertone that they are somehow problematic and pose a threat. We can get this sort of analysis from the mainstream media, but I would have expected something a little more from Unherd. If the surge in support for Vox really is problematic, then the reasons should be spelt out. And if the surge in support signifies a wider trend, then this needs some analysis. Otherwise, the article just comes across as “OMG! These people are challenging the accepted political establishment!”.