The People’s Will Must Prevail!

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Spanish General Election:
The People’s Will Must Prevail!

The government has made concerted attempts to put its own spin on the recent election results in Spain, that followed so closely after the atrocities in Madrid which led to the deaths of 200 people.

After the victory for the Socialist Party, its leader Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero immediately announced his party’s opposition to the criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Amongst other things he pointed out, "Wars such as those which have occurred in Iraq only allow hatred, violence and terror to proliferate." And he added that "the war in Iraq was a huge disaster, the occupation continues to be a big disaster". Zapatero was also openly critical of the arguments advanced by George W Bush and Tony Blair, which he stated "lacked credibility" and he concluded that they had led the world to war "with lies". In regard to the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq, Zapatero demanded that the occupiers give up political control in favour of the UN by June 30 otherwise Spain would withdraw its forces. At the same time, however, Zapatero made it clear that although his government was likely to be less subservient to the interests of the US, it intended to strengthen its role within the EU and particularly with France and Germany.

The victory of Zapatero and the Socialist Party at the polls has led many commentators to conclude that the Spanish elections were a clear expression of the Spanish people’s opposition to the former government’s involvement in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq and showed that they blamed its foreign policy for creating the conditions for the tragic bombings in Madrid. Government lies about the war and attempts to make political capital from the bombings were also criticised and there was open speculation that other warmongering governments, including the Labour government in Britain, might be similarly discarded by the electorate. It was also widely suggested, that the threat of terrorism might be averted by governments adopting a foreign policy that opposes both military intervention and slavish subservience to the US.

But in an interview for BBC radio the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, took what one might call a different view. While admitting that the Madrid bombings may have had some bearing on the election results in Spain, Jack Straw advanced the opinion that since supporting the war in Iraq had always been unpopular this could not explain a dramatic sudden change in voting patterns. He was totally opposed to the view that opposition to military action and state terrorism could possible make a country less likely to be a target for what he referred to as "terrible Islamic fanatics".

According to Jack Straw "nobody should believe that we can opt out of the war against Islamic terrorism", and he alleged that such terrorism is aimed at "anybody who upholds democratic values". However, it is precisely because the governments of Britain, the US and the other big powers uphold values that are far from democratic both at home and abroad that there is so much tension and instability in the world. Jack Straw wishes to absolve the current government of Britain, as well as those in the past, from any responsibility for the crimes committed throughout the world. He wants to claim that military intervention carried out in the interests of the big monopolies and financiers has no destabilising impact and no repercussions; that global inequalities and the denial of the rights of nations does not produce instability; that the machinations of the big powers and state terrorism do not create all the conditions for 9/11 and Madrid.

One lesson that can be drawn from recent events in Spain is that there is a need for the people to take things into their own hands, and empower themselves. The dangerous situation that has been created in the world cannot be left in the hands of those who have created it. It is the people’s will for peace which must prevail, and the working class and people must organise to achieve their sovereignty.