Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2014. Everything reflects the situation then, including 5 MEPs, being the fourth party, over 1 million votes, and Rajoy and Rubalcaba as the main rivals. Iglesias later served as Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister (2020-2021) and left front-line politics in 2021.
Whatever happens from now on, Pablo Iglesias Turrión, leader of the political party Podemos (“We can”), has already made history by creating a political party and, less than six months after founding it, winning five seats in the European Parliament and becoming the fourth most-voted party.
Whether or not we like the political ideology Pablo Iglesias represents, the truth is that this man deserves a closer look. I have been watching him ever since he appeared as a pundit on political debate shows on television.
Pablo Iglesias has shown that he can be a serious threat to the main political forces, and the result of these elections could be just the beginning of his political career. Let’s look at the reasons for his success.
Pablo Iglesias is pure passion. He believes in his ideals. In fact, unlike many other politicians, Iglesias is driven by his ideals. What’s more, he believes he can bring about change. He is convinced he can win and go further than he already has. Historically, people like this tend to achieve their goals or die trying.
He performs flawlessly in debates
To appreciate this point, you have to forget whether you are on the left, on the right or a Real Betis fan… and focus solely on the art of debate, looking at the confrontation objectively.
The first time I saw Pablo Iglesias debate face to face with Paco Marhuenda (La Razón) and the deputy editor of the newspaper El Mundo, Eduardo Inda, I said to myself: “This guy is incredibly good.”
Pablo Iglesias’s debating technique is simply flawless. He has complete control of his body language and respects speaking times; he asks direct questions and gives even more direct answers, always saying what he thinks, whether it pleases or hurts (whether it wins votes or loses them). And people notice that. Remember that the subconscious can be more intelligent than the conscious mind.
In his speeches, Pablo Iglesias shows what he calls the defeat tattooed on his DNA: his grandfather was shot in the Civil War, his father was in prison and his mother was active in the clandestine resistance, so he feels he must continue their struggle. And this is a struggle he wants to win.
What I mean is that if you combine passion, his ideals and his skill in debate, no political adviser from the main parties would allow Pablo Iglesias to go face to face with Rajoy or Rubalcaba (then the prime minister and the leader of the opposition), because he would simply destroy them. Politicians do politics, while Pablo Iglesias believes, or feels, that he has to change a rotten, corrupt world.
Put another way: no politician in Spain has been prepared for a head-to-head with someone like this. I think that in the toughness and clarity of his words and message we have a new version of Julio Anguita (the former leader of the left-wing coalition Izquierda Unida), who was able to destroy his opponents in any debate or head-to-head.
A man who faces his fears
Everyone has fears, but they have not held Pablo Iglesias back. Quite the opposite: he has faced them. What other madman would accept an invitation to debate against three pundits on the Intereconomía channel (a right-wing TV station), being a self-declared communist? Iglesias accepted, debated and was attacked; they barely let him speak, but he came out of that battle stoically.
He has used whatever means he had
Most people complain about a lack of resources or about being at a disadvantage compared with their rivals. Iglesias used the “nothing” he had to campaign with what was available: social media and his appearances on the TV channels that would let him take part, because although in Spain we like to think of ourselves as liberal, public television is still afraid of letting a self-declared communist speak.
Since the main channel for spreading his message was out of reach, he created his own: his small TV programme, La Tuerka.
He has gone straight at the problem
His message has been much less complicated than that of the other political forces: “We have to take power away from the crooks and thieves who hold it. And we can.”
I think anyone can understand this, and it is very easy for people to identify with the message. In fact, more than a million people clearly did.
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Well, Pablo Iglesias thinks he can.
The video below has a short speech by him that shows the passion and ideals that give him great prospects in politics. Apply that passion to your career or your business, and I assure you that you will considerably increase your chances of success.
Featured image: Asqueladd, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
