Spanish elections

[JuneDays]

I know MumsNet is for UK mums but support options for English speakers in Europe are limited, especially if you're gender critical.

In Spain, there are two major left wing parties. PSOE is gender critical. Podemos (podemos unidas, Ahora Madrid) is liberal/queer feminist.

In upcoming elections in Madrid, the right wing Partido Popular (which is the party founded by Francoists) had looked like they would cake walk to victory. The left wing oppistion in Madrid appeared to have shut up and gone home during the pandemic even as Madrid turned into a shit show. PSOE seemed to want to concede defeat and put up one of the no name locals who wasn't effective in opposition up as their leader.

And then the vice president of Spain, Pablo Iglesias, who is the founder of Podemos announced he was leaving to contest for the leader of the regional government in Madrid. This has conpletely changed the game in the region, and maybe the left might be more energized to vote (on a Tuesday). His party in Madrid though has split and I believe the other half is being led by a pretty competent woman who doesn't support most of the damaging queer feminist ideology that Irene Montero does.

As a new voter in the region and never having dealt with an election where there were 6 (three on the left, three on the right) viable parties, I am unclear where votes arw best placed. Podemos has momentum and as much as i dislike Iglesias, i would prefer him to Partido Popular's Ayuso as healthcare and women's issues in Madrid have just taken a tumble. Things are seriously bad here. The right returning is just a sad thought.

But I don't like him and his party's feminist views. But PSOE may not be energized as they put up a huge dud of a canididate.

How do you chose who to vote for as a feminist in this scenario while being effective and trying to make sure the left comes to power?

Yes it is a hard one , as it is in Uk when if you can’t vote for any party due to gender ideology, spoiled votes are important. In Spain you also get the option of a blank voting paper to state your disapproval of all contenders. Are there local podemos sedes where you can register your views? Ii have always voted for podemos locally but the reality is a kind of coalition to keep out one party. If I had a vote nationally I would vote for the feminist party who also had candidates in the European elections. Or for PSOE.

@Thecatonthemat

Yes it is a hard one , as it is in Uk when if you can’t vote for any party due to gender ideology, spoiled votes are important. In Spain you also get the option of a blank voting paper to state your disapproval of all contenders. Are there local podemos sedes where you can register your views? Ii have always voted for podemos locally but the reality is a kind of coalition to keep out one party. If I had a vote nationally I would vote for the feminist party who also had candidates in the European elections. Or for PSOE.

Given Irene Montero leading the party on feminist issues and Iglesias not doing much on that front on his own, I can't really see it making a difference. I really liked Manuela Carmena and my recall is her part of the party split from Podemos, and is the one with a woman at the top of the ticket. I know one or two women voting based on that because they think PSOE is such a huge dud.

But Irene Montero is such a huge supporter of the Trans Law here, and I am not sure what PSOE is doing with that nationally. It just makes me distrust any branch of Podemos. I chatted with another person on the left and they said that PSOE might have put up such a dud because losing Madrid wouldn't be bad for the party nationally as it means they can point to the disaster in Madrid to win other regions and win regionally and nationally. I really like PSOE but that kind of rubs me wrong. But Podemos just offends me so much.

I also know a woman locally who voted for one of the non-big viable parties who made the mistake of saying so on Twitter after the last regional elections. She got eaten alive for that vote because others on the left accused her of throwing her vote away.

This sort of voting is more complex than I imagined as in the USA, it really is voting for the best of the worst. Here, there are multiple options.

You will be voting for a list of people and depending on the proportion of votes will be appointed to the seats in the town hall in the order they appear. Which is why sometimes the small parties end up holding the balance of power. It’s quite interesting to go to some of the pre election meetings, but I don’t suppose they will be held this year because of Covid. In small towns you know at least one of the candidates from two or three of the parties...not so easy in the big cities I imagine. I am still trying to find the 22 people who voted for the feminist party... most women I know are supporters of the trans lobby...