Choosing battles wisely

Andrew Ede09/09/2015 00:00

Sun Tzu sounds like the sort of guru that Podemos would admire. Whether its members have read the old Chinese military general’s advisory maxims I couldn’t say, but they might wish to bear in mind the one about choosing your battles wisely.
They might also care to dip into the works of Dale Carnegie: winning friends and influencing people. At present, they are giving the impression of not having heard of either of them or their recommendations.

I confess to an admiration of Podemos, for its confronting the cosiness of a political system sullied by corruption and for its wishing greater social justice. Prior to the May elections, though, I consistently queried what Podemos would be like once or if it were in government, fearing that things could all go pear-shaped and create governmental chaos. We’re beginning to see the reality.

Of course, Podemos isn’t actually in government. Not formally. But it exerts enormous power, and this was expressed by its parliamentary spokesperson, Laura Camargo, when she said that Podemos has a function to “control” what the government does. It may perceive itself as the conscience of the people keeping PSOE and Més in check, but it seems to be doing itself few favours in picking battles with its supposed partners and not making friends. Maybe it needs to find another guru - one to give advice on diplomacy. There are too many battles, and it might end up losing its friends among the electorate in the process.