Podemos: "We've accepted the challenge of winning the general elections"
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 @ 12:54 PM
BRAND-NEW independent party Podemos says Spain's bipartite political system is 'starting to write its final chapter' and is celebrating the election results as the first step on the way to 'irreversible changes'.
Leader Pablo Iglesias, a 36-year-old university lecturer who started Podemos 18 months ago in a borrowed garage in Madrid, was among the first party boss to speak out publicly after the full recount of the ballots.
Iglesias says his team has 'accepted the challenge' of winning the general elections in November and governing Spain.
The left-wing independents did not run for local elections in many town councils and, where they did, they did not use the party's title - they opted to use alternative names for their local circles, or for members to stand as independent candidates in parties with similar values, such as United Left.
But Podemos ran for the regional elections and has been one of the key forces behind the historical loss of seats for the 'big two' combined.
"The 'caste' [PP and PSOE] has had some of its worst results ever," Iglesias commented.
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