The Resident Idiot this time around, is thrilled at the events in Spain. Let me hasten to clarify: he is more concerned about the victory of the Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) than the recent train bombings.

On the contrary, he is grotesquely elated that the bombings have helped revive the good ol’ Left. In it, he sees the hopeful glimmer of the return to Communism. And how!

The Resident Idiot conveniently forgets that during postmortem rituals, a list of suspects is first drawn up: the Basque separatist group naturally topped this list by virtue of several attacks in the past; subsequent investigations revealed the possibility of Al Qaeeda’s involvement. The Resident Idiot conveniently launches an attack against the erstwhile Spanish PM, Aznar because he chose to name ETA as the prime suspects behind the bombing. After this perfunctory trashing of everything that is democratic, the Resident Idiot lavishes praise on the “workers” and the “people living in the slums.”

Some of the greatest rush to the polling booths took place in the working-class suburbs of Madrid, the point of origin of the three trains that were bombed.

Followed by a triumphant:

Finally, the opposition Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) won 43 percent of the vote and 164 seats in the 350-member Chamber of Deputies. The ruling party won only 148 seats with 37 percent of the vote. Socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will now form the new government with other, smaller, centre-left parties.

[...]
The Aznar government has a poor record. It has zealously implemented neoliberal policies, dismantled public services and denigrated democratic institutions. With Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi and Britain’s Tony Blair, Aznar has tried to create a slavishly pro-US conservative axis against the pro-mutilateral, multipolar, mainstream tendency in Western Europe.

There lies his grouse: it was Aznar’s mistake to opt for capitalism. Should we read “the dismantling of public services” as “removing bureaucratic unnecessities to pave way for faster growth?” I’m no expert on Spain, but the language that the Resident Idiot employs might reveal this meaning.

And he also blasts off the usual rhetoric about the unjust US occupation of Iraq and the rest. But then, he also lets a lie creep in:

The US-led “war on terrorism” has not united the West; rather, it has divided it.

Is the West divided? That’s a question for another day. But one thing is for sure: there is certain resentment in several European countries against US policies both on the political and economic fronts. This isn’t sufficient reason to say that the West as a whole is divided. Post-II World War Europe is a toothless tiger. It has relied heavily on the US for support, and now it resents what it perceives as the United States’ interference in its own affairs: the France-US face off on the Iraq war is but one sign of this. But then, can Europe really do without the US?

Ah! but the Socialists coming to power in Spain is sheer bliss for the Resident Idiot. So he says,

The PSOE is committed to withdrawing Spain’s 1,300 troops from Iraq by June. The withdrawal will shake the claim to solidity of the US-UK war coalition.

[...]

The unjust occupation of Iraq will continue to endanger the lives of innocent people in many parts of the world. It must end at once. This coming Saturday, millions of people will gather in scores of cities across the globe to demand this. We in South Asia must join them in large numbers. The global fight for peace cannot be separated from our own struggles for peace and justice.

Whatever the arguments for the Iraq invasion, I for one feel that it was good for the Iraqis to be freed from Saddam’s clutches. But then, as I’ve remarked numerous times, the Middle East is still mired in the medival/feudal mindset of group/tribal warfare and it’s unlikely to change for a long time. Iran is a telling example of this.

Naipaul has mentioned that Kohemini dismantled the Shah’s work at modernizing Iran in one stroke; in the wake of his “revolution,” Iran comprised groups of several hues: the Communists, Bahais, and of course, the Islamics. What we witness today is that hardcore Islamism won: Iran is one of the hotbeds of Islamic extremism. No other ideology prevails there.

Based on this precedent, I strongly believe that Iraq too, will go the same way the moment US leaves it to mind its own business.

And yes, now the Resident Idiot as usual, has given a clarion call to “join forces” and defeat “US Imperialism,” and eschew a “new world order,” where the bourgeoisie will be given the boot.

You see, the Workers’ Paradise is just begun to take shape in Spain; it won’t be long for it to flourish in India (errr…South Asia?).