Forum debate: voting VOX to bring down Spain's Government
A forum thread proposes voting VOX to punish Spain's Government and finish off the PSOE. The strategy of the vote as damage.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Forum debate: voting VOX to bring down Spain's Government
A paradox is taking hold in the political conversation: people who have not voted for two decades are now considering doing so, not out of democratic conviction, but to bring down the Government. The argument is simple and cynical: if voting serves to punish those who have governed badly, voting becomes an act of hygiene. The author sums it up bluntly: «I keep saying that voting fixes nothing, what's needed here is a ing war and a good extermination, but at least we get rid of the garbage, this disgusting whole ing government and its incivil partners».
The thesis of the opening post is that classic abstention is no longer enough. The author, a self-declared long-term abstentionist, announces he will vote VOX with a stated goal: for the right-wing opposition party to grow enough that Sánchez cannot govern as a «blue PSOE» and, at the same time, for the PSOE to be so weakened that it has to dissolve for lack of funding. The strategy is zero-sum: you don't vote to build, you vote to demolish.
The vote as punishment, not as construction
The thread opens with a declaration of intent that breaks the average voter's manual. The author does not hide his contempt for the system: he has not voted for two decades, the parties know it because they collect the crossed-out electoral roll at the end of each election, and yet he is going to vote. Why? Because the goal is not to choose a programme, but to inflict the maximum possible damage on those he considers responsible for the disaster.
The underlying logic is inverted tactical voting: if you can't fix anything, at least screw over those who built the current mess. Several posts echo that idea in different ways. One of the most repeated is that «instead of voting for the least bad, or the one you like most, vote for the one who screws over those who built the current mess the most; whoever can screw them over, should». It's politics as score-settling.
The author of the opening post takes it to the extreme: it is not enough for the PSOE to lose, it has to be left «so finished» that it can never come back. The argument is that four more years in government would be enough for it to destroy the popular accusations (private incivil complaints brought by opposition parties), intimidate independent judges and dismantle the Supreme Court, which he considers the only remaining check. That is why he calls for voting «for the hispanochist Zionists of VOX en masse».
The arithmetic of the overseas vote and the seat that doesn't change
One of the points where the thread gets most technical is the CERA vote, that of Spaniards resident abroad. The discussion starts with the warning that polls suggest half a million voters will opt for SALF, and that this could make a difference if things get tight. The answer comes quickly: there is doubt that such a volume would translate into seats.
The calculation used in the conversation is that, of those 400,000 potential voters, only a small fraction would vote for options outside the system. The most optimistic estimate speaks of 50,000 votes, triple the usual for the CERA roll, and even that is considered insufficient to move a single seat. The polls, it is argued, show the group evenly split, with a slight lead for the PP, which dilutes any surprise effect.
The conclusion drawn is that the overseas vote, however much it is stirred up, will not alter the distribution of seats. The only possible surprise, another post admits, would be a VOX surge. And that is where the thread connects with the initial strategy: if the goal is to bring down the Government, the tactical vote is not in the centre, it is on the flank.
The option of parties outside the system
Against the strategy of voting VOX to punish, the alternative emerges of voting for parties that have never entered parliament: Escaños en Blanco, PACMA, Falange or the Pirate Party, among others. The proposal is put forward as a way of not legitimising the big parties while still taking part.
The answer is quick and unsparing: those parties don't refresh the seats because they don't get enough votes. The argument is that the symbolic vote has no institutional path and that, in the current context, VOX is the one that screws them over the most. The logic extends: if VOX then has to be screwed over too, it will be done, just as in Italy they look for a replacement for Meloni.
The thread leaves a bittersweet feeling: that of someone who knows they are trapped in a system that does not represent them and decides, all the same, to play the card that does the most damage to the adversary. The question hanging over it is whether that punishment vote will not end up legitimising what it set out to destroy.
What if the problem were not who to vote for, but that nobody believes any more that voting changes anything?
A paradox is taking hold in the political conversation: people who have not voted for two decades are now considering doing so, not out of democratic conviction, but to bring down the Government. The argument is simple and cynical: if voting serves to punish those who have governed badly, voting becomes an act of hygiene. The author sums it up bluntly: «I keep saying that voting fixes nothing, what's needed here is a ing war and a good extermination, but at least we get rid of the garbage, this disgusting whole ing government and its incivil partners».
The thesis of the opening post is that classic abstention is no longer enough. The author, a self-declared long-term abstentionist, announces he will vote VOX with a stated goal: for the right-wing opposition party to grow enough that Sánchez cannot govern as a «blue PSOE» and, at the same time, for the PSOE to be so weakened that it has to dissolve for lack of funding. The strategy is zero-sum: you don't vote to build, you vote to demolish.
The vote as punishment, not as construction
The thread opens with a declaration of intent that breaks the average voter's manual. The author does not hide his contempt for the system: he has not voted for two decades, the parties know it because they collect the crossed-out electoral roll at the end of each election, and yet he is going to vote. Why? Because the goal is not to choose a programme, but to inflict the maximum possible damage on those he considers responsible for the disaster.
The underlying logic is inverted tactical voting: if you can't fix anything, at least screw over those who built the current mess. Several posts echo that idea in different ways. One of the most repeated is that «instead of voting for the least bad, or the one you like most, vote for the one who screws over those who built the current mess the most; whoever can screw them over, should». It's politics as score-settling.
The author of the opening post takes it to the extreme: it is not enough for the PSOE to lose, it has to be left «so finished» that it can never come back. The argument is that four more years in government would be enough for it to destroy the popular accusations (private incivil complaints brought by opposition parties), intimidate independent judges and dismantle the Supreme Court, which he considers the only remaining check. That is why he calls for voting «for the hispanochist Zionists of VOX en masse».
The arithmetic of the overseas vote and the seat that doesn't change
One of the points where the thread gets most technical is the CERA vote, that of Spaniards resident abroad. The discussion starts with the warning that polls suggest half a million voters will opt for SALF, and that this could make a difference if things get tight. The answer comes quickly: there is doubt that such a volume would translate into seats.
The calculation used in the conversation is that, of those 400,000 potential voters, only a small fraction would vote for options outside the system. The most optimistic estimate speaks of 50,000 votes, triple the usual for the CERA roll, and even that is considered insufficient to move a single seat. The polls, it is argued, show the group evenly split, with a slight lead for the PP, which dilutes any surprise effect.
The conclusion drawn is that the overseas vote, however much it is stirred up, will not alter the distribution of seats. The only possible surprise, another post admits, would be a VOX surge. And that is where the thread connects with the initial strategy: if the goal is to bring down the Government, the tactical vote is not in the centre, it is on the flank.
The option of parties outside the system
Against the strategy of voting VOX to punish, the alternative emerges of voting for parties that have never entered parliament: Escaños en Blanco, PACMA, Falange or the Pirate Party, among others. The proposal is put forward as a way of not legitimising the big parties while still taking part.
The answer is quick and unsparing: those parties don't refresh the seats because they don't get enough votes. The argument is that the symbolic vote has no institutional path and that, in the current context, VOX is the one that screws them over the most. The logic extends: if VOX then has to be screwed over too, it will be done, just as in Italy they look for a replacement for Meloni.
The thread leaves a bittersweet feeling: that of someone who knows they are trapped in a system that does not represent them and decides, all the same, to play the card that does the most damage to the adversary. The question hanging over it is whether that punishment vote will not end up legitimising what it set out to destroy.
What if the problem were not who to vote for, but that nobody believes any more that voting changes anything?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (33 replies).
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