Pablo Iglesias turns attacking the 'fascist' into his livelihood

Pablo Iglesias has turned the trench against the 'fascist' into his livelihood

In 2018, when Pedro Sánchez had already shut the door to La Moncloa for him and Vox was just emerging as a parliamentary force, Pablo Iglesias was already placing Ciudadanos in the far-right space. That early diagnosis was not a miscalculation: it was the script of a character who, years later, still lives off the same trench. The editorial he signs under the title "The racists will fail" argues that "the inhabitants of this country of countries are mostly decent people" and that "there are already almost 10 million people born abroad living here with minimal conflict." The piece, spread through his own channels, serves both as a rallying cry and as a reminder that his culture war admits no nuance.

The editorial calling not to give up 'a single inch'

The text does not limit itself to defending immigration. It calls on the left not to vote again "in favour of a racist law as peine a few days ago in Congress" and promises that "we are going to win this battle." In other words, it turns a specific parliamentary defeat into a call for permanent resistance. The rhetoric is the usual one: the opponent does not disagree, he is a racist; those who vote differently betray. And whoever points this out, according to this logic, belongs to the other side.

The response from the other end of the spectrum was not long in coming. Part of the audience that trinc his appearances claims the character is "completely radicalised" and that his discourse no longer distinguishes between the political rival and the enemy to be defeated. Others go further and claim that "he would not hesitate to turn this country into a Venezuela 2.0." These are opinions, not proven facts, but they set the tone of the debate.

'Stop incivil Bukaneros': defending his circle

The second front he opens is the defence of the groups around him. One of his messages literally demands "stop incivil Bukaneros" after a media outlet reported that members of that group had allegedly acted as security for Irene Montero at a protest. The report, published by La Razón, referred to "the people who defend the Podemos couple." Iglesias did not address the substance: he dismissed the information as a smear campaign.

The pattern repeats with other names. From his account he labels a Valencian local police officer as an "agent of Zionist propaganda" and a supposed "full-time hate trafficker." The accusation is serious and is made without providing evidence in the message itself. Those who read it may think it is a denunciation; those who analyse it with distance see just another label in the culture war.

The frigate, the Nobel and the European fiasco

The third front is foreign policy. One of his messages criticises the announcement of sending a Spanish Navy frigate to protect a flotilla, arguing that this implies "the responsibility of doing so," with "disgrace for our military and European ridicule." The final irony —"there are more dignified ways of putting on the show to claim the Nobel"— sums up his style: dismantling the official staging without proposing a concrete alternative.

The problem is that this style has a cost. When everything is theatre, the viewer stops distinguishing when there is a real problem. And when the broadcaster lives off the spectacle, the temptation to escalate is permanent.

The business of the permanent trench

The question hanging over the whole affair is not ideological but economic. How much is a character worth who has turned outrage into a product? His appearances are broadcast on his own and other media, clipped, shared and monetised. The trench is not an accident of his biography: it is his business model.

Some argue his discourse is consistent with what he has always defended. Others believe he has become so radicalised that it undermines his credibility. What nobody disputes is that the character keeps generating conversation. And in the current ecosystem, that is exactly what pays.

The analysis gets stuck here: there is no way to measure how much conviction and how much calculation there is in each rallying cry. Only the uncomfortable fact remains that, seven years after the 2018 diagnosis, the trench is still profitable.