Pablo Iglesias leaves behind his symbolic ponytail

Pablo Iglesias has cut his ponytail. Barely a week after announcing his withdrawal from active politics, the former leader of United We Can has also left behind his iconic hairstyle. An image that was revolutionary at the time and that since the creation of the party, in 2014, has earned him all kinds of criticism and even a nickname (El Coletas) from his adversaries. In a report published this Wednesday by the newspaper La Vanguardia, the former vice president poses sitting at a table outdoors, reading a book and with short hair, an unprecedented image since the Political Science professor made the leap into public life. . The snapshot is the work of the official Podemos photographer, Dani Gago.

Sources close to Iglesias point out that the founder of Podemos had been wanting to cut his hair for some time because of the discomfort it entailed having small children, who played with his hair and often pulled it. Last summer, the former vice president wanted to carry out an image change, but his advisers advised against it because it would mean that the leader of a formation born from 15-M cut his ponytail a few months after coming to government. In August, therefore, she decided to change her hairstyle and began to collect her hair in a bun, something that she justified on her Instagram account, where she shared a photo in which she appeared in profile and with headphones, as follows: "Between the heat wave and that my children pull my hair... it was time for a new look”. At that time, the new hairstyle was interpreted as a "more tidy and polished" option, "in tune" with his new position in the Executive. In addition, on a few occasions the political leader has been seen with his hair loose, such as when he appeared in a report with Ana Rosa Quintana, at his house and just out of the shower, in 2015.

For the political scientist Pablo Simón, the cut is the sign that Iglesias is taking an irreversible step not to return to politics. “He has always refused to follow a politically neutral aesthetic. In this sense, neutrality consists of wearing clothes that do not alienate or attract attention”, explains the expert. “Pablo Iglesias has insisted on having that image, sometimes even incurring in some curious contradictions, such as going to La Zarzuela with the King worse dressed than to the Goyas. But, in any case, that aesthetic was essential because I wanted to send a political message: connect with the people on the street. And the ponytail was the sign of the most rebellious Pablo, the one of origins”, adds Simón.

The reactions this Wednesday have not been long in coming. Immediately after the photograph was disseminated, the PP account on Twitter published the image of Iglesias with a brief message: "Ayuso's fault." For her part, the former spokesperson for the formation in the Congress, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, has pointed out in another tweet: "Even the bun itself."

Pablo Iglesias announced his resignation from "all positions" in politics after the results of the elections held on May 4 for the Madrid Assembly. With him as the head of the list, Unidas Podemos went from 7 to 10 deputies, a result that the party considered insufficient with him at the helm. Iglesias, who left the coalition Executive last March to enter the battle for Madrid, then declared that he was no longer "useful" to contribute to the growth of the political project of his formation and announced that he was not going to be a "plug" for new leadership within UP.

Precisely this Wednesday, Ione Belarra, the Minister of Social Rights, made public her intention to present her candidacy for the position of general secretary of Podemos. The party is committed to a two-headed party in which Belarra controls the internal leadership and Yolanda Díaz, third vice president, may be the future candidate for the presidency of the Government. Podemos will hold its Citizen Assembly to elect the new leadership between May and June and the results are expected to be known on the 13th of next month.