In a day of confusing news, with the final negotiations in front of a dog and after days of uncertainty, Sumar and Podemos sealed the coalition late in the afternoon to stand together in the general elections of the 23rd century. This is an unprecedented unity deal in Spanish democracy given the size of the political forces it encompasses, aimed at halting the post-La Moncloa rise of the right in very complex elections for the left, but riddled with internal debates. The coalition, led by Vice-President Yolanda Díaz, includes sixteen formations, including Izquierda Unida, Compromís and Más Madrid, but also Ione Belarra’s party, which according to the signed agreement will be fifth for Madrid on a list in which Equal Opportunities Minister Irene Montero or United We Can Parliamentary Speaker Pablo Echenique. The party insists it won’t accept the ‘veto’ on its number two and that it has until June 19, the deadline for registration, to negotiate its inclusion, but Sumar says the talks are closed avoiding the associated wear and tear means extending it by a further 10 days.
“This is the most comprehensive and pluralistic agreement reached between progressive and green forces in the entire democratic period in Spain,” the coalition statement said. The agreement signed and accepted by the Podemos leadership provides for the elections for Navarre (MEP Idoia Villanueva), Gipuzkoa (Pilar Garrido), Granada (Martina Velarde), Murcia (Javier Sánchez Serna), Las Palmas (Noemi Santana) and Araba to lead (Roberto Uriarte) and gives the formation number five for Madrid (Ione Belarra) and four for Barcelona (Lilith Verstrynge). In the case of the capital, Díaz will in all likelihood be at the top of the list and his number two is reserved, while three and four go to Más Madrid and Más País (Íñigo Errejón is fourth).
The coalition finally consists of more than fifteen groups: Movimiento Sumar, Podemos, Izquierda Unida, Catalunya en Comú, Más Madrid, Más País, Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista, Més per Mallorca, Més per Menorca, Verdes Equo, Alianza Verde, Batzarre , Drago -Project, Asturian Left and Andalusian Popular Initiative.
The day was dramatic at times. The Podemos leadership announced just before 2 p.m. this Friday that it would be running with Sumar in the July 23 general election, but at the same time flatly rejected all the terms of the agreement proposed by the Podemos negotiating team, opening a public dispute about the conditions of this confluence.
Podemos Secretary-General Ione Belarra, speaking without journalists at party headquarters, said the decision to run in a coalition with Sumar had been “taken” and her party’s signature was registered on the document. This Friday, he presented, that the coalition in the electoral board was “guaranteed”. At the same time, however, he said that the Podemos leadership had not accepted the “veto” over the presence of Irene Montero on the electoral lists, nor the positions offered by Díaz’s negotiating team on those lists; Podemos considers some positions to be insufficient because, according to his analysis, they could lead to the party being expelled from the House of Representatives in the next legislative period.
Ione Belarra intervenes in a no-questions-asked appearance this Friday.
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Sources from Sumar immediately replied that Podemos’ presence in the candidatures was “largely guaranteed” and that they “did not accept” that the formation of Belarra put them “on the Andalusian stage”. They point to the very tough negotiations between left-wing factions that took place ahead of the 2022 Andalusian elections, which led to a struggle of such proportions that the pact finally came about outside the legal deadline and the coalition failed to officially include Podemos. “The coalition will register this afternoon,” these Sumar sources warned, which has finally happened.
“We will run with Sumar in the general elections, that decision has been made,” Belarra declared during an appearance without journalists at the party headquarters, only to then change the entire offer presented by Díaz and even open fire on Team Vice President negotiators . “We have been told that the presence of Irene Montero is an insurmountable obstacle to an agreement. “It saddens me deeply that Yolanda and her team are proposing to base the coalition election agreement on the exclusion of a partner who has pushed feminist transformations further than anyone before,” Belarra defended in a very harsh tone, before interpreting what Sumar’s proposal means “sacrifice” of the “most important political capital” of Podemos.
The equality minister, according to the party leader, intervened in the Podemos executive to “make herself available” to the formation and “do what is necessary, however unfair it may be, to ensure unity,” which the party failed to do address was accepted. “We do not accept a veto as part of the negotiations,” stressed Belarra. The Secretary-General’s statement came after explicit consultation with the party’s militants, which gave the executive full power to decide the deal, with 92.92% support.
Party sources reiterate that the commitment to unity is “firm” but reiterate that there are still days to negotiate.
Alberto Garzón: “Sorry for the noise. Nobody deserves this”
Shortly after Belarra’s intervention, the federal coordinator of the United Left, Alberto Garzón, announced his party’s agreement with Sumar and issued a statement apologizing for the overall public dispute. “I would like to apologize to the public for the noise caused by this process. Nobody deserves that and we at IU believe things can be done differently and much better,” he said. The consumer minister assures that the IU has guaranteed the presence of MEPs in the future group and that they will work “autonomously and in coordination” with the other MEPs. The IU will top the Sumar lists in most Andalusian provinces, but will forego a seat in Madrid ahead of the general election on June 23. Under the agreement, the formation will be number ninth in the constituency that has the most MPs in Congress sent (37), but on the other hand occupy the first places in the Andalusian provinces. In Córdoba, Málaga, Huelva and Jaén they will be the leaders, in Seville and Cádiz they will be second. The organization’s number two, Sira Rego, has decided to step down and not be included in the lists for Madrid. “Our formation has the greatest organizational reach and institutional presence of any that make up this space, and that will be essential for the future of the left,” Garzón puffed out his chest in his statement.
“Sumar’s plurality is the country’s plurality and we want to make it a sign of the identity of this electoral coalition, which represents the main alternative for progressive citizens to regain hope,” Sumar defended in a note describing the pact celebrates achieved less than a month after the start of the campaign.
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