Podemos joins Sumar, the coalition of the Spanish left for the July elections

After two weeks of negotiations, it is official: Podemos will be one of the fifteen parties of the left-wing Sumar coalition for the Spanish general elections on July 23. This Friday, June 9, the leader of the Podemos party, Ione Belarra, announced the decision in a public appearance a few hours before the deadline for party registration.

“We will present ourselves to the general elections with Sumar, the decision has been made,” Belarra said in a speech at the party headquarters after submitting the decision to consultation with Podemos affiliates.

However, Belarra herself assured that her political formation and that led by Yolanda Díaz, Minister of Labor, have disagreements on some points and especially on one: the participation of the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, in the coalition.

In addition to Podemos, Sumar has announced this Friday the adhesion of another fifteen parties to the coalition such as Izquierda Unida, Catalunya en Comú or Más Madrid, among others. With this movement, Sumar becomes the largest left-wing coalition since the establishment of democracy in Spain.

“Citizens are waiting for us and we take on the challenge. The future is an open work. We went out to win the country”, said Yolanda Díaz in a triumphant tone after announcing the parties that will compete in the pact.

With this, Díaz has managed to fulfill what he had been promising for more than a year: unify all the formations to the left of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) in a single candidacy. The occasion presented itself unexpectedly: after the left-wing crash in the regional and municipal elections on May 28, President Pedro Sánchez decided to call early elections on July 23 of this year.

In order to stand up to the Spanish right, the left needed to organize itself into a coalition and get as many votes as possible. According to some political scientists, a scenario in which said coalition makes a government pact with the PSOE —similar to the current government coalition— is the only way to stop the conservatives. The only alternative for Pedro Sánchez to be re-elected as President of the Government of Spain.

“It is a necessary condition – although not sufficient – because the fragmentation into two political formations would prevent them from achieving representation in many constituencies,” said Pablo Ferrandiz, director of the Ipsos polling company in Spain.

Finally, they have achieved it by giving birth to Sumar. However, it has not been an easy task at all. It is no secret that the party that has resisted the most to join the group has been Podemos. In addition to the veto of Irene Montero, Belarra has also lashed out hard against the coalition for giving them little representation on the lists. Something that could lead to the disappearance of the party in Congress.

The elephant in the room: the participation of Irene Montero

Where is Irene Montero? It is the question that many ask themselves after the announcement that Podemos will go to the elections with Sumar. And it is that, of the eight positions that are guaranteed with the possibility of being elected, the name of the Minister of Equality appears in none.

But, what has led the minister to this situation? Montero has generated controversy from the outset, her position as Minister of Equality, the fact that she is young and the wife of Pablo Iglesias have made her political evolution difficult.

But, in addition to the free fall of Podemos in recent years, with the departure of the former vice president of the Executive, Pablo Iglesias, from the Government and the estrangement with Yolanda Díaz, another point has been crucial for the fall of Montero. The application of the law ‘only yes is yes’, which was intended to protect women from any type of sexist violence, sank it in Congress.

More than the norm itself, what has damaged the image of the head of the Equality portfolio was its management, application and legislative gaps. Despite the fact that the Ministry of Equality denied any type of error in the law per seassuring that it was a flawed interpretation, the courts have accused that it is deficient.

“Accelerate the implementation of all the measures of the ‘only yes is yes’ Law and that protect women victims of sexual violence,” Montero wrote just two days ago on social networks.

Politics has always championed law enforcement, but it has come at a tremendous cost to her political career. However, from her party they are not willing to let her die politically.

With time running out, Podemos assures that it still has room to agree on the inclusion of Montero before the deadline to draw up the candidate lists on June 19. That is, the minister could be part of the lists until that same day.

However, Sumar has announced that it does not want to extend the negotiation after registration, just as they have not publicly said the reason why they have vetoed Montero.

“The negotiating team has informed us that the presence of Irene Montero (…) is an insurmountable obstacle to reaching a unity agreement. We have been asked to sacrifice our main political asset. But we are not thinking of accepting any veto in the negotiation”, assured Belarra.

Whatever the configuration of the candidate lists, two things are certain: the division in the left-wing coalition is as real as his run in the general elections on July 23.

With Reuters and local media