The Podemos party, which is part of Spain’s ruling coalition, assured on Monday that the Spanish far-left will be united in early parliamentary elections in July, following defeat in Sunday’s regional and local elections.
Podemos is the largest party of the far left in Spain and leads the Unidas Podemos platform, which is part of the coalition that forms part of the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Unidas Podemos has faced public divisions in recent months, with clashes even between ministers, and the forces integrating it arrived divided at Sunday’s municipal and regional elections.
The result of the election was negative for all left-wing forces, including the Socialist Party (PSOE), Podemos and other far-left parties backed by Labor Minister, Communist leader Yolanda Díaz.
“The message came in last night [domingo] was very clear: we have to do things differently. No distractions. As of this writing, we are working to win next July 23rd. I accept the challenge,” Yolanda Díaz wrote on the social network Twitter.
The message received was very clear: hay que hacer las cosas de otra manera. No distractions.
As of this writing, we are working to win next July 23rd.
I assume it is straight.
– Yolanda Diaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) May 29, 2023
The minister recently launched a political movement called Somar, which was expected to stand as a candidate in the next Spanish parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for December until today they were brought forward to July.
Yolanda Díaz continued despite Podemos, which brought her to the government, and the two formations have faced public criticism in recent weeks.
Today, Podemos leader and Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra said in a brief statement to journalists that “the political space” on the left of the PSOE is already “presenting itself united” in the July 23 parliamentary elections.
“We want to do what we do best, which is to restore and renew confidence, not only in the coalition but also in Unidas Podemos,” he said.
The right and extreme right now have more power. We put all our enthusiasm and courage into it, but our results are poor. Now is the time to get to work, because although we sometimes go back, this political force will always be at the service of the people.
– Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) May 28, 2023
Ione Belarra was not referring to Sunday’s results from Podemos, which lost the representation it had in five of the six autonomous governments it sat in and reduced the number of deputies in almost all regional parliaments.
According to analyzes in the Spanish media, Podemos lost 70% of the power it had in the autonomys on Sunday.
Another of the party’s defeats was in the Madrid communes, where it was left out of the local assembly.
On Sunday, Spain’s regional and municipal map was no longer dominated by socialists with the autonomous and local elections, which the People’s Party (PP, right) won, claiming the start of a “new political cycle” in the country.
However, the PP will in some cases depend on the support of the VOX (extreme right) to govern some municipalities and regions such as Extremadura, Aragon or the Balearic Islands.
VOX joined a government in Spain for the first time in 2022, in Castile and León, in partnership with the PP.
Source: DN
