Ada Colau says that she will only be a candidate if Podemos joins the Broad Front: "The citizenry is asking for one ballot"

BarcelonaFormer mayor Ada Colau has said she is willing to be a candidate for the general election if the Broad Front grows and incorporates Podemos and the rest of the left-wing formations alternative to the PSOE. The day after Més Madrid proposed her as a presidential candidate for the November 29th general election, Colau made it clear that she would accept heading the list, but conditioned it on a transversal agreement that goes beyond Sumar, Més Madrid, United Left and the Comuns: "I have been asked and I have said that, if we are all there, I will be there too. But we all have to be there," she said in an interview with TVE, and added: "A broad front means adding the diversity of left-wing proposals with a common program." "The citizenry is asking for only one ballot," she asserted, and called for an effort so that the left alternative to the PSOE presents itself with a single brand.

Colau, who has criticized the "egos" and "crossed vetoes" that have prevented unity in previous elections, has rejected leading a project that repeats "previous experiences." "I am deeply honored that I am being considered as a consensus candidate [...], but we must concentrate efforts so that the Broad Front is a Broad Front," she insisted. Colau's name has gained strength in the last few hours as a consensus option due to the good relationship she maintains with Irene Montero —whom Sumar vetoed in past negotiations—, and whom Podemos has already positioned as head of the list for the elections.

In the interview, in fact, the former mayor admitted that she does not contemplate the possibility that the current MEP for the purple party is not part of the eventual single candidacy of the left for the general election. "We have to sit down and we cannot get up until there is a consensus," she insisted later in an interview with SER. However, from Podemos they maintain their commitment to holding open primaries throughout the space to configure the candidacy and, in fact, Montero recalled that her party will carry them out on October 14 and 15, and that they have already created a website where anyone can vote. "The best formula for everyone is for the people to decide where our place is," she stated in an interview with TVE. "Podemos will be on the list that emerges from these open primaries," she added. The MEP, in fact, has assured that she does not feel "comfortable talking about Sumar's affairs."

Regarding the decision to step forward after several years away from institutional politics, Colau has argued that she has felt challenged by an "exceptional historical context," marked by the growth of the extreme right, the rise of hate speech, and also, the social emergency regarding housing. "This has consequences for people's lives," she said, and added: "I refuse to resign myself and let the extreme right govern." Regarding housing, and after lamenting the death of Maricarmen Abascal, Colau outlined the lines of what her speech would be if she finally becomes a presidential candidate: in her view, the "greatly responsible" for the current situation are the speculators, but "also the administrations," she said, pointing to the PSOE and calling on governments to "expand the limits of intervention" in the real estate market.