Colau endorses Rufián's call for a united front: "We must overcome egos and past grudges"

Barcelona"It would be unacceptable if, in future elections, progressive democratic forces were unable to organize themselves in whatever way possible to build broad democratic popular fronts capable of stopping the right and the far right." These are the words Ada Colau spoke in OctoberJust after returning to Catalonia from participating in the flotilla to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was ultimately detained by the Israeli government, these statements already hinted at a veiled endorsement of Gabriel Rufián's proposal for a plurinational left-wing front. Now that the ERC spokesperson in Congress has taken a further step in defending this project, with a joint event with a spokesperson from Más Madrid, Colau explicitly endorsed Rufián's call for left-wing unity.

In statements to Europa Press this Friday, the former mayor celebrated Rufián's proposal, which the ERC leadership continues to reject. "I think it's very positive. I'm very grateful for Rufián's intervention, and it's welcome if it serves to discuss joining forces and creating a broad democratic front to prevent the far right from bringing hate speech into government," she noted. Until now, Comuns had supported calls for unity, but had distanced itself from Rufián's proposal with two arguments: first, that it lacks ERC's endorsement; and second, which added to the confusion at a time when, they argue, it is necessary to offer a viable option to voters.

In fact, Sumar has chosen to ignore Rufián's proposal And to pursue the right path with a new coalition with Comuns, Més Madrid, and Izquierda Unida, which will be presented on February 21st in Madrid. Podemos is not part of this project, having so far refused to run again with Yolanda Díaz's party, to whom Colau has once again extended an olive branch: "It's a time for dialogue, for generosity, for setting aside past grievances, for overcoming egos and putting ourselves at the service of the social majority to unite," Colau declared. In her view, both progressive parties and social actors must work together at this "exceptional" moment, given the threat of Vox potentially coming to power in Spain. If this were to happen, Colau predicts that "unthinkable" scenarios could unfold in the country, such as the detention of immigrants in the streets—in the style of Donald Trump's ICE—or a return to 12-hour workdays, as she claims has occurred in Javier Milei's Argentina.