Colau offers to renounce as candidate and change the name of the Broad Front for unity with Podemos

BarcelonaPolls are stubborn. Both the CEO and the CIS point out that the left of the PSOE would lose support in the upcoming elections compared to 2023 and, therefore, representation in Congress, especially if they run separately. In this context, Ada Colau is not giving up and insists on calling for unity. The former mayor of Barcelona has even offered to step down as the Broad Front candidate and, if necessary, to change the name of the candidacy to reach an agreement with Podemos, although this very Wednesday the coalition officially presented its new electoral brand.

In an interview with TVE, the founder of the PAH has urged the purple party but also ERC to achieve a "single candidacy," and she has shown herself convinced that it is still "possible," even though the deadline to present coalitions for the elections expires in 48 hours. "Everything can be discussed. I have been put forward as a candidate and, if I am useful, I will do it with great enthusiasm. But if more groups join and another person generates more consensus, go ahead, I would step aside," she said. "And if the problem is the name of the formation, let it be changed," she added, noting that the most important thing is unity, the platform, and that "no left-wing vote is lost" in a context of the growth of the far-right. "I am open to discussing names, candidacies, and list numbers, obviously with the consensus of all forces and without impositions," she summarized. "Neither cross-vetoes nor red lines," she stressed.

The former mayor has insisted that "talks remain open" and are "very advanced" with "various formations across the State," without giving further details. "I hope they can move forward with Podemos," she added. In this sense, she has asked for "full respect" for Podemos' open primaries, but she said that this is not incompatible with joining the Broad Front, and stated: "I cannot conceive of a single candidacy in which Irene Montero is not present; of course she has to be there."

She has not seen the agreement between the purple party and Esquerra as an impediment to unity either, which she described as a "disappointment" but also "legitimate." And she responded to the arguments of the republicans against a new pact by saying that they should not "dilute themselves or lose their acronyms." "There are ways to form joint candidacies in which the acronyms can be maintained," she insisted. In recent hours, the loss of the acronyms has been the party's argument for rejecting an electoral agreement with the Comuns, just as Gabriel Rufián demands.

Despite her calls, Colau has said that she is "realistic" and has admitted that it is "complicated" to close an agreement in just two days, before the Friday deadline. At the same time, however, she has appealed to "past experiences" and to pacts that were possible in "a few hours." In the Spanish elections three years ago, Sumar reached an agreement with Podemos at the last minute. The condition, mind you, was that Irene Montero be left out of the candidacy.

In a subsequent interview with TVE, the leader of Podem, Ione Belarra, has insisted on defending her commitment to run in collaboration with ERC and apart from the Broad Front. "We believe that the tandem of Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián is what truly responds to what people are asking for. A brave left is needed that does not bow down to fascism," defended Belarra, who at the same time assured that they continue working so that their candidacy "is as broad as possible".

The presentation of the new brand

On the same day that the former mayor of Barcelona assures that, in exchange for unity, she may renounce leading the progressive coalition and the name of the new brand, Front Ampli has presented its new logo and has already launched its profiles on various social networks, such as Instagram, Facebook, X, or Bluesky. In the logo, one can see the letters of "Front Ampli" in greenish-yellow with an orange-red background, and they have already posted content in which Colau appears and, for example, answers questions from this Wednesday's interview on TVE.

The left-wing coalition, which is currently made up of Comuns, Sumar, Més Madrid, and Esquerra Unida, has also opened a website to gather support among citizens throughout the State and which will centralize all official information about the space. In a statement, sources from the coalition itself recall that the launch of the new image must be added to the preparation of the presentation event for the candidacy, which will take place next Saturday in Madrid.