Pedro Sánchez, the devourer of the lefts
BarcelonaNot only is it prepared for the elections, but Alberto Núñez Feijóo's PP has been calling for them for at least a year. Vox even symbolically opened the electoral pre-campaign a few weeks ago in Catalonia, with Santiago Abascal as the undisputed leader of the candidacy. The right-wing parties are eager for the polls —despite the strategic warning that the Spanish government could try to manipulate them— because they are convinced that, this time yes, the doors of the Moncloa will open for them. On the left, however, there is a vacant lot with everything to be done in a rush.
Polls have long been painting a scenario conducive to a change of government in Spain. It is, more or less, the same context in which Pedro Sánchez called elections in 2023. Like then, a desperate move to try to maintain the presidency or, at least, to save the PSOE's furniture. For the socialists, even if they could not continue governing, avoiding a collapse and staying around 120 deputies would be acceptable to face the new stage in the opposition. But where can they get the votes to make it possible? Seeing the reason for the early election—the Maricarmen decree— and the first proposals, it is evident that the goal is once again to mobilize the left. And if the PSOE becomes the useful vote of the left, the first ones to pay for it will be its potential allies, immersed in the same old problems.
The lack of preparation to the left of the PSOE is, obviously, not Sánchez's fault. They have had the same time as the rest to configure the project, define candidates, and overcome old conflicts. Yolanda Díaz already announced in February that she would withdraw from the front line and Gabriel Rufián has spent months trying to convince everyone of the need to unite to maximize results. But they arrive at the decisive moment with everything left to do, offering an image of improvisation that is what every political manual recommends avoiding. They need a stroke of effect that shakes up the board and they will hardly achieve it only with proposals on housing, no matter how radical they may be, given that they have been governing the State since 2019.
Drinking from the same voters
Sánchez arrived at the Moncloa a year before agreeing on the coalition government with Pablo Iglesias. With him governing alone, the PSOE grew from 85 to 123 deputies in the first elections of 2019 and obtained 120 in the second. In the same period, Unidas Podemos went from 71 to 42 and, finally, to 38 (adding Més País). And from 156 deputies of the state left-wing parties, it went to 158. Sánchez devoured the parties to his left to consolidate himself in government. The story repeated itself three years ago: 121 PSOE deputies and a million more votes than four years earlier, compared to 31 for Sumar and 700,000 fewer votes. The polls now offer a similar snapshot ahead of November 29th. If Sánchez only grows—or holds steady—on the left, the PP and Vox will have a clear path toward an absolute majority.
The details of the week
If there is a constant at the PSOE headquarters, it is the sporadic individuals who shout against Pedro Sánchez. On Monday, the day the elections were called, they were also there: "Crook". Some, afterwards, joined in praying the rosary at the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is on the same Ferraz street.
With perspectives at a minimum, the pressure for unity to the left of the PSOE has gone in crescendo with the passing of the days. There is a key date, October 16th, when coalitions must be registered. And beyond the negotiations, websites, apps and surveys on social media have started to emerge to demand a unitary project: there is one that sends an email directly to all the parties involved.