Adding Rufián is obvious and the coalition is renewed: what's happening to the left of the PSOE?

While Gabriel Rufián embarks on a nearly solitary journey. To forge alliances with left-wing forces across the country, Sumar took the initiative, anticipating the move by the Republican spokesperson and, after discreet talks in recent months, announced a new coalition with Comunes, Más Madrid, and Izquierda Unida for the upcoming general elections. The presentation of the new "common alliance" will take place on Saturday, February 21st, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. Sources from the four political formations, which are the only ones represented in the Council of Ministers, explain that in eleven days they will publicly launch a "process to build a common, shared, and open alliance" for the elections scheduled for 2027: "We want to build a space where the plurinational peoples of the State can meet," they assert. It will be a kind of revalidation after Sumar's three years of experience as a platform that Yolanda Díaz was solemnized in April 2023Now, the four parties—which ran on June 23rd with Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista, and Més—aim to strengthen the alliance, learn from their mistakes, and build on their successes. They also invite political and social forces concerned about the country's future and committed to advancing rights to join them. "This is a time for openness, generosity, pluralism, agreement, and shared strength. This is the beginning, the first step. We will go much further," they affirm.

What do the other parties think?

ERC

Esquerra will run under its own name, closing the door on a left-wing front that has kept its spokesperson in Madrid scrambling since the summer. Oriol Junqueras' party argues that the best strategy is for each party to run separately, with alliances coming later. For example, the Republicans always emphasize their collaboration with Bildu and BNG, even though each has its own decision-making bodies. In this vein, on Monday, ERC's general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, advocated for a grassroots Esquerra as the best antidote to stop the far right.

CUP

The CUP has also rejected Gabriel Rufián's proposal, considering it a means to "prop up and serve Spain." This was stated on Tuesday by the CUP's general secretary and spokesperson, Non Casadevall, in an interview on TV3, where he also defended a "proposal from a truly left-wing, popular pro-independence movement." According to Casadevall, his proposal is the same as the one he defended on Monday. in an interview on the ARA The mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas: "I would like to see an independentist and left-wing candidacy in the next Spanish elections that overcomes certain barriers currently in place." However, Salellas also distanced himself from Rufián's proposal because he envisions a candidacy "of Catalan allegiance, independentist, and left-wing." The CUP has run twice in the national elections—not without a heated internal debate—but failed to win any seats the last time. Looking ahead to the next general election, they will have to reopen this debate.

EH Bildu

EH Bildu was one of the first parties to reject Rufián's proposal. Arnaldo Otegi even described a nationwide coalition as "not viable." In fact, this Monday he emphasized that, with this proposal, "it seems that individual intentions are being put before collective ones," implying that it is all based on Rufián's personal project. The Basque nationalists share a coalition with ERC and the BNG in the European elections, but this agreement has not been replicated in other elections.

BNG

The Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) also has no intention of forming a joint candidacy; instead, the Galician nationalists have always opted to run under their own banner. In fact, the BNG already split in Galicia when Xosé Manuel Beiras opted for a coalition with United Left (IU) in the regional elections. The party, now led by Ana Pontón, is currently experiencing an upward trend in electoral performance, as evidenced by the recent Galician elections. Despite sharing some objectives with Bildu and ERC, the Galician nationalists have always been uncomfortable with more pro-independence positions, believing they are detrimental to their interests in Galicia. "We respect it, but the BNG operates on a different level," Pontón stated on Monday, commenting on Rufián's proposal. The Galician leader added that the BNG is a "Galician, nationalist force that defends the interests of Galicia" and will continue to "run" under its own banner "to improve Galicia's position" from Madrid.

Commitment

From Compromís, Alberto Ibáñez called for forging alliances based on "generosity" rather than "homogeneity," and expressed his willingness to "participate" in the new understanding. The Iniciativa del Poble Valencià deputy advocates for a unified list across the three Valencian provinces for the general elections, representing "emancipatory left-wing movements rooted in the territory, operating under a confederal model." He postponed the debate on leadership and urged party leadership to set aside "dogmatism" and narrow-mindedness. In fact, he echoed the words Gabriel Rufián used on Monday: "No more, no less, and no less purity." Compromís ran in coalition with Sumar in the last general elections.