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

Madrid / BarcelonaWhile Gabriel Rufián embarks on a nearly solitary journey. To forge alliances with left-wing forces throughout the state, Sumar has taken a right-wing approach, anticipating the move of the Republican spokesperson, and has 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. "A solid and trustworthy space over time that allows the transformative and plurinational left-wing movements of the State to come together," the four parties assert. In fact, the new agreement will be a kind of revalidation after the three years of experience of Sumar, the platform that Yolanda Díaz was solemnized in April 2023 and who ran in the June 23rd elections. Meanwhile, Rufián is sticking to his roadmap. The ERC spokesperson in Congress admits that, despite having "0% political support," he has a "much higher percentage of popular support" and defends his commitment to going beyond Catalonia's borders: "Representing someone from Algeciras doesn't make me any less Catalan or less pro-independence."

Speaking to the microphones, the various voices within the Sumar movement who have spoken out in recent hours agree on two points: calling on Podemos to join, even though the left-wing party is observing from a distance, and celebrating that they are now starting to build the house from the roof down, rather than from the ground up. Who should be the face of the new platform? The federal coordinator of United Left, Antonio Maíllo, argues that the "collective will" should determine the person who should lead the project at the end of the process. Regarding Yolanda Díaz, she believes that "no one should step aside," but makes it clear that "no one alone is enough." For Lara Hernández, coordinator of Movimiento Sumar, it's an issue that will have to be resolved in the future because "talking exclusively about faces won't solve the underlying problems." However, she does think it's "wonderful" that Gabriel Rufián is making moves.

From Comuns, the spokesperson in Congress, Aina Vidal, justifies that the future horizon must offer "a more solid and stable structure," and argues that the big difference with the 2023 coalition is the building process: "There's a different kind of fit; we sit down with more people, and they're working with us." And from Más Madrid, Mónica García emphasized this Monday the importance of each party being able to maintain its own "territorial roots" and ensuring that this translates into a "common space."

What do the other parties think?

Can

Despite the siren calls, Podemos is distancing itself from the new coalition, which it attributes to mere "internal issues" within Sumar. The general secretary of the purple party, Ione Belarra, asserts that they are focused on "getting the left back on its feet" in the face of a Spanish government that "is only serving to fuel the discontent" that empowers the right and far right. However, she maintains that their strategy is "to participate in the broadest possible candidacies" to "strengthen the transformative left."

ERC

Despite the insistence of its leader in Madrid, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) is closing the door on a left-wing coalition. Oriol Junqueras' party maintains that the best strategy is for each party to run separately and for alliances to come later. "ERC will run under the ERC banner," the party's general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, emphasized on Monday. From the halls of Congress, Gabriel Rufián countered that he "never" said that "anyone has to renounce" their party's name, but asked that it be understood that "it's not enough" to simply use the party's name.

CUP

The CUP has also rejected Gabriel Rufián's proposal, arguing that it serves 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 genuine left-wing popular independence movement."

EH Bildu

EH Bildu was one of the first parties to reject Rufián's proposal. Arnaldo Otegi does not see it as "viable" and on Monday stressed that "it seems that individual intentions are being put before collective ones." 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 BNG also has no intention of forming part of a joint candidacy, having always opted to run under its own banner. Despite sharing some objectives with Bildu and ERC, the Galician nationalists have always been uncomfortable with more pro-independence positions because they believe this is detrimental to them in Galicia. "We respect it, but the BNG operates on a different level," Ana Pontón stated this Monday.

Commitment

From Compromís, Àgueda Micó –deputy for Més, the pro-independence and majority wing of the coalition– responded that they would not participate in a political project that was not their own, but left the door open to renewing the electoral coalition in the future if their "maximum political autonomy" was respected. Previously, Alberto Ibáñez –deputy for Iniciativa del Poble Valencià– had asked that they not "abandon their duties," expressed his willingness to "participate" in the new agreement, and had called on party leadership to set aside the "patriotism" of party labels.

Chunta Aragonesista

Sources within the Aragonese Union (Chunta Aragonesista) in Aragon indicate to the ARA (Aragon's political party) that they are an "autonomous party" that has always been "open to agreements" with other parties to ensure that "Aragon's voice is heard." However, they clarify that this does not involve "joining any national project."

Adelante Andalucía

When contacted by this newspaper, Endavant Andalucía declined to comment on Rufián's proposal. Nor did they comment on the alliance presented this Tuesday by "parties of the more centralist left." In fact, the party led by Teresa Rodríguez was no longer part of Sumar in 2023 and had previously broken with Unides Podem.

Now More

Finally, Ara Més – which includes Més per Mallorca, Més per Menorca, and Ara Eivissa – tells this newspaper that they are focused on their own internal processes. They are open to renewing the coalition, but insist that priority be given to parties with a strong local presence. "We're in no hurry," they reiterate.