The Broad Front offers Montero to be "number 2 or 3" for Madrid on 29-N

MadridLast-minute movements to try to close an agreement in extremis to the left of the PSOE. The Broad Front –integrated by Més Madrid, Comuns, Sumar and United Left– has proposed to Podemos a winnable spot on the list for Madrid for the November 29th general elections. The arrangement of names is one of the main obstacles faced by the political forces to the left of the PSOE to build a unitary alternative that does not dilute the identity of each of these forces. As Emilio Delgado, number 1 of the Broad Front's candidacy in the Spanish capital, explained to TVE, it has been proposed that Irene Montero, candidate de facto of Podemos, occupy position 2 or 3 on the list, but under no circumstances the first.

"I think it is a generous offer and one that would guarantee they have representation in the Congress of Deputies," assessed Delgado. "There are a few hours left and it is at their disposal [...]. There is still time," he added. Sources from the Broad Front assure that, despite the conversations of the last few days, both parties have at no time "sat down to negotiate."

Podemos maintains that the focus should not be on Madrid or Barcelona –here they have reached an agreement with ERC that, for the moment, does not include Comuns, something that Gabriel Rufián regrets–, but on the rest of the territories, and for that reason they are looking at the United Left. "I would ask [the United Left] to reconsider its position. The problem has been neither Barcelona nor Madrid, but other constituencies," pointed out the spokesperson for Podemos in Congress, Ione Belarra, this Friday morning. Regarding the offer from the Broad Front for Irene Montero to have a winnable spot in Madrid, the purple party limits itself to recalling that they invited the Broad Front to participate in the party's open primaries –the results will be known this Friday at noon, but only Irene Montero has presented herself as a candidate, which makes her the winner de facto–.At the same time, Podemos assures that the stumbling block is not the position occupied on the lists.

Also this Friday morning, the spokesperson for Sumar in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, has made a call to Podemos to sit down and talk. "I don't know where the problem is [with Podemos]. Let's meet, please. There are no meetings [...]. We are willing to talk," she insisted. At the same time, she criticized that Irene Montero's group wants to talk only with the United Left. "A single list is a single list. It is called the Broad Front and not a list in pieces," she asserted.

Be that as it may, the Broad Front's offer arrives when there are only a few hours left before the deadline for presenting electoral coalitions for the Spanish elections expires (there is time until this Friday at midnight), while the lists of candidates must be presented before October 26th (inclusive). In recent days, Podemos has repeatedly closed the door to integrating into the candidacy shared by Sumar, United Left, Más Madrid, and Comuns. The leadership of the candidacy, how the seats with possibilities of obtaining a seat in Congress are distributed, and which political project should articulate the unity are the main obstacles, at least regarding Madrid and Barcelona.

Agreement in Aragon and the Balearic Islands

While a unitary understanding at the state level is practically ruled out, in the last few hours territorial agreements have indeed been closed. In Aragon, the Chunta Aragonesista will finally join the Broad Front coalition, just like Ara Més in the Balearic Islands. "Both agreements demonstrate that it is possible to build broad candidacies, respectful of the plurality and identity of each territory," celebrated sources from the Broad Front, who have invited Podemos to join these pacts. While waiting to see how the 'lilacs' react, where there has been a unitary agreement is in the Canary Islands: New Canarias-Canarian Bloc, Sumar, Podemos and United Left will go to the polls together under the brand of Unity of the Canarian People (UPC).

Tension in the Valencian Country

In the Valencian Country, on the other hand, negotiations have become complicated after Esquerra Unida del País Valencià –it is legally an autonomous formation– rejected the proposal from Compromís tonight, according to the ACN. More than 75% of the members of its national political council voted against a formula they consider dilutes the formation's identity: not only because of the place offered to them (the third in the constituency for Valencia), but also because of Compromís' refusal to include their name on the ballot. In any case, contacts continue, and there could be last-minute changes depending on the negotiations with the leadership of Esquerra Unida in Madrid, which could push for an agreement. Furthermore, Compromís has offered Podemos a better place –the 1st in Alicante– because it wants to add the Gabriel Rufián effect.

Other alliances

In Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Extremadura and Andalusia, Podemos has offered United Left the possibility of agreeing on candidacies outside the Broad Front, but those of Antonio Maíllo (federal coordinator of United Left) have rejected it so as not to "break up" agreements.