The mirage of Extremadura: an exception of unity in the battle on the left of the PSOE

BarcelonaThe left-wing unity that Irene de Miguel achieved in Extremadura is on its way to becoming a mirage. Unidas por Extremadura is the coalition that brought together Podemos, Izquierda Unida, and Alianza Verde under the same umbrella – Sumar did not run but offered its support. It is also the alliance that injected optimism into a political space that is not going through its best moment following the breakdown between Sumar and Podemos, and at a time when polls predict a decline for the party at the national level. Therefore, the results in Extremadura, where Irene de Miguel increased the unitary coalition's seats by threeThey are a small oasis that, for now, is difficult to replicate in other regions with upcoming regional elections, such as Andalusia, but also throughout the country, where the unity that Yolanda Díaz forged for the 2023 elections is weakened: Podemos broke with Sumar, and Esquerra Unida also split.

Why was a pact reached in Extremadura? It's not the first time the three parties that formed this coalition have come to an agreement; they already ran together in the 2023 elections. However, Movimiento Sumar, Díaz's party, was not part of that agreement, as it lacks a strong presence in Extremadura—the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor explicitly stated her support for Unidas por Extremadura. In other words, neither Sumar nor Podemos, the party to which Irene de Miguel has remained loyal, had to sit down at the table to forge a coalition. However, during the campaign, De Miguel did highlight the tension that remains between the two parties when, in an interview on The voice of ExtremaduraYolanda Díaz labeled it a "fraud" for the left.

The Andalusian fragmentation

The unity of the Extremaduran left, however, will not be replicated in Andalusia—which is scheduled to hold elections in June of next year—because this political space will be fragmented into three parties. The Por Andalucía coalition, which brings together Izquierda Unida, Sumar, Iniciativa del Pueblo Andaluz, and Verdes-Equo, was formed a few weeks ago. Podemos chose to remain outside the coalition and will run independently. In the elections three years ago, Por Andalucía did include the party led by Ione Belarra, but the agreement was ultimately reached. in extremis And amidst enormous tensions with the left-wing parties. In that space to the left of the PSOE, yet another party, Adelante Andalucía, has joined the fray. In 2022, Por Andalucía won 5 seats and Endavant Andalucía, 2. A drop of 10 seats considering that, in the 2018 elections, all these parties ran together under the Endavant Andalucía banner, with Teresa Rodríguez as leader – she was still a member at the time. The result was 17 seats.

It is also unlikely that the coalition between Izquierda Unida and Podemos will be repeated in Castilla y León, where elections will be held no later than March. In this region, three years ago, both parties joined forces to try to improve on their 2019 results, when they ran separately and only won two seats. However, in coalition they did not improve their representation, instead retaining only one deputy, that of Pablo Fernández, spokesperson for the left-wing party at the national level, whose role in the Cortes of Castile and León has been questioned by the coalition. For the March elections, Podemos had indicated its intention to run independently, while United Left had agreed to a coalition with Sumar and Verds-Equo, which still needed to be ratified by the party members. However, after the results in Extremadura—which the leader of United Left in that region, Juan Gascón, presented as a "success"—the party has postponed the consultation until January to make one last attempt to include Podemos in the equation. In Aragon, President Jorge Azcón (PP) called early elections for February 8, forcing the left to begin talks to try to form a joint candidacy, something that has never existed in this region. Two years ago, Podemos lost four deputies and was left with only one; United Left retained its seat, and the Aragonese Union (CHA) kept all three of its representatives. The three parties—now joined by Sumar—have begun exploring a possible unity, which, for now, remains distant. CHA—which was part of Yolanda Díaz's candidacy in the 2023 elections—denounced this week "cross-vetoes" between Podemos and Sumar. Everything suggests, therefore, that Extremadura will continue to be an oasis of left-wing unity.