United Left is already calling for a move on from the Sumar brand

BarcelonaThe poor electoral results that Sumar has suffered since its launch have led parties to the left of the PSOE to begin a period of reflection on their future. While general elections are not yet on the horizon, United Left, one of the coalition's members, is already publicly calling for going "beyond" Sumar and developing an alternative for when the time comes for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call the public to the polls. This was stated by the leader of United Left, Antonio Maíllo, in a speech this Saturday before the party's coordinator. who has been setting a profile for months Regarding Yolanda Díaz's party, it's an appeal directed at Sumar, but also at Comunes, Más Madrid, Compromís, and the CHA. It also includes Podemos, although the purple party distances itself from that political space, having formalized its split by joining the mixed group shortly after the general elections.

The coordinator of United Left voted this Saturday on a political report, previewed this Friday by several media outlets, which is very forceful on the path to follow to "mobilize" the left-wing electorate again, after the electoral setbacks of the space in Galicia, the Basque Country and Catalonia –EstremaduraThe exception was the joint candidacy with Podemos, where they went from 4 to a record 7 seats. "The far right advances when the left closes itself off in identity bubbles," Maíllo said in his speech. In his view, alliances for United Left are "structural," not anecdotal.

In the political report debated this Saturday, the leadership of United Left argues that it is "evident" that Sumar "is not an instrument capable of uniting all the organizations and individuals conspiring to prevent a PP-Vox government," and even proposes abandoning that name altogether. The United Left coordinator, who is also a candidate in the Andalusian elections, suggests choosing a name that is not that of any of the parties involved, to avoid confusing "the whole with the part." This is what has happened with Sumar, which is both the name of the parliamentary group in the lower house and the name of the party created by Yolanda Díaz and now led by Lara Hernández, who is the coordinator.

Reactions from Podemos were swift. From Zaragoza, just days before the start of the election campaign, former minister Irene Montero responded in Maíllo that what "divides" the left is "asking people for their vote" only to then "give it away to the PSOE." Left-wing unity was also not possible in Aragon, where there are three different lists from the left wing of the PSOE: the one from Sumar and Izquierda Unida; the one from Podemos; and the one from CHA, whose candidate, Jorge Pueyo, is a Sumar member of parliament. Another of the proposals for a united left-wing front comes from Gabriel Rufián and Joan Tardà (ERC)But neither the Republican leadership nor the other parties questioned have shown any openness.