After the housing decrees fell in the Congress of Deputies on Friday, one question dominates everything: what now?
The answer lies with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, but also with the Sumar ministers, who must take a position today. They have two paths: to move forward and propose new decrees based on Junts' conditions, or to seize the moment to leave the Executive, distance themselves from the PSOE, and give Sánchez the definitive reason to call early elections.
At La Moncloa, they admit "the period of analysis and reflection" in which Sánchez has been immersed since Friday, with a clear agenda, to decide whether or not to bring forward the general elections.
It is not confirmed, but it is one of the most plausible options. His team insists that, although all scenarios are on the table, "nothing has been decided."
However, more and more voices are advocating for taking advantage of "the window of opportunity" offered by the mobilized streets. "At no other time in the legislature have the mobilizations of these last hours been achieved," explain members of Ferraz, who have already conveyed their position to La Moncloa.
In Sumar, the majority current also leans towards leaving the Government, a scenario that some factions of the movement raised even before the decrees fell. "If they don't go through, it's time to leave the Government," they wrote to this newspaper on Friday morning.
Sumar's other decisions
The space once led by Yolanda Díaz has run out of time; in terms of political strategy, it is already late.
Without a visible face to lead the next contest, the movement is considering running in the elections under the brand "Frente Amplio" (Broad Front), something it has not even confirmed and which would open the door to an alliance with other parties, such as Podemos.
The decision to leave or not leave the Government will depend on a strategic analysis. An eventual departure of Sumar would have to be accompanied by cascading movements, such as the announcement, which according to internal sources will be imminent, of who will lead that front.
Otherwise, if Sánchez finally presses the button for early elections with Sumar ministers still in the Government, it will catch them off guard and at a disadvantage in a high-voltage campaign.
The deadlines
The sources consulted do not set a specific date for the president's decision. But if he opted for the earliest possible Sunday, he would have to announce the call next Monday, October 5.
In that case, the decree dissolving the Cortes would be published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) the following day and, in accordance with electoral law, Spaniards would go to the polls 54 days later, on November 29.