Emilio Delgado defends leading the Frente Amplio candidacy for Madrid and questions ceding that position to Irene Montero. The deputy and deputy spokesperson for Más Madrid in the Assembly maintains his invitation to Podemos to build a shared list, but appeals to his organization's electoral weight to retain the number one spot. In an interview published this Thursday by 'El País', he acknowledges his concern about the left's confrontation when there is barely one day left to close the November 29 coalitions.
Asked about the possibility of stepping aside for Montero to head the joint ballot, Delgado responds that it would be difficult for him to justify it to his voters. "It would be very difficult for me to explain to my constituents, to the militants, to the voters of Más Madrid why a force that is the first force of the left in Madrid, which is ahead of the PSOE, has to cede space for an extra-parliamentary force to occupy it," he argues. At the same time, he advocates for a candidacy in which all organizations can find accommodation.
The comparison refers to the 2023 regional elections, in which Más Madrid obtained 620,631 votes and 27 deputies, ahead of the 614,296 votes and the same 27 seats of the PSOE. The Podemos-IU-Alianza Verde candidacy obtained 161,032 votes, 4.76%, and was left out of the Assembly. That is the scope in which Delgado places Podemos as an extra-parliamentary force. The November 29 elections will choose the Congress and the Senate, and the purple party currently does have representation in the Cortes.
Mónica García vindicates Delgado's election
The Minister of Health and leader of Más Madrid, Mónica García, called this Thursday to "get out of the loop" of candidacies. She assures that her organization has done "everything" to facilitate an agreement and presents Delgado's election as proof of that willingness. "Now the candidates will have to decide what is the best agreement, get out of the loop and start talking about what matters," she demanded when asked about the negotiation with Podemos.
García's role within the candidacy remains undefined in Delgado's words. Más Madrid initially proposed that he head the list and that the minister occupy the second position. Now, asked what responsibility his colleague will have, he responds "whatever she wants". He also states that he will respect and support the political path García decides to undertake, while he confirms his intention to continue in Congress if elected.
The distribution of positions remains one of the central issues. 'ElConstitucional.es' reported on Tuesday the proposal to reserve Montero the number two spot for Madrid, behind Delgado, according to sources close to the negotiations. This possibility has not translated into an agreement or an official announcement about the order of the candidacy.
Podemos's position maintains the disagreement. Ione Belarra considered an agreement in Madrid and Barcelona "very difficult" this Thursday, while concentrating her offer to IU in ten other autonomous communities. Montero is running as the sole aspirant for the candidacy for the Presidency of the Government in the primaries that end tonight. The Madrid negotiation thus faces Más Madrid's claim to leadership with Podemos's commitment to a candidacy headed by its electoral referent.
The pact with Rufián surprises Delgado
Delgado admits that he learned about the collaboration agreement between Podemos and ERC through the press. The understanding contemplates that the purples will not present their own candidacy in Catalonia and that Gabriel Rufián and Irene Montero will campaign together. The Madrid leader respects that decision, although he questions how it fits with the search for a shared list. "When you are in a negotiation with all political forces trying to obey the street and have a single ballot, the commitment to that negotiation must be total. I get the feeling that it hasn't been that way," he states.
The candidate clarifies that he is not part of the negotiating table or the leadership of Más Madrid and that he has not spoken with Montero in recent hours. He has held informal conversations with Colau and Rufián to suggest possible solutions. He attributes a will for unity to the republican spokesperson, although he believes he has found limits in the ERC leadership. Regarding Colau, he defends that her trajectory in social movements, the Barcelona City Council, and the fight for housing constitutes an "unrenounceable asset" for the candidacy.+
The discussion over Madrid has consequences for the entire left. Sumar obtained six deputies for this constituency in 2023, when Podemos participated in the coalition. That result corresponds to a candidacy shared by different organizations and will be the reference that their successors will have to dispute on 29N. Madrid's larger number of seats offers more options to smaller forces than other provinces, but two lists will have to separately gather the necessary votes to enter the distribution. Added to this is the challenge of mobilizing an electorate that has been watching its leaders discuss candidacies for days.
Delgado acknowledges the distance between social mobilization and the conversation of the parties, which he considers not very edifying, and places the expansion of the space as a condition to re-establish a progressive government. "If we manage to broaden enough, there will be a progressive government; if we do not manage to broaden enough, we will face a democratic involution," he warns. The deadline to register coalitions ends this Friday, October 16, at 11:59 p.m.
