Ada Colau gains even more strength and supporters to lead the Broad Front in the general elections on November 29. Más Madrid proposed this Wednesday that the former mayor of Barcelona be the candidate for the Presidency of the Government and lead the list for the Catalan capital. Her party, in turn, wants the Minister of Health, Mónica García, to head the candidacy for Madrid and for other leaders of the formation to occupy the top positions.
The proposal is included in a Más Madrid statement to which ElConstitucional.es has had access. The formation presents it as a commitment to a "choral and confederal" leadership that gives prominence to each organization in its territory. The move brings a solution to the debate about who will lead the new space, although Colau has not yet been proclaimed a candidate and the distribution of the lists remains open.
Sources consulted by this newspaper describe very broad support for the former mayor among those participating in the conversations. According to these sources, the implicated formations have already met this Wednesday and have a final meeting pending on Thursday. The announcement could come that same day, although forecasts point mainly to Friday. Colau, they add, is preparing to assume the candidacy.
The negotiation gets stuck in Madrid's positions
Más Madrid defends that García lead the Madrid list accompanied by Emilio Delgado, Tesh Sidi, and Eduardo Fernández Rubiño, as 'El País' advanced. This approach places four leaders from the same formation in the positions with the highest chances of obtaining a seat. The Sumar coalition obtained six deputies for Madrid in the 2023 general elections, a precedent that gives an idea of the weight of these top positions.
There lies one of the delicate points of the negotiation with Podemos. Sources consulted by ElConstitucional.es interpret Más Madrid's proposal as a pressure measure to maintain control of the Madrid candidacy. They consider that, if the first four positions are occupied by party leaders, it will be more difficult to make room for other forces. The final position of Irene Montero and the rest of the possible candidates remains unagreed.
'elDiario.es' has reported that Más Madrid links its support for Colau to the ability to decide the top positions in Madrid. Sources from this newspaper also read Wednesday's announcement as a negotiating move, after Colau's option prevailed in the conversations about leadership. This interpretation does not equate to a closed agreement on names or their order on the ballot.
Asked directly by ElConstitucional.es, Emilio Delgado asks for prudence. The spokesperson for Más Madrid in the Assembly assures that he already formally and publicly conveyed to his party his willingness to occupy the place where he can contribute to obtaining the best results. "Nothing is closed," he warns. Delgado says he wants to respect the ongoing conversations and prevent the left from projecting an image of "musical chairs" again.
García had until now been among the main options to lead the entire Broad Front. Her candidacy for Madrid would also open another decision for Más Madrid, which had chosen her to face Isabel Díaz Ayuso again in the 2027 regional elections.
Colau wants a candidacy that includes Podemos
The former mayor has argued these days that the left beyond the PSOE should go united to the polls. Her willingness to take the step is linked to the real breadth of the agreement and, in particular, to the presence of Podemos. This condition explains why resolving Colau's leadership would only be part of the negotiation.
Podemos maintains its proposal for open primaries, but has already left another path open. The parties could first agree on a joint list and then submit that agreement for ratification by those participating in the process. Izquierda Unida, one of the four forces promoting the Broad Front along with Comuns, Más Madrid, and Movimiento Sumar, has also argued that the alliance should include all transformative left-wing parties.
The sources consulted by this newspaper are confident that Podemos will end up being part of the candidacy. This optimism coexists with pending decisions, including the method for validating the agreement and the distribution of positions with chances of a seat. A candidacy with Colau as a national reference and García leading Madrid would allow for shared prominence during the campaign, but would also require finding a place for the other partners.
Parties have until October 16 to register electoral coalitions. Before that, they must decide whether the proposal made public by Más Madrid facilitates the broad agreement demanded by Colau or hardens the negotiation of the Madrid list. That will be one of the issues at the meeting scheduled for this Thursday.
