Óscar Puente fuels the clash with Sumar over housing and accuses them of "handing the government to the far-right"

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has once again attacked Sumar this Thursday and has raised the tension within the Government for the second consecutive day. The socialist leader has responded to criticism of housing policy by attacking the division of parties to the left of the PSOE.

"Let's see if all this fuss at least helps those who would solve the housing problem in a jiffy solve one that should be simpler, their own," Puente wrote. The minister urged these formations to reach an agreement and avoid running in the next general elections "under 20 acronyms" to prevent them from ending up "handing the Government to the far-right".

Puente published another message shortly after to assert his political credentials. "No one beats me when it comes to being leftist," he assured before defending that he will never act as a "useful idiot for the right". He also maintained that transformations are mainly achieved from the Government, even if it is impossible to execute the entire planned program. "This reflection is for adults, not for children," he concluded.

The response from Sumar has come from different fronts. The Más Madrid deputy Tesh Sidi has resorted to irony to question the succession of messages from the minister. "Oscar Puente's phone must be expropriated," she wrote on X, playing with her group's proposal to expropriate Maricarmen's home and return it to her after the eviction.

The United Left deputy Nahuel González also revealed that Puente blocked him after reproaching him for the PSOE's policy on housing, Western Sahara, Cercanías, and the expansion of the Port of Valencia. González reminded the minister that he voted for the Government's investiture and that he regularly questions him in Congress.

The housing decree, at the center of the struggle

Behind the battle on social media is a negotiation that could mark the relationship between the partners in the coming days. Sumar has formally requested the PSOE that the Council of Ministers approve the housing decree next Tuesday and agree to the expropriation of the apartment where Maricarmen had been residing since 1956.

The text seeks to restore protection against evictions for vulnerable people, extend certain rental contracts until June 2028, and more strictly regulate seasonal rentals, room rentals, and tourist housing. The socialist side withdrew the decree before the summer after realizing that it still lacked sufficient support to validate it in Congress.

The confrontation began this Wednesday, when Ada Colau asked the Comuns to leave the Executive if the PSOE continued not to promote strong housing measures. Puente responded by contrasting his management in Valladolid with Colau's time in Barcelona, and Mónica García asked him to focus the pressure on the right and the speculative market.

The co-spokesperson for the Comuns and Sumar deputy Gerardo Pisarello has now directly responded to the minister's new message. "You insist on bravado and you are wrong," he stated. In his opinion, inaction in the face of the housing emergency and corruption cases are the issues that can electorally benefit the right.

Pisarello has demanded the expropriation of homes from investment funds and large owners, in addition to preventing new evictions like Maricarmen's by decree. "And if not, don't count on us. It's that simple," he warned.

The PSOE and Sumar thus reach the decisive stretch of the negotiation with the confrontation completely open. The decree still lacks a guaranteed majority in Congress, and the socialist side is holding conversations with Junts to try to bring a closed text to next Tuesday's Council of Ministers.