Sumar gathers this Sunday its main representatives to analyze the political scenario opened after the rejection in Congress of the two government housing decrees and facing the possibility that the president, Pedro Sánchez, decides to call early general elections. The meeting also comes after the mobilizations held this Saturday in Madrid and other cities to demand solutions to the housing crisis and at a time when the coalition still has to resolve who would lead its candidacy in hypothetical elections.
The meeting, announced by the Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, will have housing as one of its main topics, although the meeting will also serve to address the strategy of the space in the face of a possible early election. The ministers of Sumar and representatives of the parties that make up its parliamentary group, including Movimiento Sumar, Izquierda Unida, Más Madrid and los comunes, are invited to the meeting.
The meeting is held while Sánchez maintains an open period of reflection after the parliamentary defeat suffered by the Executive. According to government sources consulted by 'ElConstitucional.es', the president is "calm" and will dedicate this weekend to listening to the coalition partners and the forces that have allowed the legislature to be sustained. The possibility of calling elections is among the issues that will be addressed in these conversations, although there is no decided call or fixed date yet.
The fall of the decrees opens a new scenario
Sumar's meeting takes place just 48 hours after Congress overturned the two royal decree-laws on housing promoted by the Executive. The parliamentary defeat has forced Yolanda Díaz's space to rethink its strategy and comes after months of negotiation to try to gather the necessary support to push through the measures.
The rejection of the initiatives has also had a response on the streets. This Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated in Madrid to demand solutions to the housing situation and call for a general strike. According to the Government Delegation, around 70,000 people participated in the four demonstrations called from different points of the capital, which ended up converging in Cibeles. The Tenants' Union, organizer of the protests, raised the figure to 500,000 demonstrators.
The scenario is especially relevant for Yolanda Díaz's space, which has defended measures aimed at reinforcing tenant protection and limiting certain types of rental agreements during the negotiation of the decrees. The parliamentary failure now leaves these initiatives in limbo and forces Sumar to define how it will politically address the situation.
Mónica García, Ernest Urtasun, and Pablo Bustinduy
In parallel to the housing strategy, Sumar still has not defined who would be its main electoral reference in hypothetical general elections. The situation is complicated by Yolanda Díaz's refusal to lead the candidacy again and by the internal debate about the formula with which the space would run.
In this context, some voices within the coalition have put forward the name of the Minister of Health, Mónica García, as a possible head of the list for Madrid. The proposal, however, is not confirmed and faces a relevant political circumstance: García was chosen as Más Madrid's candidate for the regional elections scheduled for May 2027.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, also appears in this proposal as a possible head of the list for Barcelona. In his case, this option would have more traction within internal speculation, although there is no definitive decision either.
Another name that continues to appear in internal conversations is Pablo Bustinduy himself. The Minister of Social Rights has gained visibility in recent weeks by taking on a prominent role in the negotiations of the housing decrees. Bustinduy was one of Sumar's main interlocutors during the conversations aimed at securing parliamentary support for the initiatives and was also responsible for defending one of the decrees during Friday's plenary session of Congress.
As exclusively reported by 'ElConstitucional.es', the path of Pablo Bustinduy as a possible Sumar candidate for the general elections is gaining strength again. Internal sources from the space consulted by this media indicate that there is an especially positive assessment of the minister's management during the housing crisis, as well as of his interventions in recent days.
This internal backing has caused Bustinduy to regain ground in the race to lead the candidacy, against the alternative of the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun. The struggle for electoral leadership remains open, while the different formations of the space prepare for this Sunday's meeting and remain pending Pedro Sánchez's decision on a possible early election.
Adding to the different possibilities is also the former mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, who has recently expressed her willingness to return to institutional politics. Her eventual incorporation into Sumar's electoral project is another of the options being considered within the debate on the future of the space.
The 'Frente Amplio' brand, also on the table
The discussion about the names occurs at the same time that Sumar is studying a possible renewal of its electoral formula. The space has already raised the possibility of running in future elections under the name 'Frente Amplio', a formula that would allow the alliance to be extended to other organizations.
Among the formations that could play a leading role in this eventual confluence are Movimiento Sumar, IU, Más Madrid and the comunes, while there has also been speculation about the incorporation of Podemos. The definitive composition of such a candidacy would depend on negotiations between the different organizations.
For now, the debate remains open and there is no closed candidacy. The immediate priority will be to analyze the scenario left by the parliamentary defeat of the housing decrees and decide how to respond to the social pressure that has moved to the streets.
While Sánchez listens to his partners this weekend before deciding whether to maintain the legislature's roadmap or propose an early election, Sumar will have to define its position in both scenarios. The decision on the candidacy, however, remains pending and names like Mónica García, Ernest Urtasun, Pablo Bustinduy or Ada Colau continue to be part of the different options being considered within the space.
