Podemos has announced that its political secretary, Irene Montero, and the head of the list for Esquerra Republicana (ERC), Gabriel Rufián, “will team up” during the campaign for the general elections on November 29.
In a statement released this Monday, Podemos indicated that ERC and the purple party in Catalonia “have a clear responsibility to continue advancing in rights and defending” Catalonia. According to the party, the collaboration will materialize in Podemos' contribution to the republican candidacy in Catalonia and in the joint presence of Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián in the electoral campaign.
“We understand that collaboration between left-wing forces to stop the far-right, defend the country, and protect citizens' rights is indispensable,” states the text distributed by the organization.
Rufián repeats as head of list after weeks of tension
The announcement comes after ERC confirmed this Sunday that its spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, will once again head the party's list for the general elections, after weeks of tension in which it emerged that deputy Jordi Albert could emerge as an alternative in case of disagreement between the leadership and Rufián.
In parallel, it had also emerged that republicans and Podemos were finalizing a collaboration agreement for this election, a negotiation that was confirmed this Monday.
An unprecedented alliance for Esquerra Republicana
The entente represents an unprecedented alliance for ERC, as in the past the purples were integrated into los Comuns, although the national breakup of Podemos with Sumar has also fractured that space. In fact, the party itself maintains that Podemos even negotiated with ERC for the 2023 general elections, something that the sovereignists denied at the time.
Movement in Frente Amplio and in the rest of the left
Meanwhile, Frente Amplio, the candidacy promoted by los Comuns together with IU, Movimiento Sumar and Más Madrid, enters the decisive week for registering electoral coalitions, with the deadline set by the Electoral Board for Friday, October 16, without having yet designated its candidate for the Presidency of the Government or finalized alliances with other formations.
Los Comuns have regretted that the future candidate of ERC has rejected participating in Frente Amplio to maximize the left's options in these elections, although they respect his decision to remain under the sovereignist party's siglas. At the same time, they celebrate the consensus around former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as Frente Amplio's candidate, an option that had already conditioned her availability to lead the future coalition if the purples and their territorial allies were incorporated.
The decision of Gabriel Rufián to repeat as ERC's candidate for the 29N elections also means declining Ada Colau's offer to act as a unifying element for the different lefts within Frente Amplio.
Más Madrid proposes another formula in Madrid
In parallel, Más Madrid has once again surprised in this space by proposing that Frente Amplio's list be led by the formation's deputy spokesperson in the regional parliament, Emilio Delgado, and that the number two be the Minister of Health, Mónica García.
Furthermore, for the first time, it opens up to the integration of Podemos into the candidacy in Madrid if the formation wants to be part of the project, while IU shows its explicit support for positioning Ada Colau as a candidate and Sumar is in favor of the tandem of the former mayor with Emilio Delgado. In any case, some appeal to the responsibility of all left-wing parties to build electoral unity, and others again ask for discretion regarding internal negotiations.
