Add debate on whether to fight to economically strangle Podemos or avoid another battle on the left

Yolanda Díaz’s coalition opens the door to initiate actions against the party to prevent it from obtaining “benefits” from its departure

Sumar weighs the next battles in his tortuous relationship with Can behind the departure of its five deputies of the parliamentary group. Those of Yolanda Diaz They evaluate the next steps and are now debating whether to open legal channels to deprive the party of Ione Belarra of the economic resources they receive from the coalition agreement – an agreement already broken; or if, on the contrary, avoid a new war to the left of the PSOE. A war that could further destabilize a legislature with devilish majorities and that would definitively condemn the fragmentation of the progressive space in the next electoral events.

Sumar’s spokesperson and Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasunopened the door this Monday to initiate actions against Podemos and coalition sources raised the possibility of report the five purple deputies to the Monitoring Commission of the Anti-Transfuguism Pact to consider the leaders turncoats.

“The anti-transfuguism pact, approved in November 2020, establishes in a very clear way the definition of what transfuguism is, which is when a person appears in a coalition and abandons it without giving up the seat,” he defended. “He says it agreement signed by all parties, including Podemos“.

“Benefit from the situation”

Asked directly about the consideration of turncoats by Podemos leaders, Urtasun responded affirmatively, assuring that “our opinion is clear“, although he avoided asking the five deputies for the minutes, at least directly.

“It is evident that transfuguism cannot be rewarded, in the sense that the anti-transfuguism pact was precisely created so that no one could benefit from such a situation“, expressed Urtasun. “As for the actions to be carried out, we are studying it, we will decide in the coming days, but The spirit and letter established by the anti-transfuguism pact are clear“.

Podemos was quick to reject this accusation, alleging that there is a “difference between an isolated person who disregards the guidelines and an entire organization” that decides to leave a parliamentary group, as explained by its spokesperson, Pablo Fernández.

The debate in Sumar

In the coalition led by Yolanda Díaz, they admit, however, that a dilemma now arises; On the one hand, they consider that Podemos cannot continue benefiting from the coalition after having left the parliamentary group.

In the agreement signed in June it was agreed that those of Ione Belarra would receive 23% of all coalition subsidies, a percentage much higher than their electoral representation: although there are only five Podemos deputies compared to the 26 that Sumar now has, the purple ones receive almost a quarter of all the coalition’s economic resources. There are several administrative avenues on the table to try to deprive them of these benefits, considering that they are linked to a pact that is now broken.

On the other hand, in Díaz’s ranks there are also aware of the wear and tear and discouragement in the electorate progressive that generates this type of battles, which generally tend to drag on over time and do not have a simple solution. Thus, some prominent voices in the coalition point out that “there is no interest in prolonging this issue either.”

Six million at stake

In the battle that Sumar opens and its outcome, nothing more and nothing less than more than six million euros this term. The declaration of Podemos deputies as turncoats is not trivial, and has direct economic consequences for Podemos and Sumar.

The next scenarios on the left and the economic future of Podemos will depend on the decision they make. In the previous legislature, 60% of its income came from public subsidies for its representation obtained at different levels, although this figure has been drastically reduced after the loss of leaders throughout the country and the disappearance in several key territories. Starting with the European elections in June, the purples will foreseeably have a new source of resources with the candidacy of Irene Montero to Brussels.

The two subsidies

In total they are two public subsidies received by formations with parliamentary representation. One of them is the allocation that parliamentary groups receive through the Congress of Deputies, of which Podemos has received that 23% despite the fact that its proportion of deputies is much lower. The second comes from Ministry of Interior and are intended to finance the operation of political parties.

Once the electoral agreement was sealed in the summer, the Sumar coalition transferred to the Interior the economic distribution agreed with the different forces, specifying what percentage of the total subsidy corresponded to each party and into which bank account the different allocations should be paid, which are transferred of directly from the Interior to Podemos and the rest of the forces.

Blow to the financing of Podemos

By seats and votes, Sumar has 7,050,911.53 euros per year if both Interior and Congress subsidies are taken into account. Of this amount, Podemos has 23%, around 1.6 million euros annually, of which 104,769 euros come from the parliamentary group.

In the previous legislature, Podemos received only from the Ministry of the Interior 4.17 million euros annually for its parliamentary representation. Its income has now been reduced by almost two thirds, making the collection of these resources essential for its survival as a political organization.

The Interior assignment is the most important that Podemos perceives, and it is to this ministry led by Fernando Grande Marlaska that Sumar must go if he wants to recover the financial resources that the purple ones now perceive. If they decide so, those of Yolanda Díaz could require the ministry to new distribution of assignments and leave out the purple ones, alleging the breach of the agreement that justified the initial economic distribution. A legal mess that, if it occurs, is doomed to run aground in the courts.

Anti-trafficking commission

Whether or not transfuguism is declared by the commission can give strength to Sumar’s claims against the Interior in the event that he finally opens the battle. But it is not clear that Díaz’s request could succeed in the commission, since the PSOE would have to support Podemos’s consideration of transfuguism and could shake the majority that supports Pedro Sánchez in the Government.

This commission is not parliamentary, but was born in 1998 from the agreement of different formations to control these practices at the local level, and later expanded its powers to higher levels. The body is chaired by the current Minister of Territorial Policy, a position currently held by the former Canary Islands president Ángel Víctor Torres, and each political option has a representative.

The declaration of turncoats to the five Podemos deputies would have direct consequences for parliamentary subsidies. Sumar receives 30,346.72 euros per month in allocation as a parliamentary group – a figure that remains unchanged despite the departure of Podemos – and another variable amount depending on the number of deputies that make up it, at a rate of 1,746 euros per month per deputy. By losing five leaders, Sumar’s income is now reduced –104,769 euros less per year, and it is the Mixed Group that sees its amount increased by that same amount, by also increasing its number of members.

Legal doubts

The document approved by the anti-transfuguism commission in 2020 [consultar aquí en PDF] states that “political groups will not suffer impairment” of their “economic and administrative rights” derived from “the loss of members due to transfuguismmaintaining, for the purposes of its determination, those corresponding to its electoral result.” The text, however, presents some legal doubts to which Podemos clings.

In that same section, regarding the economic consequences of the declaration of transfuguism, it is established that “the turncoat does not receive privileges or rewards for breaking the popular will” and details that “non-affiliated persons will not enjoy the economic and administrative rights that correspond to the political groups, nor their members, their political rights being limited to the minimum constitutionally required.”

A section that would deprive the five Podemos deputies of the economic allocation for belonging to the Mixed Group. However, Podemos sources maintain that in Congress the term “non-attached” does not exist, which only applies to municipal corporations. An argument with which they try to cool any economic repercussions.