The eventual departure of Irene Montero from the Government would put Díaz in a fragile position, having to choose between remaining in the Executive or breaking
The duel still in government after in recent weeks, as a result of the reform of the law of ‘only yes is yes’, they have inflicted mutual damage. In public they strive to defend the validity and continuity of the coalition. But the PSOE continues to suffer from the closure of Irene Montero to accept the modification and for the verbal escalation against them. And Unidas Podemos because it considers that the socialists have refused to negotiate to find a solution.
The crisis is serious and the debate has returned to whether it is possible to continue like this. If Pedro Sánchez should act against Podemos and promote his departure from the Executive or if, after the Socialists have unilaterally changed the law, it makes sense for the purple ones to remain in the Government. A cloudy foam surrounds this discussion for fear of unexpected decisions by the president or the minority partner. And there is no shortage, on both sides, of those who call for war. But the electoral calendar conditions everything.
Throughout the legislature it has been understood that Sánchez had no margin to decide on the future of the ministers of United We Can. In the government agreement it was agreed that, according to their parliamentary weight, 5 Ministries corresponded to them. The people who would occupy them decided Pablo Iglesias and its territorial confluences. It’s basically like that. But that would not prevent the president from asking for the head of one of these ministers and for his partner to propose another name. Although for the survival of the coalition the ideal thing would be to agree to leave.
This sketch is now out of date because the PSOE looks ahead, to the need to reissue the coalition and the parliamentary majority that supports it after the December 2023 elections. To reach that finish line, the platform of the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, Sumar, needs to take hold, and that Podemos be represented on it. If Sánchez and Iglesias still agree on something (at least she thought so when she anointed her) it is that Díaz is the best possible candidate to revive that space to the left of the PSOE.
For this reason, to protect the momentum of Sumar, in Moncloa it has been understood that there would be no break in the vote in the parliamentary group and that Díaz would support Montero. It is true that after reproached for not assuming a greater role to seek an agreement. The parliamentary spokesman of the PSOE, patxi lopez, said Tuesday in SER that he should have had a more “proactive” attitude. But what they really want in the socialist leadership is for it to reach an agreement with Podemos and gather the greatest possible number of votes. In fact, they do not understand that it takes so long to reach the pact and to launch his candidacy. Doing it as soon as possible, they estimate, can help the autonomous communities.
“Finish with the photo that was started”
Party sources confirm these two conditions – saving Sumar and a new coalition legislature – as fundamental at this time. And they add one more, almost “solemn”, they acknowledge: “We have a historical responsibility”. “This government has to end with a picture the same as the one it started with and with a clear option for the future to be able to follow this path,” they point out.
The role of Yolanda Díaz is determining factor in future governance from the left. Because of his good work these months, that he is able to get along with Podemos and, therefore, with Irene Montero. In the absence of an electoral agreement, the existence of two lists to the left of the PSOE and the penalization of this division by the Electoral Law would blow up any possibility of adding a progressive majority.
The eeventual departure of Irene Montero from the Government, which Podemos is constantly forced to deny, would put Díaz in an extremely difficult position, having to choose between staying in the Executive or breaking. The leader has been one of the greatest defenders of the coalition and of avoiding confrontations that could harm it. she would be her too one of the biggest victims in case the divorce was consummated between United We Can and the PSOE.
Díaz, determined to remain in the Government
The path of permanence in the Government would be the option chosen by the leader, according to close sources, since his continuity in the Executive these crucial months would be condition for successful deployment of your project. From the Second Vice Presidency, however, they assure that the decision has not been made in any case and that, at that point -the eventual departure of Montero-, it will depend on “the circumstances & rdquor; that could surround the exit.
The Galician leader has not yet officially presented her candidacy or her electoral program, and tnor does it have a political organization to rely on. In these circumstances, the Second Vice Presidency is the biggest platform you have to keep two items essential in its electoral launch: visibility and resources.
His position in the Executive allows him to open debates that mark the political agenda and give media focus to his proposals, an essential step in building his profile and his future project. Also, not having a match, he has own resources -human and economic- extremely limited, and a large part of the team that is promoting his candidacy also works in the Ministry of Labor. Doing without everything that the Government offers would make it even more difficult to launch a candidacy that, nine months before the general elections, is already playing against an important element: time.