The negotiations on the Spanish left - between Podemos and Sumar - are not short of twists and turns as the clock counts down. While Podemos party rank and file are currently voting in a last-minute consultation on whether or not to integrate into Yolanda Díaz's platform - voting closes at 10am Friday morning - negotiations also go on elsewhere. In fact, in the Valencian Country, Podemos is now proposing to go separately to the lists, because the Valencian leftists Compromís - a party that wants to be part of Yolanda Díaz's project - are applying "a total veto" to the members of the party led by Ione Belarra and Irene Montero, as Podemos sources told ElNacional.cat. The anti-austerity party insists that this is a "possible solution" in order to break the deadlock, since the talks are at an "immovable" point and the possibility of reaching an agreement is in jeopardy - 12 midnight Friday night is the deadline for registration of electoral coalitions. Despite Podemos's threat, the proposal in this case would be to maintain the agreement throughout the rest of the Spanish state, with the Valencian Country as the only territory where the two parties stand separately. Sumar, however, does not consider the proposal that has been forwarded to be a viable option.
It should be remembered that on Tuesday, the former general secretary of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, launched accusations against Yolanda Díaz: he affirmed that the second deputy PM of the Spanish government was vetoing the entry of Irene Montero to the Sumar lists. And, in addition, he affirmed that in the Spanish state there were "three territories" where the "problems in the negotiations" between Podemos and Sumar had originated: Catalonia (Comuns), Madrid (Más País) and the Valencian Country (Compromís). Apart from calling the attitude irresponsible, he accused these three parties of wanting to "destroy" the party that he himself led until two years ago.
The Comuns have also taken part in the dirty war in recent hours, accusing Podemos of looking for a "Plan B" in Catalonia if the negotiations with Yolanda Díaz fail: forming a coalition with the Republican Left. The Republicans flatly denied this and, in fact, announced this Thursday that, in the Senate, they will stand jointly with EH Bildu.
The influence of the May 28th results
Compromís, which on Friday holds a meeting of its highest executive body to confirm its agreement with Yolanda Díaz's project, has persistently denied that there were any vetoes and exclusions on its part, as its May 28th candidate, Joan Baldoví, has emphasized. Like other forces such as Aragon's Chunta and the Spanish capital's Más Madrid, Compromís demands regional level leadership of the combined list, in this case in the Valencian Country. And the party has a good argument in its favour: Podemos bombed on 28th May, while these other parties have remained on their feet. Podemos, however, wants its state co-spokesperson María Teresa Pérez to be its reference in the Valencian Country in the list for 23rd July, as part of its negotiations with Sumar to create a broad left confluence .
Consultation until 10am
After very complicated negotiations over the last 10 days, Podemos are taking the decision right to the limit. Ione Belarra, general secretary of Podemos, announced in a tweet on Thursday, the party has opened a high-speed consultation with its rank and file members to decide whether or not to finally merge with Sumar, the movement led by Yolanda Díaz. Members will be able to vote until 10am on Friday, while Sumar has already announced agreements with other parties throughout the state, from Drago led by former Podemos deputy Alberto Rodríguez in the Canary Islands, Más Madrid and the Chunta in Aragon.