Yolanda Díaz, Spanish deputy prime minister and holder of the labour portfolio in the Sánchez government, has been told by ideological ally Podemos this Monday that her new left-wing platform Sumar is not a "truly transformational left", following the launch of the Sumar candidature on Sunday, which Podemos did not attend. Pablo Fernández, a spokesman for Podemos, accused Díaz of being ideologically closer to the Socialists (PSOE), senior partners in the current Spanish government, than to the alternative left Podemos. Despite this, Fernández suggested that Podemos would like to form a coalition with Yolanda Díaz and participate in the next general elections in Spain, due at the end of the this year. Meanwhile, Yolanda Díaz defended herself in an interview with Spanish public TV, stating that she had tried until the last minute to get Podemos to attend the event.
Díaz, member of the Communist Party of Spain who entered Congress as part of the Izquierda Unida (United Left) grouping, which ran as part of Unidas Podemos in the last elections, launched her candidature to be prime minister of Spain at an event in the Polideportivo Magariños in Madrid on Sunday, which was attended by around 2,000 people, including Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, and other members of the Catalonia-based Comuns, as well as Íñigo Errejón's party, Más País, and other key left-wing leaders. However, the event aimed at forming a broad, progressive coalition ahead of the next general elections - "Sumar" translates as "join together" - was notable for the absence of Podemos, which up till now has been the major force on the left of the Socialists, around which smaller parties have gravitated.
The absence of Podemos on Sunday caused controversy, with some members of the party feeling snubbed and left out of the process. In response, Yolanda Díaz insisted that she had tried to convince Podemos to attend the event and that she remained committed to working with them. However, the launch of Sumar has further complicated the already tense relationship between the PSOE and Podemos, with the latter feeling increasingly marginalized and sidelined within the coalition.
The wounds inflicted by the Sumar event on Podemos have become more evident, and this Monday spokesperson Pablo Fernández did not hold back in saying that Yolanda Díaz's platform is "not a truly transformative left." He added that the party seeks to reach a pact with the current second deputy PM to contest the next elections jointly, since the PSOE has accepted that "coalition governments are here to stay". However, he asserted that Pedro Sánchez would prefer to form a coalition with Podemos, claiming that the Socialists want "someone on their left who is not a truly transformative left." Former Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has also spoken along the same lines. Interviewed on radio station RAC1 this Monday, he accused Yolanda Díaz of wanting to constantly stay in her "comfort zone".