Sumar and IU respond to Podemos: from 28-M "we came out with an absolute defeat" and now being able to "govern" and with "joy"

Sumar responds to the onslaught of Podemos, which yesterday distanced itself from all the other members of the coalition to reproach Yolanda Díaz and to present its result in the general elections as a fiasco. The candidacy's spokesperson, Ernest Urtasun, replied to Ione Belarra that the political space came out of the regional and municipal elections on May 28 with a “sensation of absolute defeat” and that, on the other hand, it has now done so with the “perspective of revalidating the government” and with “great joy” from the progressives.

And he has used the data. On 28-M, he pointed out, there were “a million votes of support”. Now they have achieved triple with “more than three million”. “We came out of these elections as progressives much better than how we came out of the municipal and regional elections”, he has sentenced. That is why he has described the result as “successful”.. Because, furthermore, he is convinced that the coalition with the PSOE can be reissued.

In an interview in Espejo Público, from Antena 3, Urtasun has delved into the fact that Sumar has brought about a “change in spirit”. “If we had not set up Sumar, we would not be in the situation we are in and there would not have been that electoral turnaround that has taken place and we would not have the possibility of revalidating the progressive government,” he said..

In the same way, the leader of IU, Alberto Garzón, has come out in defense of Díaz putting the result into perspective. “What Sumar has achieved is extraordinary. Only two months ago the political space was knocked out and in many territories disappeared. Now it has been key to stop the reaction and it will be key to repeat the coalition government,” he said on Twitter.. The explanation for this lies in all those people who “have worked their butt off” supporting the project and Díaz “every day in this tough campaign.”.

These two analyzes clash with that of Belarra, who yesterday in a video reproached Díaz for not having met expectations and for having failed in the objective of “governing with more force.”. “The strategy of renouncing feminism and making Podemos invisible has not worked electorally,” shot the general secretary of the purple party. His party accuses Díaz of losing 700,000 votes and seven seats compared to the 2019 results and obviates any reference to May.

A day later, Urtasun has compared the emotions that were lived in May, where Podemos led the space, and those that exist right now with Sumar, where Díaz has taken over. From those elections he left with “the general feeling of defeat” and from the general elections last Sunday he came away with “great joy”. Faced with Podemos' speech, Urtasun pointed out that these days “what progressives in Spain feel is joy”. And he has stressed the numerous “congratulations” they are receiving, and which were already displayed on Sunday night with the euphoria that broke out at the Sumar headquarters with the members of the candidacy and prominent members of Más Madrid and Izquierda Unida.

The spokesman has repeated an idea that he already launched on Monday. Sumar's results cannot be compared to anything before because “it is the first time” that the coalition has run for election. Thus, it places its 31 seats, 3,014,006 support and 12.31% of the vote as the “starting point” of this reconfiguration of the alternative left.

Sumar assembly in autumn

By the way, he has indicated that Sumar has the will to continue expanding and growing and has announced that “after the summer” the Sumar party (not the coalition) will convene its first congress to constitute its new party bodies. EL MUNDO already detailed in mid-June how the first statutes of this formation are in use but that it was born as an instrumental force to sign the coalition with the others. That “assembly” aims for the fall.

Despite Belarra's criticism, Urtasun has avoided opening a greater controversy with Podemos and has thanked all the parties for their work in the campaign. “Everyone has rowed in the same direction,” he said.

For the rest, Sumar has once again urged the PSOE to open a negotiation on the government program and the distribution of ministries as soon as possible. Urtasun considers that there is no time to lose and that the path for “the only possible investiture” should begin “from now”, which is that of Pedro Sánchez as president.

In the same way, Sumar takes the initiative in his contacts with the other political forces and trusts that he has spoken with all of them before the end of the week to explore how the situation is before starting official meetings to discuss content.. For the dialogue with ERC and Junts they have chosen Jaume Asens, who stands out for the “good relations” he maintains with both Catalan formations.