The Socialists believe that the brawl will not affect the continuity of the government coalition but admit its impact on the internal dynamics
There is no one in the PSOE who is surprised by the recent barrage of Pablo Iglesias against Yolanda Díaz. “They are making public something that was already known but was in the private sphere,” says a minister who has suffered in her own flesh the consequences of a palpable tension within the Government. The situation is worrying. Not only because it affects the dynamics of the Executive and weighs down the image of stability that Pedro Sánchez likes to boast so much about, but because it may end up having a negative impact on the electoral possibilities of the left as a whole in a decisive year.
“In May we have regional and municipal elections that are very, very important and it would not be convenient – they point out from the PSOE leadership – that there be, to call it in some way, a distraction of the vote.” In Ferraz, as in Moncloa, they trust that despite the brawl that Iglesias aired this Sunday in the ‘Autumn Uni’ of Podemos, there will end up being a joint candidacy first in the May appointment (“if it is not in all the territories, at least, in the majority”, they underline) and then in the general ones.
Sánchez has always recognized that he needs the space to his left to arrive in shape for the next elections in order to have any guarantee of being able to continue governing. Among other things because, just as the PP has gobbled up practically 50% of the vote lost by Ciudadanos, it has recovered part of those who went to Vox (although it continues to lose on that side) and receives a moderate vote from the PSOE (up to 10.7 %, according to the latest CIS), absorbing the disenchanted of the purple coalition is a little more difficult for the Socialists. But, in addition, because the Spanish electoral system penalizes small parties and being the fourth force instead of the third means leaving many seats in the bag. Neither the PP nor the PSOE are in conditions of an absolute majority and the position of their eventual allies will be key.
Neutrality
The socialists remain neutral and do not assess who is more right in the open battle between their partners. In general, Díaz has tended to make Sánchez’s life easier than Iglesias because she never shared making conflicts visible as a working method. Both in the negotiation of the Budgets and in the renewal of the CGPJ with the PP, for example, their position was clearly more possible than that of Podemos and the purples already took it upon themselves to make it clear that they were not satisfied with their performance: the They accused of having been fooled with defense spending, of not having fought key laws for the party or of admitting the veto to Victoria Rosell as a member of the governing body of the judges.
They neither believe that Iglesias intends to return to politics nor do they contemplate a tactical exit from the Executive of the purple ministers
However, government sources admit that Díaz treads on slippery ground every time he says that ‘Sumar’, his project, is above the parties. “In politics, having a vertical structure is basic,” he admits. They also believe it is understandable that Iglesias may feel betrayed after having fought for him to occupy first the Ministry of Labor and then the vice presidency that he abandoned and having pointed her out as the future head of the cartel.
For now, the Executive is crossing their fingers so that the relationship can be channeled. Even so, they assume that beyond the harmful noise, the fight does not endanger the very continuity of the coalition. They neither contemplate that the purple ministers tactically abandon the Government shortly before the elections nor do they contemplate a return to the political front line of Pablo Iglesias.
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