Spain’s Díaz says ‘never’ thought of leaving government despite election setback

3 months ago 18

Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, who resigned this week as leader of the left-wing platform Sumar after the party’s dismal results in the EU elections, said on Thursday (13 June) she had “never” thought of leaving the coalition government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party PSOE.

Sumar, made up of some 20 heterogeneous left-wing parties, won only three seats in the European elections, far short of its expectations.

In the national parliament, Sumar has 31 seats and is the fourth largest force, behind the PSOE, Partido Popular (PP/EPP), the main opposition force, and the far-right VOX party.

Sumar’s results in Sunday’s elections are particularly poor compared to the unexpected rise of the new “ultra” party, Se Acabó la Fiesta (The Party is over), of the controversial Alvise Pérez, which also won three seats.

In an interview aired on Thursday by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, Díaz said that despite Sunday’s poor result and her decision to quit as Sumar’s leader, she “never” thought of leaving the government, in which she would continue to contribute to the country’s stability, Euractiv´s partner EFE reported.

“I’m not leaving, I’m staying”, she stressed.

In Sumar, Díaz retains several competences within the platform’s executive body and also maintains control over its parliamentary group.

One of her main tasks in government, in addition to promoting social policies, will be to “take care more than ever” of the progressive coalition, Díaz stated.

In her view, Sumar is “the progressive soul” of the executive, which has to continue governing “more and better” to increase social protection for the country’s working class, she said.

‘Off-key’ voices in the Spanish far-left camp

Meanwhile, the 80 members of Sumar’s coordinating group met in Madrid on Thursday to appoint a temporary management team and open an internal “reflection period” to analyse the causes of the failure in Sunday’s elections and prepare the election of a new party leader.

The crisis in Sumar is especially tangible in two of its members, Izquierda Unida (communists) and the regional formation of the Spanish capital Más Madrid, which have on several occasions made clear they strongly disagreed with the platform’s leadership.

However, political – and personal – rifts within Sumar were tangible from the platform’s official birth in June 2023.

Especially harsh was Díaz’s confrontation with Ione Belarra, secretary general of the radical left Podemos party, who accused Díaz after the snap elections in July 2023 of ignoring and marginalising Podemos, which has four seats in the national parliament.

Podemos (which won two seats in the European elections) decided to leave Sumar in December last year because of bitter differences.