Irene Montero, Podemos candidate against who?

In response to Sumar's offer to form a unified list, Podemos responded a week later by naming Irene Montero as its candidate for the next general elections. This choice is no surprise, but it is significant that it was announced two years—theoretically—before the elections. Not even Pedro Sánchez has confirmed his candidacy.

The former Minister of Equality and current MEP is considered the main political asset and leader of the purple party, even though Ione Belarra is its general secretary. The veto that Yolanda Díaz imposed on the elections of July 23, 2023, due to errors in the law of It grants Montero special status and puts all the pressure on the Sumar leader in the face of possible negotiations for the next elections. One of the reasons Podemos has moved ahead is because Pedro Sánchez has already demonstrated his unpredictability.



Although he repeatedly says he will see out the full term of office, the purple party is clear that the Spanish president will push the button when it suits him best. And if he believes it would be better for him to time the general elections with the Andalusian elections next year, he will. One possibility is that the Spanish government will fail to pass any budget this term: it did not present the 2024 budget because it was barely the beginning of its mandate, nor did it present the 2025 budget because Junts overturned the spending ceiling last summer.

Since then, talks have not progressed, and given the lack of support, Sánchez prefers not to receive a corrective from Congress. As for 2026, the increase in defense spending complicates support, and Podemos's four votes are precisely key. With Montero's appointment, the party's opposition position is further strengthened.

It remains to be seen whether Sánchez advances the elections or not. Meanwhile, Podemos is already launching its internal battle on the left wing of the PSOE. Díaz has not yet decided whether she will run in the elections and under which umbrella: what was intended to be Sumar—a confluence of various forces from different regions such as the Comuns, Compromís, Más por Mallorca, Más Madrid, Chunta Aragonesista, etc.

—has failed, and Díaz is now part of another mainstream party, Movimiento Sumar. Podemos has also been losing ground in the autonomous regions, although it still maintains some membership, and is playing the card of leadership confrontation, which, incidentally, is also nothing new considering what Pablo Iglesias represented and the pyramidal behavior that has characterized the party. The Montero veto In this context, Podemos believes it has the upper hand because—they understand—the Sumar experiment has failed and Díaz's veto of Montero has been confirmed to be a mistake.

Wouldn't it have been better for the Minister of Labor to give in and accept Montero's continued membership in the Council of Ministers, even if she wasn't in the Department of Equality? In this way, the strong opposition Podemos now faces in Congress would have been defused. At least, this is the thesis put forward by the purple party and also by prominent voices linked to the PSOE. According to the , the Spanish second vice president "is the last person who would be electorally competitive" today and also stated that she cannot imagine herself "going down to the Hunger Games as the leader of a very small party.

" The approach put forward by the former Podemos leader is that sectors of Sumar close to the PSOE take the step of leaving and that those who feel closer to the purple party join a candidacy led by Montero. In Catalonia, the Commons already admitted this Monday that "advancing debates for those two years away is not helpful" and were betting on a "broad" candidacy that would allow them to stop the PP and Vox. And the fact is that in the European elections Montero garnered more votes in Catalonia than Sumar (which was not the case in the whole of Spain), which placed Jaume Asens as its leader.

"In a general election, I think Montero would have more votes than any of the Comuns' candidates in Catalonia. They'll decide who they want to go with," Iglesias urged them in the interview with ARA. With Podemos's movement, the ball is now in Yolanda Díaz's court.

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