Iker Atienza says frustrated voters could turn to the PSOE after progressive parties failed to unite. He casts a vote for Pedro Sánchez as both useful and punitive.
Coalition talks ran up against the deadline for registering electoral alliances, leaving the parties unable to form a nationwide joint slate for the election scheduled for 29 November. Iker Atienza says Podemos and Sumar agree on 99.99% of decisions, yet have failed to unite behind one progressive candidacy. He argues that the stalemate is pushing some voters to consider the PSOE instead.
For Atienza, that vote would be useful and punitive: a way to choose the PSOE while rebuking parties to its left. He says the obstacle is practical, not technical. Party representatives, he argues, have put personal ambitions and the order of names on candidate lists ahead of voters’ preferences.
The parties did reach agreements to run together in the Valencian Community and the Canary Islands. The broader Frente Amplio coalition includes Movimiento Sumar and Izquierda Unida. Comuns is also part of it, as is Más Madrid.
Frente Amplio made another move on 12 October, proposing former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as its candidate for prime minister while leaving the door open for Podemos to join. In a report on Colau’s proposed role, Colau said she would lead Frente Amplio even if Podemos stayed out. Atienza argues that divisions like these leave voters without the united option they want.
On 17 October, RTVE reported that the split was especially visible in Madrid. In Aragon, Chunta Aragonesista and Izquierda Unida agreed to run under the Chunta Aragonesista-Frente Amplio name. Movimiento Sumar joined that arrangement, as did Partido Verde and Recortes Cero. Podemos was not part of the slate.
Podemos held its own primary, confirming Irene Montero as its candidate with 90% support from 26,590 participants, according to Spain English. The party also pursued cooperation with ERC in Catalonia, while Frente Amplio put forward Colau. Politico reported that the split could complicate Pedro Sánchez’s prospects because the PSOE may need support from parties to its left to form a parliamentary majority. Podemos served as a junior partner in the Socialist-led government from 2020 to 2023.
Atienza says the PSOE offers voters a clear electoral choice. He points to his own mother’s and grandmothers’ generation, who voted for the party. He also claims Emiliano García-Page will vote for the PP.
In Atienza’s view, voters want to cast a ballot but are being made to find that choice difficult.
