The alternative left reinvents its offer for the elections: new faces and brands but old problems. The step back in unity and the consequent fracture into two candidates compromises everything that is to come in this campaign and, of course, the results. The Frente Amplio, which is the alliance heir to Sumar, is almost completely renewed and with Ada Colau as leader to break the wear and tear of these years and be the "differentiating factor" that allows the numbers to revalidate the coalition government with the PSOE. On the other hand, Podemos is fighting for its survival and hopes to get some seats from the figure of Irene Montero, the hook of its alliance with Gabriel Rufián and a harsh speech against the PSOE that delves into those disappointed with Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz.
Expectations are not exactly the best for anyone. Of course, the Frente Amplio starts with a great advantage over the purples and, in addition, has changed its trend. Its growth raises the alliance above 8% in the Sigma Dos survey for EL MUNDO, while Podemos prolongs its fall and hovers around a dangerous 1.6% with which Montero's seat in Madrid begins to falter.
Adding was a success in 2023 that allowed the Government to be reissued, however, Díaz failed as a glue for the left and that led, for many reasons, to a change in the leadership that Colau assumes today. This irruption and the fact that housing is one of the great issues of the moment give breath to the Frente Amplio, where the conviction is that the general strike and the housing decree spur their options to continue rising.
In fact, several sources emphasize that the strike has "been good" for them and they trust that this has been the lever they needed to mobilize an electorate that still has a large pool of voters who are disappointed, unmotivated and confused.
Colau, who had no time to lose, has been sprinting for several weeks between interviews, events and announcements of measures, most of which relate to his two campaign axes: housing and the fight against inequality. Thus, he has launched proposals for the expropriation of houses from the funds, quite high rates for those who have more than four houses - including individuals - and a cascading increase in taxes on the "rich", large companies and banks. These are all forceful measures that strike a chord with the most left-wing voter.
The Frente Amplio, which condenses its project into the slogan A vote like a house, focused on housing, wants to turn 29-N into a "referendum" on this problem and its solutions.
The objective that is set now is to climb to 10% of the vote because there "seats multiply", and from a dozen it goes to twenty. Thus, it detects up to 18 "key" provinces in which it will make a special effort, because that 10% threshold gives it deputies that, in addition, would remove PP or Vox.
Colau hopes to reach the last week, when the elections are decided, and finish with the electoral debate and the last events, where he can convince of the prize of his vote.
At the opening ceremony in Vallecas (Madrid), a few hours before the posters were put up, Colau warned that the Frente Amplio is not running for office "to do more of the same." "We have come to change everything, to change the rules of the game. We have not come to manage inequality but to end inequality."
"Enough of excuses. That is our commitment," he stressed. In this sense, he wanted to send a message to Pedro Sánchez: "My commitment is that the next government of this country will be against speculation or it will not be."
Thus, he has asked the president for fewer "triumphant statements" about the direction of the economy and "more humility with working people," because "inequality has grown more than ever" in recent years.
Despite admitting that the starting point of this campaign is "difficult", Colau has asked people to turn the polls around because, he stressed, "the last word" on November 29 "will be that of the working social majority."
In Podemos, Montero leads a candidacy personalized exclusively in his figure. So much so that he hides the name and symbols of the party to use the brand "Irene." The candidate uses Rufián as a claim to guarantee at least the seat that allows the survival of Podemos. The two will do events together and the trend is to present themselves as the irredeemable left that does not bend to the PSOE or get involved in it. Montero is going to suffer to get his seat. She got 124,000 votes in Madrid in the 2024 European elections and now that Podemos is much worse than then, she could need more than 95,000 votes. At the very least, a challenge. The good news for Podemos is that it could win the seats in Alicante and Barcelona thanks to joining the lists of ERC and Compromís (where the Frente Amplio is also located).
