The PSOE and the Frente Amplio are studying the possibility of running on a joint list for the Senate in the next general elections on November 29. This is confirmed by official sources from both spaces, who have been scheduled for a meeting this Sunday to address this possibility. Sumar's heirs are the ones who are pushing the most for this possibility to occur and a joint candidacy with mixed lists to be presented. The deadline for an agreement is Friday, October 16.
"The PSOE analyzes all the alternatives and scenarios to win both in Congress and in the Senate," sources from the Ferraz leadership confirmed this Friday, who later clarified that their willingness to agree is limited to the lists of the Upper House. As an argument in favor of sealing some type of agreement with the space on their left to attend the Upper House, they add: "We have all seen the spurious use that the PP has made of the Senate in this legislature."
If the socialists and the Frente Amplio parties - for now, Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid, Comunes and IU - participated in the Senate elections under a single list, this could contribute to grouping the vote into a single ballot in certain constituencies, to the detriment of the representation that the right could obtain, where it is assumed that there will be two lists: that of the PP and that of Vox.
Sources from the Frente Amplio confirm that the predisposition of the leftist alliance to explore this joint candidacy with the socialists in the Senate. It is something that has been discussed in internal meetings and on which there is consensus among the partners.
For this reason, some sources in the space affirm that they are going to "try" to make it happen and that is why the PSOE and Frente Amplio have called for a meeting in which all of this will be addressed. Formally there are no negotiations between the parties, but the new Sumar has expressed his interest in taking that step. However, the sources consulted warn that there is internal reluctance in the PSOE.
In addition to challenging the PP for the Senate, an alliance of this nature would open many gaps in the electoral lists for the parties that make up the Frente Amplio, which would relieve tension in the negotiations currently being held for Congress. For this space, getting elected senators is really difficult, but sharing a candidacy with the socialists opens up possibilities in numerous provinces.
On the table, in the meeting scheduled for this Sunday between PSOE and the new Sumar, will be finding a formula to run for the Senate elections, which in the last legislature has been dominated by the absolute majority of the PP. The socialists, on the other hand, rule out agreeing on any equation for Congress, as party sources have clarified.
In the closed-door meeting of the PSOE Executive on Monday, the possibility of asking Frente Amplio not to appear in the constituencies in which it never obtains representation or of negotiating a unitary list for Congress was not addressed, as confirmed by sources present at the meeting. However, in the party's own electoral strategy the focus is being placed on appealing to the useful vote in the medium and small provinces in which its partners do not get seats to try to benefit from the remains at the expense of PP and Vox.
A hypothetical coalition of all the left to run on the same list for the Senate would not be something unprecedented. Without going any further, in 2023, for example, PSOE, Sumar and Ara Eivissa presented a single candidacy for the Upper House, and thus achieved one seat in their name. Furthermore, in 2000, PSOE and IU closed an agreement to compete jointly in 27 constituencies.
