A new political party has launched in Spain, composed of more than a dozen left-leaning groups and led by a lifelong communist who aims to become the country’s first female prime minister.
Yolanda Díaz, the deputy prime minister and minister of labour, has drastically changed Spain’s political landscape with the formation of the Sumar (Unite) party.
Díaz has succeeded in bringing together various political groups, as well as two government ministers and prominent individuals such as the mayors of Barcelona and Valencia. Sumar will be on the ballot papers when Spain goes to the polls in December, with Díaz at the helm.
Díaz told a rapturous crowd of 5,000 who turned out in Madrid on Sunday for the launch: “I want to be Spain’s first female president because women’s time has come, and women want to be the ones who make history.” In Spain, the prime minister is officially called the “president of the government”.
“Women don’t belong to anyone, nor do I, a woman, belong to anyone. We’re tired – very tired – of being patronised and ignored.”
Notably absent from the alliance is Podemos – the leftwing party in the coalition government with the mainstream Spanish Socialist Workers’ party – which refused to join over a dispute about how Sumar would organise primaries.
Díaz said: “From the start, Sumar has wanted primaries in which citizens can participate, not bilateral ones with Podemos.” She added that it wouldn’t be a disaster if Podemos did not join the alliance.
Pablo Iglesias, a founding member and former leader of Podemos, who has opposed joining Díaz, said it would be “an electoral and political tragedy” if Sumar went ahead without Podemos’s support.
However, the polls show his party in electoral freefall. With some party members weary of what they see as the autocratic rule of Iglesias and his wife, the equality minister Irene Montero, many may gravitate towards Sumar.
Diáz said the first person with whom she discussed the Sumar project was Iglesias but added that the two had not spoken since they had what she described as a “very interesting conversation” in January.
Although by no means a centrist, Díaz wants to break with bipartisan politics. She says she wants Sumar to be “useful” in solving people’s problems and frequently uses the words “listen” and “dialogue”.
Her focus is on jobs and housing, and she wants to introduce a shorter working week with no loss of income and greater protection for people in precarious employment.
Díaz eschews the combative, accusatory tone that dominates Spain’s political culture. Unlike Podemos, she does not rail against the far right, the judiciary, bankers or the monarchy. She has been seen as focusing on practical solutions to the problems of everyday life, rather than slogans or flag-waving.
The conservative opposition, which hopes to benefit from a divided left if Podemos refuses to join Sumar, was quick to dismiss the alliance as an electoral gimmick.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the conservative People’s party, said: “They have to change the name because they have nothing to offer and people will soon realise they’re the same as ever.”
Javier Ortega Smith, the vice-president of the far-right Vox party, said: “If they really want to unite, they should join the Easter processions where Spaniards can find much more consolation for the problems they face.”
