Ara Més, Sumar and Esquerra Unida close an agreement to run as a coalition to Congress

PalmaThe membership of MÉS per Mallorca has ratified Ara Més, Sumar, and Esquerra Unida to run in the general elections on November 29th. With the backing of 89% of the 110 militants who attended the assembly, the executive has received the final go-ahead to register the coalition with the Electoral Board this Friday, the last day of the deadline. For the moment, Podemos has been left out of the equation. Sources from the eco-sovereigntists explain that the base has also given the green light to a joint candidacy with the PSIB for the Senate.

The obsession of the leaders of Ara Més – a federation of MÉS per Mallorca, Més per Menorca, and Ara Eivissa – was that the formula for any pact should be done in a "Balearic key". In practical terms, this translated into the formula of a coalition, and not a joint candidacy, as initially proposed by Sumar and EU. According to various sources, this red line of the eco-sovereigntists complicated the negotiations until the very last moment. Close sources explain that the current Sumar-MÉS deputy in Congress, Vicenç Vidal, intervened in the talks to try to unblock them. The main complaint of MÉS per Mallorca regarding the agreement reached with Sumar in 2023 (it was even considered leaving the parliamentary group) was that Yolanda Díaz's platform did not listen enough to Balearic demands. Finally, the coalition formula was accepted, and the eco-sovereigntists are joining Ada Colau's Broad Front at the state level.

Regarding Podemos, for now, it remains outside the agreement, but sources from the eco-sovereigntists explain that "if it were to join the Broad Front at the state level, they would also do so in the Balearic coalition". The purple party, strengthened by the candidacy of Irene Montero, demanded to occupy the second place on the list and, in addition, to occupy the seat that the space would foreseeably obtain during the last two years of the legislature. A condition that was unacceptable to the eco-sovereigntists. Be that as it may, the coalitions must be communicated to the Electoral Board before the deadline ends this Friday at midnight, which is why the negotiating team currently has little room for maneuver.

The MÉS per Mallorca grassroots will have to debate the possibility of the progressive left running with the PSIB for the Senate, with the intention of maximizing electoral results and securing five of the six senators chosen via an open list formula in the islands. This Thursday, the PSIB informed that its choice to lead this candidacy is Catalina Cladera, spokesperson for the socialists at the Council of Mallorca.