Negotiations for 29-N: Podem proposes to Ara Més to split the seat in Congress every two years

PalmaThe executive meeting of MÉS per Mallorca that took place this Tuesday evening concluded with more unknowns than certainties. The space has not yet decided who will lead its list for the November 29th elections to Congress, nor has it definitively closed its alliances. What is known is that negotiations remain deadlocked with Podem, whom the eco-sovereigntists wanted to integrate within the framework of a candidacy developed from the Islands that would bring together all parties to the left of the PSIB. The two parties have differences regarding who should lead this candidacy. According to consulted sources, the group led by Lucía Muñoz has proposed to Ara Més to alternate the deputy (they count on obtaining one, as happened in 2023) every two years.

This morning, the sovereignist parties that make up Ara Més have once again made it clear in Parliament that the head of a potential unitary list of the left must come from their space, which rules out the option of it being from the purple party. Both the parliamentary leaders of Més per Menorca, Josep Castells, and MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, have insisted that Ara Més is working for a unitary list that includes Podem, Sumar, and Esquerra Unida. However, Castells has appealed to the "correlation of forces" to argue that the number one must be ecosovereignist. "We will present ourselves at the elections with as many colleagues as possible in a candidacy headed by Ara Més," he stated. For his part, Apesteguia has considered that Ara Més is the "majority party" of the equation and must "head the proposal from the electoral and political point of view".

In turn, the EUiA deputy José María García has lamented that the atmosphere of the negotiations is "strained" because Podem wants to dispute the number one spot on the list with Ara Més. "We are not in a position to dispute the number one spot with anyone, but whoever it is must represent the entire group throughout the legislature, they cannot lean towards one or the other," he opined. He also rejected the distribution formula, according to which a representative from Ara Més would occupy the seat obtained for two years and another from Podem for another two years. What Esquerra Unida (EUiA) has done, as sources familiar with the negotiations explain, is to offer Podem to occupy the number two spot on the list, in exchange for sharing the number two spot on the list for the Senate with MÉS per Mallorca if a unitary list is finally closed with the PSIB.

Podem does not back down

Sources from Podemos claim that a "fair" agreement should be reached for all organizations. Although the eco-sovereigntists had already refused a candidacy that would rotate halfway through the term, Podemos considers that the step forward by Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián at the helm now gives them more negotiating power. "Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián can be a political catalyst that also greatly helps the Islands, and it would be magnificent news if they came to campaign," note these voices, who demand a balanced candidacy: "Without us there is no seat, and without them, neither."

Carme Gomila, favorite in the Ara Més polls

Regarding the leader of the Ara Més candidacy, the current deputy Vicenç Vidal and the spokesperson for Ara Més, Carme Gomila, are vying for the position, although party sources assure that at this moment the balance is leaning in favor of Gomila. Sources from the group report that negotiations with the left-wing space gathered in the Broad Front are advancing, but have stalled with Podemos due to disagreements with the spokesperson, Lucía Muñoz, which makes a single candidacy difficult.

Good harmony for a list with the PSIB in the Senate

The one with whom there has been an approach is the PSIB. As ARA Balears advanced, the two parties are negotiating the presentation of a single candidacy for the Senate, with the aim of maximizing electoral results. Sources from both parties explain that the agreement is close to being closed, but they do not consider it definitive because Ara Més is in parallel conversations with various spaces and one piece could cause the others to fall. As the same sources explain, the PSIB has negotiated with MÉS per Mallorca, but has conveyed to it that it has no objection to it ceding its seat in the Senate to other left-wing parties if it needs to do so to make adjustments with the Congress list.

This Wednesday, Més per Menorca will convene an assembly of the grassroots to determine their position, while MÉS per Mallorca will do the same on Thursday at 7:00 PM. The deadlines are increasingly tight to commit to a path, with an eye on the general elections of November 29th.

The PP accuses the PSIB of handing over the "head" of Rodríguez to MÉS

The spokesperson for the PP parliamentary group, Sebastià Sagreras, has attributed Alfonso Rodríguez's resignation as the Spanish government's delegate to negotiations, although he himself has argued that he is leaving to focus on the Calvià campaign. "It is not hard to deduce that MÉS per Mallorca could have demanded Mr. Rodríguez's head to go together in these state-level elections," he stated: "Given the PSIB's dire need, at its lowest point ever, it is not difficult to think that they have given in."