The failure of the negotiations for a unitary candidacy of the alternative left ahead of the 29N has highlighted the differences between its main leaders, who also maintain a particular dispute for their influence on social networks. A competition that Demócrata has analyzed through Poder Digital, an application developed by Vinces, and that this Friday reached Atresmedia
The Atresmedia channel has dedicated a report to the digital leadership of the parties situated to the left of the PSOE, for which it has counted on Adrián Lardiez, director of Parliamentary Information of Demócrata. His intervention took place in the final stretch of the negotiations between Frente Amplio and Podemos, which ended last night without a state agreement to jointly run in the general elections on November 29.
The outcome came after a final exchange of proposals. Frente Amplio offered Podemos priority starting positions in Madrid and Catalonia, in addition to their incorporation with full rights into the coalition and a spokesperson position in the future parliamentary group. The purple formation responded with a counterproposal focused on territorial agreements, which specifically excluded Madrid and Catalonia.
The differences prevented closing the joint candidacy that both parties had explored over the last few months. Although the organizations have reached understandings in certain territories, the space situated to the left of the PSOE will arrive at the elections with different electoral formulas, far from the state unity that had been proposed.
Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián stand out in Demócrata's ranking
In this context, the Atresmedia report has focused on the digital influence of the leaders who are at the center of the debate on the unity of the left.
According to the data from Poder Digital, Irene Montero and Gabriel Rufián are the two profiles that stand out the most, with scores above 80 out of 100 on the RIO index. At a greater distance appears Emilio Delgado, followed by leaders such as Mónica García, Ada Colau, Ernest Urtasun, and Óskar Matute.
"Basically, there are two profiles that stand out above the rest to the left of the PSOE," Lardiez explained during his intervention at Atresmedia.
The director of Parliamentary Information of Demócrata pointed out that leadership on digital platforms does not depend solely on the number of followers or the frequency of publication, but on the ability of politicians to connect with their communities.
"Having many followers does not necessarily grant you digital power," he emphasized, explaining that the methodology of Demócrata measures three fundamental elements: regularity, interaction, and originality.
The electoral call marks a turning point on social media
The report also analyzed the evolution of leaders since October 4, on the eve of the electoral call. The data shows a widespread increase in activity and interactions coinciding with the advance of the elections.
"The main turning point is the electoral call", Lardiez explained when asked about the events capable of modifying the behavior of leaders on social media. "At the moment the electoral shaker is stirred, the conversation grows," he added.
However, the electoral advance is not the only factor that has influenced the activity on the platforms. The housing crisis and the migratory situation in Ceuta have also gained prominence in the political conversation, although Lardiez clarified that their effect does not necessarily translate into an increase in the influence of a specific leader.
Both issues "are indeed elements that have been gaining traction in this conversation," he explained, but not so much because they have "impacted one leader or another, but more in the field." That is to say, they have contributed to increasing the volume of publications and interactions around certain debates, without that growth being automatically attributed to a politician.
As an example, Lardiez referred to the migratory crisis of Ceuta, where the monitoring of Poder Digital allowed for the detection that some right-wing profiles managed to take greater advantage of the increase in conversation. "In the case of Ceuta, we captured that some right-wing profiles knew how to capitalize a bit more on this growth," he pointed out.
The director of Parliamentary Information of Demócrata explained that this evolution should be interpreted taking into account the methodology of the tool, which incorporates among its indicators the volume of conversation and interactions. When an issue like Ceuta or housing strongly enters the public debate, the digital activity around that topic increases, although it does not necessarily change the relative position of all leaders.
The differences between platforms also turn out to be significant. Gabriel Rufián maintains a prominent presence on X, Instagram, and TikTok, while Irene Montero stands out especially on this last social network. Ada Colau, for her part, concentrates a good part of her activity on Instagram and has experienced growth associated with her return to the political front line.
From electoral disagreement to the dispute for influence
The closure of negotiations between Frente Amplio and Podemos added a new dimension to the analysis. While the parties have not managed to articulate a shared state candidacy, their main representatives maintain their own digital communities, with different levels of interaction and presence.
The classification developed by Demócrata allows observing these differences, although it does not constitute a vote estimate nor measure the electoral support of each leader. Its objective is to identify the capacity to generate conversation and influence on digital platforms.