The Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, has reiterated that he excludes himself as a possible head of the ticket in the next general elections and has specified that the Sumar formations have not officially proposed to him to lead the coalition.
On the other hand, the Minister of Health and leader of Más Madrid, Mónica García, has remarked that she is not concerned “at all” by the issue of Sumar's leadership, which remains unresolved.
“There has been no such offer and in any case I have said many times that that is not what I aspire to do. The important thing is that we now focus on what concerns us, which is that the extension of rents be included in the decree-law to mitigate the effects of the Iran war. The most important thing now is that we fight for the rights of tenants,” Bustinduy told the media in the corridors of Congress.
In this way, she has once again made it clear that she rules herself out as a candidate and that her role will be to help in every possible way so that "the left is up to the task" in the 2027 elections. "I don't think that's the role (being a candidate) I should assume," she stressed.
His name was among the options most discussed internally in Sumar despite his refusal, given that the polls placed him as one of the best-rated ministers and both his management and the political impetus given to his portfolio were highlighted. However, his limited public projection and his resistance to getting involved in the internal dynamics of the parties were pointed out as drawbacks.
In turn, the head of Health has been blunt when she has been questioned if it generates concern for her the void in the leadership of Sumar: “No, not at all”.
In February, after the resignation of the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, from leading the candidacy, García already indicated, when asked about a possible aspiration to lead her space, that her “preferences” and her “priorities” are focused on public healthcare and in Madrid.
Sumar cools the debate of candidates and asks for time
Meanwhile, the parliamentary spokesperson for IU, Enrique Santiago, has explained that the forces integrated into Sumar are not “asking anyone for anything” and that they are in a general reflection phase to “define essential leaderships.”
"He is a great candidate like so many others," he pointed out about Bustinduy. Furthermore, he has advanced that the objective of his organization is that the replacement of the second vice-president, Yolanda Díaz, at the head of the candidacy of the government's minority partner be on track before May.
For her part, the spokesperson of the plurinational group in Congress, Verónica Martínez Barbero, has insisted that now the priority is to strengthen the unity of the left and has assured that she does not doubt that they will find the right person to lead the list when the time comes. Specifically, she has stressed that they will follow the plan already designed.
Sources from Sumar, Comuns, Más Madrid and Izquierda Unida have reiterated their respect and admiration for Bustinduy, but have made it clear that they have not made any request for him to be a candidate, neither to him nor to any other figure.
“This is a process that will be addressed in due course, with the utmost respect both for the reference people of the space and for the organizations themselves that comprise it,” they have pointed out, adding that, when the agreement is closed on who are the most suitable people to act as electoral referents, it will be communicated directly.
Internal debate in IU about the times of the handover
In parallel, a critical sector of IU has shown its discontent with the federal coordinator, Antonio Maíllo, after he publicly demanded accelerating the designation of a candidate for the general elections, considering that it shifts the focus towards the internal struggle in the alternative left and fuels speculation about names.
Sources from that critical sector maintain that the initiative of the general coordinator has been “quite untimely”, by generating noise and transmitting the sensation that the alternative left is “self-absorbed and talking about itself”, entering too soon into a dispute over candidacies.
Nevertheless, other leaders believe that, sooner or later, it will be necessary to clear the unknown about who will head the list, since the political space needs a boost.
Likewise, different voices from the coalition advocate for acting with caution and maintaining calm, understanding that first the alliance must consolidate internally and, only after, address the definition of electoral brands and list leaders.
For example, sources from Sumar told Europa Press that they understand the “concern” expressed by the IU leader, but they emphasize that the spirit of 21F remains valid and consider it a priority to advance in the method of selecting lists, strengthen participation and “broaden” the political project. And “afterwards,” they insist, it will be the turn of the “leadership,” which should not be born only from a pact between four parties, but incorporate “many more people.”