The Podemos MEP and former Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, has reiterated that her goal is to promote a candidacy that brings together the entire political space situated to the left of the PSOE. In this context, she has argued that open primaries to choose the electoral reference are the appropriate way to get out of the "eternal loop" on how to articulate the unity of the left.
In an interview on Cadena Ser, reported by Europa Press, Montero emphasized that the only way to unblock the situation of the alternative left is for the "people to take the floor," specifying that this does not imply in any case a stance of "anti-parties."
The former minister proposed last Saturday the holding of open primaries, in which anyone can participate and present themselves, even if they are not a member of Podemos, during an event in which she formalized her intention to be a candidate in the upcoming general elections.
With this proposal, she got ahead of the other forces by offering a concrete method to measure support on the left and increased the pressure on the parties integrated into Sumar, which have not yet defined a candidate for the general elections scheduled for 2027.
In addition, Montero thus recovers a demand that Podemos had already put on the table in the context of its disagreements with Sumar regarding the configuration of the candidacy for the 2023 general elections.
In this way, Irene Montero calls for organizing "large primaries" as a formula to build a confluence that represents those who feel disappointed with the government's inability to contain the rise in prices and perceive that the current economic model does not respond to their problems.
"More guarantees of getting it right" with open primaries
When asked if this movement means she will be the candidate of Podemos, the MEP pointed out that her intention is not to limit herself solely to her party, but to raise a candidacy that "represents the entire left." She also indicated that she hopes to be chosen as a candidate "not only by the people of Podemos."
Montero has criticized that the parties have been "four, five or six years" caught up in debates about how to organize the space to the left of the PSOE and has argued that it is essential to break with that dynamic. In her opinion, it is necessary to open a participatory process that connects with those who "see no way out of things but know that it is urgent for there to be certain changes and have the confidence that politics can serve to return to the basics," referring to the improvement of basic material conditions.
"If we hold primaries in which everyone can participate and to which everyone can present themselves, I believe we have more guarantees of getting it right and doing things well and getting out of that eternal loop a bit," she stated, insisting that this mechanism can activate the electorate of the alternative left. "It seems to me that it is the best guarantee of success," she concluded.