The federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida (IU), Antonio Maíllo, has stated that in his formation they "always" had "clear" that the spokesperson of Esquerra Republicana in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, "was never going to take the step" of leading the Frente Amplio and that he would ultimately "run for ERC" in the general elections on the upcoming November 29.
Maíllo expressed this on Monday in an interview on "Hora 25" of Cadena Ser, where he reiterated that the objective of the Frente Amplio is to achieve a candidacy as "broad as possible" and emphasized that the left will run united on 29N "if politics succeeds in the good sense."
"There is no other way than the agreement and the unity of all the transformative left in our country (...) because we are at a historic moment and a transcendental moment," highlighted the IU leader, who acknowledged that he has not yet sat down to negotiate with Podemos.
Likewise, he assured that there have also been no contacts with Rufián, whom he reproached for "dedicating himself to telling others who should be the candidate" --referring to Irene Montero, head of the Podemos list--. These statements come after the Frente Amplio decided on Monday to propose Ada Colau as a candidate.
Regarding Colau, Maíllo defended that the former mayor of Barcelona has the "greatest possible consensus even in organizations that are not in the Frente Amplio." "No one is going to oppose Ada Colau," he stated, while admitting that it would be a "surprise" if Podemos did not support her leadership.
In addition, he warned that any alternative that does not involve presenting "an instrument" that "resolves" for citizens "the housing problem," promotes the improvement of wages, and "gives expectations to young people," is "a bit anecdotal" and "even ridiculous."
For this reason, he explained that Podemos "has on the table" the offer to integrate into the project. "We consider that it is a federal force that can contribute to a good result in the selection and that we can be decisive in the future of our country and that the reactionary block does not win," he concluded.
However, he emphasized that it is essential to clarify "what is Podemos' willingness to build a political project," a question that Maíllo himself admitted he raised to Montero in a recent meeting in Madrid.
"And then I told him, hey, what you propose to us on TV, let's talk about it at a table," Maíllo has recounted. "You sit at a table and you don't do it through the televisions," concluded the leader of IU.