Podemos is starting a key political course, which will serve to measure its usefulness in opposition and in which it will renew up to six regional leadership positions and the leadership of the party. The formation of Ione Belarra, which has four deputies in the Mixed Group of the lower house and two seats in the European Parliament, has proven to be a tough and uncomfortable partner for the government in recent months, putting it in difficult situations on several occasions. The tone against the PSOE, always critical, has hardened since its departure from the government in November, and despite its small numerical weight, Podemos’ four votes have become essential in parliamentary arithmetic. The party threatened in July to drop the anti-crisis decree if it did not eliminate the cut to the electricity social bonus it contained, and in January it had already blocked the reform of the unemployment subsidy law proposed by the Department led by Yolanda Díaz, which had to be reformulated to be approved five months later.
In the coming months, the left-wing party will be particularly incisive on issues such as access to housing, touristification, eight-week permits to make them paid, and the regularization of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, which is currently being processed in a Popular Legislative Initiative in Congress, although it faces problems to progress. The new role of Irene Montero, who along with Isa Serra occupies a seat in Brussels, will be the focus in September. The Podemos delegation will focus on strengthening alliances with left-wing parties in Europe, especially parties like Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise, and will promote “social, feminist, and human rights defense policies against the EU drift,” they say, exemplified by the Migration and Asylum Pact.
Despite the cascade of resignations they have suffered since 2023 and the poor results in Galicia and the Basque Country, where they failed to win representation, the seats obtained in the European elections—one less than Sumar—have infused some optimism in the organization, which sees these elections as a “turning point.” Among the immediate events is the party’s Autumn University, the annual forum for reflection and ideological rearmament scheduled to take place in Madrid on October 18 and 19, where last year they publicly announced their strategy to distance themselves from the Díaz-led conglomerate. This time, according to sources within the leadership, the emphasis will be on the priorities of the legislature and the display of international cooperation with other political forces to fight “the cultural battle against an extremist right wing taking to the hills.”
Podemos also faces the election of up to six regional executive committees in November. This is the case in Extremadura, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, the Basque Country, and Galicia. In the latter region, the party has been under a caretaker committee since June, when its coordinator, Borja San Ramón, resigned after clashing with the national leadership over strategy with the second vice president. The regional expansion of Podemos has been the party’s Achilles heel since its inception, and the results in the 2023 regional and municipal elections left the organization in an extremely weak position, even leading to the implementation of a redundancy plan. Initially, the V Citizens Assembly, the congress to renew the party leadership at the national level, will have to wait a few more months, until June of next year. For now, the party’s leadership argues that it is too early to discuss the future structure. They highlight Belarra’s role as Secretary General in an “extraordinarily” challenging period after Pablo Iglesias’ departure but also recognize Irene Montero as an “international” figure in the party. Different voices suggest that she is their best electoral asset and, as the former vice president did in his day, do not rule out her early return to be the head of the list in the next general elections. But until that happens, Podemos will continue to demand a high price for its support to the government this term.
