The federal coordinator of Izquierda Unida, Antonio Maíllo, has ruled out any electoral alliance with pro-independence parties, dismissing a proposal that Movimiento Sumar had left open at its most recent assembly and that ERC had also supported.
Maíllo made the remarks in an interview with Servimedia, saying that such a scenario was not going to happen and that, since it was not going to happen, it did not even need to be considered. The option had been approved by Movimiento Sumar at its assembly last July as a contingency measure.
The IU leader did, however, back a separate organisational proposal from Sumar's new leadership: the creation of a shared electoral roll among Izquierda Unida, Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid and the Comuns. Maíllo said the joint census would be used to hold primary elections when the member parties could not reach consensus, and that it would strengthen internal participation and the broader common project.
No change in political line
Maíllo also sought to lower expectations of any shift in the relationship between IU and Movimiento Sumar following the party's recent leadership change. He said the replacement of Lara Hernández by Verónica Barbero and Rosa Martínez had not altered the organisation's political positions or the dialogue between the two formations, adding that the political theses had not changed.
On recent statements by Más Madrid figures suggesting the party might stand alone at the next regional elections, Maíllo played down the episode, saying it did not even rise to the level of a crisis and that the relationship between the two organisations remained one of loyalty.
Informal contacts with Podemos
Maíllo confirmed that informal contacts had taken place with Podemos leaders, while stressing that any steps toward reunification would depend entirely on that party's own willingness. He said IU was leaving the door open and pointed to the platform Un Paso al Frente as a tool for rebuilding unity on the left of the PSOE. He added that political organisations were instruments, not anyone's exclusive partners.
